ST. LOUIS — Carter G. Woodson worked to make Black history part of the nation’s historical record through scholarship, publishing and school instruction. His 1926 Negro History Week became the foundation for today’s Black History Month.
Born in New Canton, Virginia, in 1875 to parents who had been enslaved, Woodson worked in West Virginia coalfields before continuing his formal education. He earned a doctorate in history from Harvard University in 1912.
In 1915, he co-founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Its work aimed to document and share Black Americans’ contributions to the country’s history and culture.
The Journal of Negro History followed in 1916. Woodson established Associated Publishers in 1921 and the Negro History Bulletin in 1937, creating additional outlets for researchers, writers and teachers.
He placed Negro History Week in February, linking the observance to the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The commemoration expanded to the full month of February in 1976, according to ASALH.
Woodson also trained and mentored younger scholars, helping build a community of historians who carried the work forward.
His former office-home in Washington, D.C., is preserved as a National Historic Site. The National Park Service interprets his legacy there, including the research and educational institutions that helped make Black history a continuing field of study.
Sources: National Park Service: Carter G. Woodson biography; ASALH: the association’s history; ASALH: origins of Black History Month
