Carter G. Woodson

Carter G. Woodson
December 19, 1875 – April 3, 1950

Why is there a Black History Month? One easy answer: Carter G. Woodson.

Once recognized as Negro Week in 1926, February became Black History Month, thanks to its creator, writer/historian Carter G. Woodson. Woodson is responsible for the annual celebration of black history in February since 1976. He started out encouraging schools and organizations to initiate programs where Black History was featured. It eventually spread from one week to the month that he envisioned.

 In one of his most recognized books,“ The Mis-Education of the Negro,” Woodson writes about the need for all blacks to take responsibility for educating themselves. He completed his PhD in history at Harvard University in 1912, only the second African American man to earn a Doctorate from Harvard after W.E.B. Du Bois.

Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 (later renamed the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History) and also the Journal of Negro History in 1916.

His efforts helped keep black history relevant in today’s world by publishing books, scholarly journals, and essays. These essays were his passion because his acute awareness of injustice allowed him to address the issues oppression and discrimination upfront through literature.