Carter G. Woodson: The Father of Black History and His Enduring Legacy

Carter G. Woodson, often hailed as the "Father of Black History," was an American historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). His work was instrumental in establishing the field of Black history and promoting its study and understanding. Woodson's legacy extends far beyond the establishment of Black History Month; it encompasses a profound commitment to education, self-reliance, and racial pride.

Early Life and Education: Overcoming Obstacles

Carter Godwin Woodson was born on December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Virginia, to formerly enslaved parents, Anne Eliza (Riddle) and James Henry Woodson. The Woodson family was poor, but his parents instilled in him a sense of pride and the importance of education. Although his father was illiterate, Carter's mother, Anna, had been taught to read by her mistress. James, during the Civil War, had helped Union soldiers near Richmond, after escaping from his owner, by leading them to Confederate supply stations and warehouses to raid army supplies. Thereafter, and until the war ended, James had scouted for the Union Army.

Due to his family's circumstances, Woodson's early schooling was irregular. He worked as a farm laborer and coal miner in Huntington, West Virginia to contribute to the family finances. At the age of seventeen, Woodson followed his older brother Robert Henry to Huntington, West Virginia, where he hoped to attend Douglass High School, a secondary school for African Americans founded there. At the age of twenty in 1895, Woodson was finally able to enter Douglass High School full-time and received his diploma in 1897.

From his graduation in 1897 until 1900, Woodson was employed as a teacher at a school in Winona, West Virginia. His career advanced further in 1900 when he became the principal of Douglass High School, the place where he had started his academic career. Between 1901 and 1903, Woodson took classes at Berea College in Kentucky, eventually earning his bachelor's degree in literature in 1903. Woodson later attended the University of Chicago, where he was awarded an A.B. in 1908. He was a member of the first Black professional fraternity Sigma Pi Phi and a member of Omega Psi Phi. Woodson's M.A thesis was titled "The German Policy of France in the War of Austrian Succession." He completed his PhD in history at Harvard University in 1912, where he was the second African American (after W. E. B. Du Bois) to earn a doctorate. His doctoral dissertation, The Disruption of Virginia, was based on research he did at the Library of Congress while teaching high school in Washington, D.C.

Championing Black History: A Response to Neglect

Around the turn of the 20th century, as he began his own academic career, Woodson noticed a glaring hole in the educational system in the United States. The public knew very little about the role of African Americans in American history, and schools were not including African American history in their curriculum. As Woodson immersed himself in the world of education, he noticed the prevailing ignorance and lack of information concerning Black life and history. Convinced that the role of his own people in American history and in the history of other cultures was being ignored or misrepresented among scholars, Woodson realized the need for research into the neglected past of African Americans. Largely excluded from the uniformly-white academic history profession, Woodson realized the need to make the structures which support scholarship in black history, and black historians.

In 1915, Woodson, along with William D. Hartgrove, George Cleveland Hall, Alexander L. Jackson, and James E, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Woodson believed that education and increasing social and professional contacts among Black and white people could reduce racism, and he promoted the organized study of African-American history partly for that purpose. On July 18, 1922, he purchased his home at 1538 Ninth Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C., and he located the association's headquarters on the first floor. In the early 20th century, Washington, DC was home to many cultural institutions by and for African Americans, which supported Woodson as he developed his own organizations.

In January 1916, Woodson began publication of the scholarly Journal of Negro History. It has never missed an issue, despite the Great Depression, loss of support from foundations, and two World Wars. In 2002, it was renamed the Journal of African American History and continues to be published by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

Woodson published The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861. His other books followed: A Century of Negro Migration (1918) and The History of the Negro Church (1927). His work The Negro in Our History has been reprinted in numerous editions and was revised by Charles H. Wesley after Woodson's death in 1950.

Negro History Week: Planting the Seeds of Recognition

Woodson’s devotion to showcasing the contributions of Black Americans bore fruit in 1926 when he launched Negro History Week in the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Woodson wrote of the purpose of Negro History Week as: "It is not so much a Negro History Week as it is a History Week. We should emphasise not Negro History, but the Negro in History."

