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Athletes, scientists, musicians, the president of the United States. Kids growing up today, as President Obama underscored in the last days of his presidency, get that African Americans have and will continue to make enormous contributions to our country and to the world. But we all could use a lesson in the many sacrifices it has taken to get us to this point -- and how much more we must accomplish in an era of continued racial discourse and violence.

That's why February is the ideal time to visit a historic site or explore a museum exhibit celebrating African American History Month, which is also celebrated in Britain and Canada.

In case you are wondering why the month of February was chosen when Martin Luther King Jr's birthday is mid-January, it's because the precursor was a February "Negro History Week," created in1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. February was chosen because several notable birthdays fell during that month, namely the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (Feb.12) and Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14), traditionally celebrated together in African-American communities. It wasn't until 1976, as part of the bicentennial celebration, that the expansion to a month was officially recognized by the U.S. government, though Kent State University started the month-long celebration six years earlier.

Today you will find special black history exhibits and activities across the country, from museums to national parks and historic sites. Some last the entire month others are special one-time performances or programs.

Just last month (in January) the National Park Service welcomed four new parks that relate to African-American History -- the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in New York. The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and Freedom Riders National Monument in Alabama and the Reconstruction Era National Monument in South Carolina.

Of course, there is the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., where you can teach kids how American values like resiliency, optimism and spirituality are reflected in African-American history and culture, whether fighting in a segregated military, fighting for basic civil rights, through new forms of musical expression or the struggles to level the playing fields in sports, on and off the field. (Since the museum's opening last September, 50,000 people have visited. There have been so many visitors that now, in order to guarantee entry, you would be wise to purchase your free timed-entry passes online. Tickets are sold out until May, though you might get lucky and score a same-day pass, if you try online early in the morning.)

Even if you have to wait until your next trip to visit the museum, you'll find plenty of other special exhibits and performances in our nation's capital this month, including Rock Creek Park's planetarium, which will be exploring the "Night Sky to Freedom." Rock Creek will also have a special ranger program to highlight lesser-known stories of "Women in Color in the Civil War. And there's no better place to contemplate civil rights and equality than at the Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Here are six other good bets to consider around the country:

IN PHILADELPHIA, the National Constitution Center focuses on the lives of African-American leaders and the history of the Emancipation Proclamation with exhibits featuring rarely seen artifacts, including some from President Obama's inauguration. Also throughout February, Philadelphia's Historic District invites visitors to listen to stories about free blacks in Philadelphia, as well as special performances and more.

IN KANSAS CITY, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum celebrates the history of African-American baseball from the late 1800s through the 1960s. The complex is shared by the American Jazz Museum, which showcases contributions of African-American Musicians.

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