Dr. Carter G. Woodson: Honoring the Founder of Black History Month

The son of former slaves, James and Eliza Woodson, entered this world on December 19, 1875 in Buckingham County, Virginia. He excelled in the fundamentals of common school subjects by the age of seventeen. He supported himself by working in the coal mines of Kentucky and had to put off attending school for a while. At the age of twenty he began attending Douglass High School and in two years received his diploma. From then on he became a teacher in Fayette County and in 1900 became the principal at his former Douglass High.

Acquring a B.A in literature from Berea College in Kentucky he then became a school supervisor in the Phillipines for the next four years. In 1908 he attended the University of Chicago and received his M.A. Just four years later at Harvard University he received his Ph. D. Woodson then went on to publish numerous scholarly books including "The Education of the Negro prior to 1861"(1915) and "Century of Negro Migration" (1918). Among his journalistic accomplishments is the publication of the "Journal of Negro History" which was renamed in 2002 as "Journal of African-American History" and is published by Columbia University. He also initialized the publication of the Negro History Bulletin which is continuously been published since 1935. An original version of "Century of Negro Migration" by Carter G. Woodson is available in E-book form for free at http://www.gutenburg.org/files/10968/10968-8.txt.

Carter G. Woodson founded Black History Month in 1926. It was originally named Negro History Week but a longer period of time was required to celebrate everything about Black History and a week would not suffice. The main purpose of Black History Month is to recognize our communities achievements and remember what we've contributed to society and also bring those achievements to light and make others aware. His political acts placed him at the center of activity and he therefore came in contact with many other black intellectuals during the 1920's to 1940's. He corresponded with individuals such as W.E.B DuBois, John E. Bruce and Arturo Alfonso to name a few.

Woodson remained focused and set-in his ways throughout life therefore achieving more than he ever possibly dreamed of. He was put to rest on April 3, 1950 at Lincoln Memorial Cemetary in Suitland, Maryland. Now that I believe just confirms that his calling in life was fulfilled. We can thank him for all his struggles and pains to make sure we would always be celebrated and not forgotten.