From the beginning, Woodson was overwhelmed by the response to his call. Negro History Week appeared across the country in schools and before the public. The 1920s was the decade of the New Negro, a name given to the Post-War I generation because of its rising racial pride and consciousness. Urbanization and industrialization had brought over a million African Americans from the rural South into big cities of the nation. The expanding Black middle class became participants in and consumers of Black literature and culture. Woodson and his Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (later the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) scrambled to meet the demand. They set a theme for the annual celebration, and provided study materials-pictures, lessons for teachers, plays for historical performances, and posters of important dates and people. Provisioned with a steady flow of knowledge, high schools in progressive communities formed Negro History Clubs. To serve the desire of history buffs to participate in the re-education of Black folks and the nation, the Association formed branches that stretched from coast to coast. In 1937, at the urging of Mary McLeod Bethune, Woodson established the Negro History Bulletin, which focused on the annual theme.

A Multifaceted Career: Scholar, Educator, and Activist

While running the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Woodson also took on many other roles within the academic world. He taught at both the public school and collegiate levels, trained researchers and other staff at the organization, and wrote books and articles on the subject that was his life’s work. Woodson held the position of Dean at the School of Liberal Arts and Head of the Graduate Faculty at Howard University from 1919 to 1920. He also served as Dean at West Virginia Collegiate Institute, now known as West Virginia State University.

By 1922, Woodson's experience of academic politics and intrigue had left him so disenchanted with university life that he vowed never to work in academia again. He continued to write publish and lecture nationwide.

Woodson became affiliated with the Washington, D.C., branch of the NAACP and its chairman Archibald Grimké. Woodson wrote that he would cooperate as one of the twenty-five effective canvassers, adding that he would pay the office rent for one month. I am not afraid of being sued by white businessmen. In fact, I should welcome such a law suit. It would do the cause much good. Let us banish fear. We have been in this mental state for three centuries. I am a radical. Woodson devoted the rest of his life to historical research. He worked to preserve the history of African Americans and accumulated a collection of thousands of artifacts and publications.

The Mis-Education of the Negro: A Call for Critical Thinking

With his 1933 book, The Mis-Education of the Negro, Woodson argued that educational systems failed to teach Black children to ask difficult, critical questions. He “noted the prevailing ignorance and lack of information concerning black life and history” throughout school curriculums. Woodson scorned the education then available to most blacks, believing it taught only submission and self-loathing. “When you control a man’s thinking, you do not have to worry about his actions,” he wrote in The Mis-Education of the Negro, published in 1933. “You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his ‘proper place’; and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit.

Woodson criticized Christian churches for offering limited opportunity and requiring segregation. In 1933, he wrote in The Mis-Education of the Negro that “the ritualistic churches into which these Negroes have gone do not touch the masses, and they show no promising future for racial development.

Mentorship and Collaboration: Passing the Torch

Part of Woodson's legacy and impact was felt through his role as a mentor and associate. During Dr. Carter G. Woodson's lifetime, ASALH had five presidents. In 1936, Mary McLeod Bethune was elected president of the organization, filling the vacancy left open after the death of educator John Hope. Bethune not only was the first female president, she was also its longest serving, holding the position until 1952. He was a mentor to many up-and-coming historians and scholars such as Alrutheus A. Taylor, Charles H. Wesley, Luther Porter Jackson, Lorenzo Johnston Greene, Rayford W. Logan, Lawrence D. Reddick, and John Hope Franklin. The association's headquarters/Woodson's office-home served as a training center and these scholars in turn trained succeeding generations of African American historians that helped to legitimize Black History. Woodson and his organizations were so vital to the intersection of Black community and culture that his office-home was successfully designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

Black History Month: From a Week to a National Celebration

In the face of this miseducation, Woodson pioneered a “Negro History Week” in February 1926, to showcase the contributions of Black Americans. In 1970, The Black United Students at Kent State University then expanded Woodson’s concept from a week to the entirety of February. Black History Month sees yearly speeches, lectures, and exhibits in its honor. Over the years, people have tried new ways to educate Americans on the importance of Black history, including documentaries and art installations.

