African-Americans contributed in every aspect of American culture including literature, art, agriculture, arts, and entertainment, social and technological among many others. February is designated "Black History Month," also referred to as African-American History Month, or African Heritage Month, to celebrate these achievements.

African Americans or Black Americans are American citizens who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the U.S., the term is generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most African-Americans are the direct descendants of captive Africans who survived the slavery era, though some are descended from voluntary immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American countries. African-Americans account for the single largest racial minority group in the U.S., which is about 12 percent of the total U.S. population.

Historian Carter G. Woodson started Black History Month in 1926. Woodson chose the second week of February to celebrate black history because it marked the birthdays of two Americans who greatly influenced the lives and social condition of African Americans: former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

At the time Woodson started Black History Month, representation and acknowledgement of African-Americans’ contributions to American history was not mainstream; references to African-Americans usually only included slaves and their descendants. The mentioning of George Washington Carver, a scientist, botanist, educator and inventor whose research and teaching revolutionized agriculture, was a frequent exception. Also, W.E.B. DuBois' 1935 work "Black Reconstruction" was an early work in history that pointed to black contributions.

Today, Black History Month is a controversial observance. Many criticize the fairness of a designated month dedicated to the history of one race. Magazines like Time, Newsweek, USA Today and BusinessWeek have run articles on this controversy.

Notable African-Americans celebrated every year include but are not limited to George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Miles Davis and W.E.B. Dubois. Read more about African-Americans’ achievements in American history in the magazine American Legacy, which is a magazine that focuses on African-American heritage and modern-day culture.

Notable modern-day African Americans celebrated are Michael Jordan, Ronald McNair, Oprah Winfrey, Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Kanye West and many more. Read more about these modern-day African-Americans in magazines like Time, Vibe, Essence, Billboard, The Economist, Entertainment Weekly and O the Oprah magazine.

President Barack Obama is now the most famous African-American. President Obama is half African—his father, now deceased, was from Kenya and his mother, also deceased, was a white American.