COVER STORY
The Father of Black History
Carter Godwin Woodson ( 1875-1950 ), the son of enslaved parents , could not attend high school until he was a few months shy of his twentieth birthday in 1895 . He was forced to work hard labor for many years before enrollment at Douglass High School in Huntington , West Virginia , named after the famous abolitionist and most photographed American , Frederick Douglass . Soon after graduation in 1900 , Woodson was hired as principal at the school . His teaching career had begun and became his primary occupation until his sudden death in 1950 .
For a few years , Woodson studied at the Appalachian
Honoring Carter G . Woodson
postsecondary school , Berea College , and subsequently spent time in an educational endeavor in the Philippines . Eventually , he enrolled in the University of Chicago , where he received A . B . and A . M . degrees in 1908 . While there , he became a member of the historically Black fraternity , Omega Psi Phi . Woodson was fond of the work of William Edward Burghardt Du Bois , one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) and an arch opponent of Booker T . Washington ’ s accommodationist , or “ bootstrap ,” philosophy . With Du Bois as a hero , one who was the first African American to earn a doctoral degree ( in sociology ) from Harvard University , Woodson pursued doctoral studies there and earned a Ph . D . in history in 1912 . Woodson remains the only individual from enslaved parentage to be awarded the terminal degree from that esteemed academic institution . Despite his superlative academic achievement , Woodson experienced White racism in the educational profession . Because he was Black , he could scarcely find work in colleges or universities . Rejected by the lily white American Historical Association , he wanted to establish a place where African Americans could learn more about their history and could conduct research to teach all generations . With the help of philanthropic organizations and like-minded intellectual associates , Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in Chicago in September of 1915 . The mission of this organization , which still exists today ( see http :// www . asalh . org ), was to research , interpret , and disseminate information on Black life , history , and culture to the world . The following year , he started the academic Journal of Negro History . After working as a dean at West Virginia State University in the early 1920s , Woodson eventually found an academic home at the prestigious Howard University in Washington , D . C . -- ultimately serving as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences .
In 1926 , Woodson founded Negro History Week . His primary purpose for starting this period , much forgotten in recent times , was to compensate for the lack of attention given to Africa and the African Diaspora in school curricula . He wanted Blacks to learn about their heritage and discover how vital people of African descent have been for the advancement of the United States and the entire world . Even if he were not the founder of the weeklong celebration during the 1920s , Woodson would still have a significant place in
Black heritage , Carter G . Woodson on American stamp .
Courtesy Photo
2 THESOULTOWNMAGAZINE . com Celebrating 5 years in our communities . • FEBRUARY 2022