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Black History
Who Is Dr. Carter G. Woodson?
Dr. Carter G. Woodson Dec. 19, 1875–April 3, 1950
“History shows us that it doesn’t matter who is in power or what revolu- tionary forces take over the government, those who have not learned to do for themselves and have to depend solely on others never obtain any more rights or privileges in the end than they had in the beginning.”
Dr. Carter G. Woodson
Carter G. Woodson was an African American writer and historian known as the 'Father of Black History.' He penned the influential book 'The Mis-Education of the Negro.'
Early Life
Carter Godwin Wood- son was born on December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Vir- ginia, to Anna Eliza Riddle Woodson and James Woodson, the son of former slaves. The fourth of seven children, Woodson worked as a sharecropper and a miner to help his family. two years.
Higher Education and Harvard History
After attending Berea Col- lege in Kentucky, Woodson worked for the U. S. govern- ment as an education superin- tendent in the Philippines. He undertook more travels before
returning stateside to continue his studies, earning his bache- lor's and master's degrees from the University of Chicago.
In addition to writing, Dr. Woodson held down several positions in academia. He served as principal of the Arm- strong Manual Training School in Washington, D.C., before becoming a dean at Howard University and the West Virginia Collegiate Insti- tute.
Dr. Woodson’s doctoral dissertation, “The Disrup- tion of Virginia,” was based on research he did at the Li- brary of Congress while teach- ing high school in Washington, D. C. He became the second Black, after W. E. B. Du Bois, to earn a Ph.D., from Harvard University.
After earning his Ph.D., he
continued to teach in public schools and later joined the faculty of Howard University as a professor, and served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
'Mis-Education of the Negro' and Other Books
Dr. Woodson wrote more than a dozen books over the course of his career, most notably “Mis-Education of the Negro” (1933). With its focus on the Western indoctri- nation system and African- American self empowerment, “Mis-Education of the Negro,”:has become re- quired reading at numerous colleges and universities.
Creating Black
History Month
Dr. Woodson lobbied schools and organizations to participate in a special pro- gram to encourage the study of
African American history, which began in February 1926 with Negro History Week. The program was later expanded and renamed Black History Month
Death and Legacy
Dr. Woodson's accom- plishments are also remem- bered through the University of Virginia's Carter G. Wood- son Institute for African Amer- ican and African Studies, and the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Dr. Woodson never mar- ried nor had children. He died suddenly of a heart attack at his Washington home; he had directed the association until his death. For thirty-five years he dedicated his life to the exploration and study of the African-American past. He was 74-years-old.
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