February is the shortest month, but it is also one of the most important. Black History Month begins today.

February is more than a time to honor that special person in your life on Valentine's Day. February is also about honoring a people and a sacrifice.

February is a 28-day celebration of an ongoing struggle and the people who furthered it.

February is the month the 15th Amendment was passed, giving blacks the right to vote. In February of 1870, the first black U.S. senator, Hiram R. Revels, took his oath of office. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in February of 1909 in New York City. It was also the birth month of one of the NAACP's co-founders W. E. B. DuBois.

And Malcolm X was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson was responsible for bringing about Black History Month. The son of former slaves, Woodson began "Negro History Week" to commemorate blacks who, until then, went largely unnoticed by history books.

February became Black History Month because it marks the birth dates of abolitionists Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

That was 1926, and 75 years later, the achievements and accomplishments of blacks should be celebrated for more than just the 28 days of February.

Just a generation ago, segregation was openly practiced and accepted. To this day, racial discrimination remains as a shameful reminder of just how much further we still have to go.

Celebrate Black History Month. It is a history of pain and defeat and triumph and tears. There's too much to fit into just four weeks.

Relish it. Rejoice in it. And realize how the history continues on to today and how we can be worthy of it.

n Editorial Board: Keith Thomas, Tom McHenry, Melissa Davis and Laura Pelner.