In the pantheon of historical figures in the Black Diaspora, in America the immense contributions of Dr. Carter G. Woodson still reverberate today. Woodson worked tirelessly as a renowned scholar, historian, sociologist, and freedom fighter to chronicle the rich history of Black people in America. Known as the “Father of Black History Month,” this distinguished moniker befits his enormous impact.

Born on December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Virginia, Carter Godwin Woodson was the fourth of nine children born to parents who had been enslaved. Growing up during Reconstruction, he worked in the coal mines after relocating to Huntington, West Virginia. When he was 20, Woodson saved enough money to begin matriculation at Frederick Douglass High School in Huntington, one of the few Black high schools.

After earning his diploma in two years, Woodson earned his first collegiate degree from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky in 1903 and obtained another Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree at the University of Chicago in 1908. 

The following year, he began teaching at Armstrong Manual Training School in Washington, D.C. He taught English, French, Spanish, and History. In 1912, he earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in History from Harvard University. Following W.E.B. Du Bois, he was the second Black American to graduate with a PhD from Harvard and the only person of enslaved parentage to earn a PhD in History from any institution in the United States.

Woodson is also the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the first scholarly journal dedicated to African-American history. He was one of the first scholars to study the history of the African diaspora and founded The Journal of Negro History in 1916.

In 1926, Woodson launched "Negro History Week," which was celebrated during the second week of February. The date was chosen to commemorate the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. This initiative eventually evolved into Black History Month. Black schools, churches, and organizations throughout the nation embraced Woodson’s initiative. The demand was so great that he and his colleagues had trouble developing course materials and other resources. 

Woodson's vision was to show the importance of Black history to the world.

“We should emphasize 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, hate, and religious prejudice,” Woodson argued. “There should be no indulgence in undue eulogy of the Negro. The case of the Negro is well taken care of when it is shown how he has far influenced the development of civilization.”

A prolific author of more than 20 books, Woodson wrote The Mis-Education of the Negro, African Myths and Folk Tales, The History of the Negro Church, and The Negro In Our History. In Mis-Education, he wrote, “When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. 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.”

Along with laying the groundwork for Black History Month, Woodson taught at historically Black universities, Howard University and West Virginia State University. While living in Washington, D.C., he oversaw ASALH and was an in-demand public speaker. 

In 1976, nearly four decades after Woodson’s death, President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in the United States.  The designation coincided with the nation's Bicentennial celebrations that year. In 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-244, which designated February 1986 as "National Black (Afro-American) History Month, marking the “beginning of the sixtieth annual public and private salute to Black History.” 

Nearly a century after creating “Negro History Week,” Woodson’s work is more relevant and radical than ever. With the ever-present reality of institutional racism taking shape, affirmative action being struck down, and DEI initiatives coming to an end on the federal level, Woodson’s clarion call for Black empowerment is essential in 2025 and beyond.

Dr. Jarvis R. Givens author of “Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching,” Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, spoke about the legacy of Woodson’s work.

“As an educator and institution-builder, Woodson popularized Black history and celebrated the contributions of Black people in American history, and as a scholar, his books indicted the American school system for the various forms of violence it inflicted upon Black people,” Givens explained. 

“Woodson came to learn that Black people carried important knowledge from their lived experiences that needed to be taken seriously and preserved.”