LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – Throughout the month of February, UNLV Athletics plans to recognize Black History Month by publishing original videos featuring Rebel student-athletes, coaches and staff, as well as by creating other social media content that will recognize and honor influential Black Americans and important historical moments through its @UNLVinclusion Twitter and Instagram accounts.

"Listening to people about their struggles and learning from them is a fundamental precept of education," said UNLV Director of Athletics Desiree Reed-Francois. "I appreciate being a part of our inclusion committee and would like to thank our Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Erick Harper, Mallory Poole and Jeff Seals for their creativity and dedication to making our recognition and celebration of Black History Month meaningful."

The month of February was officially recognized as Black History Month in 1976 by President Gerald Ford, who called upon the public to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Initially, a group that is known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) launched a "Negro History Week" in 1926. The second week of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. By the late 1960s, it evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses due in part to the civil rights movement.

The UNLV Athletics Inclusion Committee is leading the Department's effort to celebrate Black History Month. The committee was formed during the Summer of 2020 to help promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. It has aided in the UNLV Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's social justice initiative, C.H.A.N.G.E., as well as its successful effort to have every eligible student-athlete register to vote in the recent general election.