ABC Action News Reporter Robert Boyd introduces us to Henry "Shake" Washington who has been working within the Hillsborough County Public Schools system for more than 40 years, excelling his way up the ladder,

February is Black History Month, set aside to honor the history of African-Americans. February was chosen to also honor abolitionist Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays are this month.

Community reporter Hannah Kliger tells the story of two Brooklyn sisters who rose up to become trailblazers decades ahead of their time: Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward, the first Black woman to practice medicine in New York state, and Sarah Garnet, the first Black female principal of a New York City Public School.

SEPTA is commemorating Black History Month by remembering i ts own heroes and trailblazers. At the forefront among them were eight employees who paved the way for African Americans to work with the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC), which eventually turned into SEPTA.

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History’s 2025 Black History Month theme is “African Americans and Labor."