On yesterday, Dec. 19, many people paused to pay homage to Dr. Carter G. Woodson on the anniversary of what would have been his 150th birthday, especially in Washington, D.C., where his home has been earmarked a National Historic Site by the National Park Service.
No one has worked harder to identify the many contributions Black Americans have made to American life, history and culture than Carter G. Woodson, the father of the study of Black history. Undoubtedly many Americans are familiar with Black History Month, which will celebrate its century mark next year; however, few people have much knowledge about the man behind this observance, that started in 1926 during the month of February as Negro History Week, receiving rave reviews from Black America.
Carter G. Woodson, whose parents were formerly enslaved, was born on Dec. 19, 1875 in Virginia. Not wanting to live the marginalized status assigned to the vast majority of Black Americans in the post-Reconstruction era, Woodson, like so many of his peers, sought every means possible to obtain an education, becoming the first Black of enslaved parentage to earn a doctorate degree in history from Harvard University in 1912.
Later, in 1915, on the 50th anniversary of the end of slavery, Dr. Woodson began a massive undertaking to study Black American life and history to help chronicle its impact on American life and history. Realizing this was time that Black Americans had become the most maligned group in the country, Woodson took on this mission with great passion and zeal.
Beginning in September 1915, Carter G. Woodson organized the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). For the next 35 years, from 1915 until his death in April 1950, Woodson coordinate the activities, including researching, writing, editing and publishing, of the Association, working to educate the nation and the world on Black American history and culture.
Using the scholarship of early Black historians and working to rescue Black American history from obscurity, Dr. Woodson inspired a new generation of Black historians, as he dedicated his life to the elevation of his people’s history, hoping to give it a creditable place in the annals of history. By celebrating the contributions and achievements made by Black Americans, Dr. Woodson wanted to use knowledge about the Black past, not only to instill pride in Black American heritage, but he also sought to inspire Blacks to strive for excellence. In the words of Woodson, “we are going back to that beautiful history and it is going to inspire us to greater achievements.”
Every December, Washington, D.C., celebrates Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s birthday with annual events, notably a big birthday party hosted by the National Park Service, featuring jazz, youth programs, lectures and other community gatherings.
As Americans of all stripes, we do owe Carter G. Woodson a great deal of gratitude for he is the man who is remembered for changing the way the nation viewed Black Americans.