It’s already February this year. Yes! It’s time to celebrate Black History Month 2023. Do you know the man behind Black History Month? Carter G. Woodson, an American historian, took the initiative to implement the celebration of Black History Month every year.
February of every year is considered Black History Month which is celebrated to honor Black figures and their accomplishments throughout African-American history.
This article deals with everything that you want to know about Carter G. Woodson, the man behind this annual observance.
Carter G.Woodson – Early Life
Carter Godwin Woodson was the fourth of nine children born to enslaved parents on December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Virginia. Woodson, an African-American kid, had few possibilities for an education or a job as he grew up in central Virginia in the Reconstruction era in the late 19th century.
He and his family relocated to Huntington, West Virginia in search of a better life. He worked in the New River Gorge Coalfields to support the family.
Carter G. Woodson – Education
At age of 20, Woodson was finally able to start his education at Frederick Douglass High School in Huntington with the money he earned from mining. He completed his diploma in just two years because he was already proficient in fundamental reading, writing, and math.
After receiving his first college diploma from Berea College in 1903, Woodson continued his studies at the University of Chicago, where he obtained a Master’s and a second bachelor’s degree.
He graduated with a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University in 1912, becoming the second black American to receive such an honor.
Carter G. Woodson – Career
Woodson desired to have a career in academics. His desire encountered difficulties because his possibilities for employment were limited after he was unable to have his dissertation published. The doctoral dissertation of Woodson was titled The Disruption of Virginia.
He published a book The Education of the Negro as a part of his ongoing commitment to writing on black history. He was more interested in the study of black people and black history.
Carter G. Woodson – Founding Of ASNLH
Woodson founded the Association for the study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), in 1915 with the help of associates Dr. Hartgrave, and Alexander L. Jackson.
The group was established as a historical society focused on the study of black America to be ideologically and politically independent.
Within the ASNLH, there were three organizational tiers: branch members who paid dues, historians who were professionals, and a publication section. The Journal of Negro History was started by the association in 1916.
Woodson developed a view of black history that he wanted to be free of the intellectual bias of white people and to show black people as active actors in history. In addition, he encouraged people of all races to learn about the achievements made by black people. He wanted black history to be taught in schools.
Woodson worked hard for the organization. The group had faced certain financial issues, but Woodson prevented it by accepting a position as principal at a school in Washington.
Later, he became the dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Howard University in 1918. After two years, he left the position and became the dean at West Virginia Collegiate Institute.
In 1922, Woodson began working fully for the ASNLH. In 1926, Woodson and his group left an enduring impression on both the United States and the rest of the world.
He kicked off Negro History Week, a unique celebration of the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Booker T. Washington, and Frederick Douglass. Additionally, it would honor black people’s historical accomplishments.
The widely observed Black History Month was added to this event in 1976 with the initiative of Woodson.
Carter G. Woodson – Black History Month
Woodson dedicated his life to historical research. He acquired a collection of thousands of items and books while working to preserve the history of African Americans.
The Red Summer of 1919 was characterized by extreme racial violence, which resulted in the deaths of over a thousand, the majority of whom were Black. Carter made an effort to advance knowledge of Black History in the wake of the Red Summer’s widespread disappointment among Black Americans.
During this time the self-consciousness of Blacks was rising. In this setting, Other Black Americans saw Woodson as one of their most significant community leaders who uncovered their lost past.
Woodson established Negro History Week in 1926 to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Americans loved the idea of Niegro History Week and it was celebrated on the second week of February every year. They organized brunches, parades, speeches, lectures, poetry, reading, banquets, and exhibits.
This celebration of a week was expanded to include a complete month beginning on February 1, 1970, by Black professors and Black United Students at Kent State University. February has been declared Black History Month by every US president since 1976.
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Carter G. Woodson – Honors And Contributions
The National Association awarded Woodson the Spingarn Medal for the Advancement of Colored People in 1926.
To recognize the most outstanding social science books suitable for young readers that reflect ethnicity in the United States, the Carter G. The Woodson Book Awards was created in 1974. In 1984, the US Postal Service released a 20-cent stamp in Woodson’s honor.
Moving Back Barriers: The Legacy of Carter G. Woodson was a 1992 exhibit at the Library of Congress. Woodson had given the Library his 5,000 collections from previous centuries.
In 1995, a statue honoring Carter G. Woodson was unveiled in Huntington, West Virginia. Carter G. Woodson’s Home National Historic Site was established when his Washington, D.C., residence was protected.
He was included on the list of the 100 Greatest African Americans compiled by academic Molefi Kete Asante in 2002. A bronze statue of Woodson was erected in his honoring park in 2015.
Besides all these honors and tributes, many places in cities such as Florida, Washington, West Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, New York, Louisiana, Minnesota, Kentucky, Georgia, Illinois, and California were named after Carter G. Woodson.
Here are a few such places named after Woodson.
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary School, Los Angeles.
- Carter G. Woodson Park, Oakland.
- Carter G. Woodson Regional Library in Chicago.
- Carter G. Woodson Academy in Lexington.
- Carter G. Woodson Middle School in New Orleans.
- Woodson Institute of Student Excellence, Minneapolis
- Carter G. Woodson Children’s Park
- Carter G. Woodson Park, Odessa
- C.G Woodson Road, New Canton
- The Carter G. Woodson Memorial, Huntington.
Carter G. Woodson – Death
At the age of 74, Woodson passed away abruptly from a heart attack in his office at home in the Shaw area of Washington, D.C. He is buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Maryland.
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