Negro History Week originally had been chosen to coincide with the February birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. But by the early 1970s the activities being squeezed into that week had grown too numerous to manage. It forces daily reflection on, for many educators, a radical question-what was the impact of your behavior and decisions on the academic outcomes of your students?

Woodson's Death and Enduring Impact

Woodson died suddenly from a heart attack in the office within his home in the Shaw, Washington, D.C., neighborhood on April 3, 1950, at the age of 74. The time that schools have set aside each year to focus on African-American history is Woodson's most visible legacy. His determination to further the recognition of the Black race in American and world history, however, inspired countless other scholars. Woodson remained focused on his work throughout his life. Many see him as a man of vision and understanding.

After Woodson’s death in 1950, he was widely lauded for his groundbreaking work in the field of Black history in the United States. memorials honoring Woodson’s legacy include the Carter G. Woodson Institute at the University of Virginia, founded in 1981; the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Park is between 9th Street, Q Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NW. His Washington, D.C. home has been preserved and designated the Carter G.

Woodson's Enduring Legacy: Beyond Black History Month

Woodson's other far-reaching activities included the founding in 1920 of The Associated Publishers in Washington, D.C. This enabled the publication of books concerning Black people that might not have been supported in the rest of the market. He created the Negro History Bulletin, developed for teachers in elementary and high school grades, and published continuously since 1937. Woodson also influenced the Association's direction and subsidizing of research in African-American history. He wrote numerous articles, monographs, and books on Black people.

His legacy extends to various institutions and initiatives, including:

Educational Institutions: The University opened the Carter G. Woodson middle school campus of the UChicago Charter School. Carter G. Woodson Elementary School was located in Oakland Park. Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Carter G. Dr. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Woodson Elementary in Crisfield. PS 23 Carter G. Woodson School in Brooklyn. PS 23 Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. The Carter G. C.G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Carter G. Woodson Junior High School was named for him. The Carter G. Woodson Jr. High School (renamed McKinley Jr. High School after integration in 1954) in St.
Commemorative Honors: postage stamp issued in February 1984, A statue of Carter G. A statue of Woodson at Carter G Woodson Memorial Park in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. A Carter G. Woodson Avenue (also known as 9th Avenue) in Huntington, West Virginia. Notably, Woodson's alma mater, Douglass High School is located between Carter G.

Implementing Woodson's Vision Today: A Call to Action

School leaders who take Black History Month and Woodson’s legacy seriously must adopt his assault on the barricades of Black academic progress within schools. School programming, from teacher effectiveness to leader preparation, must match the pageantry of the month for the entire school year if we want to give Black children the education needed for them to live a life of choice and meaning.

Accelerate the learning of Black students: The pandemic has disrupted the learning of all students. Given that the American educational landscape was riven with inequality on the basis of race before COVID-19, the crisis has only widened opportunity gaps. Honoring Black history and Woodson’s legacy means creating a school system where students have access to grade-level content and instruction in a way that accelerates their learning.
Implement culturally relevant curriculum: The work students do must be at grade level and provide opportunities for scaffolding. It also must teach the richness of Black history to keep them engaged. When choosing curricula for Black students, educators must consider how “story representation shapes not only the lives of young people today but whether they will want to pick up the next book, or the other media associated with it, tomorrow.” The learning materials we place in front of students must portray Black life as complex.
Recruit and retain Black teachers: The research is clear: Black teachers obtain higher educational and behavioral outcomes for all students. Yet recent reports show that they are leaving the profession in higher numbers. While we can attribute this partly to pandemic fatigue and the issues of teacher pay, they are also leaving due to school cultures that do not promote their well-being and development. In many ways, our public education system is creating the conditions that kept a talented Black educator like Woodson out.
Develop and support Black principals and instructional leaders: The work of accelerating Black students and supporting Black teachers to stay and thrive in the profession ultimately is the work of school leadership. In the same way that Woodson supported many future leaders as a dean at Howard University, systems must support the development of Black principals and instructional leaders. HBCUs provide a strong talent pool for recruitment. For development, these leaders will need coaching on equitable instructional practices such as learning acceleration. Districts and charter management organizations, most importantly, must make changes necessary to make the learning environment hospitable to their leadership. That means giving them real power, ongoing support, and the ability to make and learn from mistakes.

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