Carter G. Woodson was born in 1875. His parents had been enslaved and were illiterate, so his parents had few opportunities for employment. Like many poorer children growing up in central Virginia at the time, Woodson helped out on the family farm – which often meant skipping school – and eventually worked in the coal mines in West Virginia to supplement the family income.
In spite of these demands on his time, Woodson was an eager learner, self-directing most of his own learning. He first entered high school at the age of 20, but gained his diploma within two years and set out to become a teacher and school administrator. Eventually, he attended Berea College in Kentucky (holla). He earned another Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago. While there, he helped institute Negro History and Literature Week with his fraternity. He went on to become the second Black person to earn their Ph.D. from Harvard, after W.E.B. Du Bois.
Woodson realized quickly that the historical profession had no interest in Black history (especially after being barred from attending American Historical Association conferences – despite being a member.) He knew that if it was ever going to become a serious field of academic study, that someone would have to build the infrastructure to make it possible. So he did.
He co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 and started the Journal of Negro History the following year. Working within an without the historical institutional structure, Woodson helped pioneer the field of scholarly study of Black history. Woodson decided that history wasn’t just for historians, and so he engaged with people outside of the industry, including Black leaders, clergy, teachers, civic groups and more. This also allowed the ASNLH to connect with and train the next generation of Black historians.
It may surprise you to know that Woodson was no fan of the NAACP. He became affiliated with the organization while living in Washington, DC, but proposed that the NAACP institute boycotts against businesses that engaged in racial discrimination. (He also proposed a couple of other suggestions, such as having an office for people to “report whatever concerns the Black race may have” – which Woodson offered to pay for himself. He also proposed appointing canvassers to enlist new members and encourage current members to subscribe to The Crisis, the NAACP’s own magazine edited by W.E.B. Du Bois, which feels like an obvious oversight to me?)
The NAACP’s chairman at the time, Archibald Grimké (definitely click through for some amazing history AND facial hair), did not care for Woodson’s ideas, and told him so. Before ending his affiliation, Woodson responded:
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. I am ready to act, if I can find brave men to help me.
He retired from teaching in 1922 to focus full-time on the ASNLH (which is now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History). Woodson continued doing research and worked on several books that focused on the "neglected aspects of Negro life and history.” His books covered a wide range of topics, representing the complicated history of Black people in America. He was the first person to publish research on the free Black people who actually owned slaves themselves; while the idea may seem shocking, it also represents a level of wealth among some free Black people that many simply would not believe existed for the time period.
In 1926, he launched Negro History Week during the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The initiative focused on encouraging public schools to teach the history of Black Americans. While participation was limited in the first few years, it continued to grow in popularity, decade after decade. Woodson wrote:
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. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hatred and religious prejudice.
Black educators and students at Kent State University proposed Black History Month in 1970. President Gerald Ford recognized the celebration in 1976 as part of the country’s bicentennial, and every US president since has designated February as Black History Month. To this day, the ASALH sets the theme for Black History Month each year. For 2024, the focus is African Americans and the Arts.
Further reading:
Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education
ASALH: About Black History Month
Carter G. Woodson Home (temporarily closed for renovations)