The father of Black History is from Central Virginia
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BUCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- February is Black History Month -- but where did the concept come from? The answer is right here in Central Virginia.
Carter G. Woodson, who Encylopedia Virginia describes as the "Father of Black History," was born on Dec. 19, 1875 in Buckingham County. His parents, Anne Woodson of Buckingham and James Woodson of Fluvanna County, had both been enslaved.
He spent much of his youth in Virginia, then left for West Virginia in 1892 to find better-paying work, per Encyclopedia Virginia. Within the next several years, he earned both his high school diploma and a Bachelor's degree. By 1912, he became the first child of enslaved parents -- as well as the second Black person in general -- to earn a doctorate from Harvard University.
Despite his incredible academic achievements and accolades, per the NAACP, Woodson encountered resistance when he attempted to work alongside other historians. For example, he was kept from attending conferences of the American Historical Association -- even though he was a member who paid his respective dues.
Carter G. Woodson, originally of Buckingham County, Virginia. Known as the "Father of Black History." (Photo: National Park Service)
Carter G. Woodson, originally of Buckingham County, Virginia. Known as the "Father of Black History." (Photo: National Park Service)
"Woodson believed that the white-dominated historical profession had little interest in Black history," the NAACP said. "He saw African-American contributions 'overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them.' For Black scholars to study and preserve Black history, Woodson realized he would have to create a separate institutional structure."
In 1915, Woodson proceeded to do just that: he launched the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, founded in Washington, D.C. -- where he lived and worked at the time, according to Encyclopedia Virginia. He also established the Journal of Negro History that year, meant to showcase Black scholars' research.
The first issue hit the presses in Jan. 1916 and it continues to be published today, per the NAACP -- though it is now called the Journal of African American History.
Also in 1915, Woodson published his first book, "The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861." According to the Encyclopedia Virginia, this book was reviewed in the New York Times alongside a book by R. W. Shufeldt titled "America's Greatest Problem: The Negro."
Materials in the packing and shipping room at Carter G. Woodson's home-office. (Photo: National Park Service)
Shufeldt, an anthropologist whose specialty was birds rather than people, wrote that Blacks had not written "a single line of literature worth the printing." Woodson, by contrast, argued that Blacks had not only created incredible academic works, but they'd done so in the face of incredible adversity.
"In [the] context [of Shufeldt's words], Woodson’s arguments — that African Americans had, indeed, made important contributions but only by overcoming hundreds of years of forced illiteracy — came as a shock to many people," Encyclopedia Virginia said.
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Woodson continued to share Black academic achievements both in print and by traveling across America, according to Encyclopedia Virginia. He gave lectures, spoke with schoolteachers and boards of education and, all the while, continued to hold meetings of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.
He also went on to create the Associated Publishers in 1921, which -- like the Journal of Negro History -- showcased Black works, though this time, it was focused on Black book authors.
Pages from an Associated Publishers piece written by Carter G. Woodson, "Negro Makers of History." (Photos: Library of Congress)
Pages from an Associated Publishers piece written by Carter G. Woodson, "Negro Makers of History." (Photos: Library of Congress)
Pages from an Associated Publishers piece written by Carter G. Woodson, "Negro Makers of History." (Photos: Library of Congress)
Pages from an Associated Publishers piece written by Carter G. Woodson, "Negro Makers of History." (Photos: Library of Congress)
Pages from an Associated Publishers piece written by Carter G. Woodson, "Negro Makers of History." (Photos: Library of Congress)
Pages from an Associated Publishers piece written by Carter G. Woodson, "Negro Makers of History." (Photos: Library of Congress)
Pages from an Associated Publishers piece written by Carter G. Woodson, "Negro Makers of History." (Photos: Library of Congress)
A few years later, in 1926, Woodson announced the launch of Negro History Week. According to the NAACP, it was celebrated in the second week of February to align with the birthdays of both former president Abraham Lincoln and Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
In 1976 -- almost three decades after his death in 1950 -- Negro History Week was expanded into the Black History Month we know today.
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Woodson's contributions continue to be recognized both nationally and in the state of Virginia.
"His legacy lives on every February when schools across the nation study Black American history, empowering Black Americans and educating others on the achievements of Black Americans," the NAACP said.
As previously said, Woodson's journal continues to be published. While it did struggle to survive his death, per Encyclopedia Virginia, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History -- though now renamed Association for the Study of African American Life and History -- still exists.
A statue of Carter G. Woodson, the "Father of Black History," in Washington. D.C. at the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Park. (Photo: National Park Service)
Locally, at the University of Virginia, a school of study was renamed after him: The Carter G. Woodson Institute for Afro-American and African Studies.
However, Encylopedia Virginia noted that not all of Woodson's hopes for Black Americans have yet become a reality.
"Although African American history and African American scholars are now widely respected in academic circles, the economic plight of ordinary African American people remains problematic," Encylopedia Virginia said. "Woodson had hoped that widespread knowledge and appreciation for history would help to alleviate both racial and economic discrimination and dedicated his efforts toward that cause."
Encyclopedia Virginia is a Virginia Humanities program, made in partnership with the University of Virginia, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Virginia.
