Woodson was not the first Black American to earn a Ph. Du Bois —but he was the second, and he was also the first Black American descended from formerly enslaved people to earn a Ph. When Dr. Woodson graduated in , he embarked on making the history of Black Americans both visible and appreciated.
Contemporary historians at the time were White and had a very narrow scope in their historical narratives, their perspectives limited either intentionally or otherwise. Many historians regarded Black history as not worth telling, even nonexistent. In fact, one of Dr. Woodson's professors at Harvard—Edward Channing, a White man—asserted that "the negro had no history. There were also numerous historians who were neither avidly against nor allies to Black Americans, and they, too, were complicit in allowing Black stories to be left out of most narratives.
Even integrated institutions such as Berea were guilty of whitewashing history and preserving Black erasure. Indigenous erasure of the same magnitude was routinely taking place as well. Woodson often addressed this issue by explaining why it was in the White community's best interest to suppress Black voices, and how they accomplished this by telling history selectively.
In his own words:. Essentially, Dr. Woodson argued, historians had chosen to omit Black history from the equation in an effort to suppress them and force them to endure inferior status. Woodson knew this needed to change if Black Americans were to be able to achieve equality an ongoing fight still today. With four post-secondary degrees, he had seen how little scholarship was available on Black history, so he set out to correct this by writing about Black history himself.
Woodson's first book, published in , was on the history of Black American education titled "The Education of the Negro Prior to He explains that enslavers are responsible for preventing Black Americans from receiving proper education so as to more easily force them into subordination and that the perpetuation of this practice and erasure of Black history has benefited White people for centuries.
The only way to fight racism then, he argues, is to educate people about all that Black people have done for society so that this race is no longer regarded as lesser. When researching this topic, Dr. Woodson mentions in the preface that he was particularly inspired by the stories he had read and heard over the years about Black Americans who had suffered extreme oppression in the pre-Civil War era:.
Shortly after his first book came out, Dr. Woodson also took the important step of creating an organization to promote the study of Black American history and culture. Woodson had been selling his new book and conducting research. They were Alexander L. Stamps, and William B. This group of men—which included a teacher, sociologist, physician, graduate student, and secretary—envisioned an association that would support Black scholars in publishing their work and racial harmony by improving historical knowledge.
The association began an accompanying journal in that still exists today, The Journal of Negro History. In , Dr. From Howard, he went on to be the dean at West Virginia State, but he retired from teaching in and devoted himself entirely to scholarship. Woodson moved back to Washington, D. He also published several of his key works including "A Century of Negro Migration" , which details the migration of Black Americans from southern U. If Dr. Woodson had stopped there, he would still be remembered for helping to usher in the field of Black American history.
But he wanted to spread knowledge of Black history to students of all ages, and not just Black students. In , he had the idea of devoting a week to the celebration of achievements by Black Americans, achievements that were overlooked because they were not seen as valuable or important by many White Americans.
Woodson understood that this needed to be changed urgently, so he came up with the idea of "Negro History Week. By no accident, this week included the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
Black educators, with Woodson's encouragement, rapidly adopted the week-long study of Black American history. Soon, integrated schools followed suit, and eventually, Black History Month was made a national observance by President Gerald Ford in It was Dr.
James Woodson, a Civil War veteran who learned carpentry from his father, earned money laying foundations for homes. Carter said his father was illiterate and intelligent, and he bestowed guiding principles about life on him. The Bullard character studied his lessons before going out to play games, which he played well, and he was popular, went off to college, became class valedictorian and had great success in life.
Jones, on the other hand, did not study and played poorly; he was not well liked and was a failure. His school had a five-month term each year, but Woodson usually attended only on days of rain and snow, when he was not needed to work the farm. He was an excellent student when he showed up and often completed assignments early. With nothing else to do he became a cut-up in class, sometimes prompting whippings by school officials, then, another at home by his father.
In the family home, he heard Mrs. Woodson express dislike for George Washington because she and other slaves had seen his statue in Richmond when they were being auctioned and interpreted his hand gesture pointing south as support for Southern slavery.
Carter, nonetheless, praised the work of the first president, arguing he helped create a system of government that ultimately made emancipation possible. Life was not all somber, however, and Woodson did find humor amid hardships in Buckingham County, even on race relations.
Before joining the family, Carter said he and Robert completed jobs building the railroad from Thurmond to Loup Creek and working in the coalfields at Nuttallburg, in Fayette County, West Virginia. Carter said he had a six-year apprenticeship in the coal mines. Woodson graduates from the University of Chicago with a master's degree in European history. Woodson earns a doctorate from Harvard University. Woodson is the second African American, after W.
Woodson publishes the first issue of the Journal of Negro History , to give scholars, primarily African Americans and whites who write about black history, a vehicle in which to publish their research.
Woodson creates the Associated Publishers, which is dedicated to publishing books by African American authors. February Carter G. Woodson orchestrates the annual celebration of Negro History Week, held in connection with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
Woodson's most important works, is published. April 3, Carter G. Woodson dies in Washington, D. Woodson, is extended to a month, evolving into Black History Month. Conyers, James L. Carter G. Woodson: A Historical Reader. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. Goggin, Jacqueline Anne. During the s, he hired himself out as a farm and manual laborer, drove a garbage truck, worked in coalmines, and attended high school and college in Berea College , Kentucky —from which he earned a B.
In the early s, he taught black youth in West Virginia. In , he received an M. In , while teaching in Washington, D. On July 18, , he purchased a three-story, late-nineteenth century Italianate style row house in Washington D.
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