Black History Month 2008

Carter G. Woodson was the son of former slaves, but earned his Ph.D. degree from Harvard University in 1912—only the second black American to do so (W. E. B. DuBois was the first). This achievement was even more extraordinary since Woodson did not begin his formal education until he was 20 years old. Although his parents could neither read nor write, his father, he later wrote, insisted that "learning to accept insult, to compromise on principle, to mislead your fellow man, or to betray your people, is to lose your soul."

In 1915, Dr. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).  Under Woodson’s pioneering leadership, the Association created research and publication outlets for black scholars with the establishment of the Journal of Negro History (1916) and the Negro History Bulletin (1937).

Known as the "Father of Black History," Woodson pursued a lifelong dedication to the philosophy that blacks should know, understand, and appreciate their past in order to participate intelligently in and become productive citizens of American society. Woodson authored numerous scholarly books and magazine articles on the positive contributions of blacks to the development of America.

In 1926, Dr. Woodson initiated the celebration of Negro History Week, which corresponded with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.  In 1976, this celebration was expanded to include the entire month of February as Black History Month. 

In 1974 the National Council for the Social Studies established the Carter G. Woodson Book Awards for the “outstanding social studies books for young readers that treat topics related to ethnic minorities and race relations sensitively and accurately."

• The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861, 1919. LC2741 .W7.
• The Mis-education of the Negro, 1933. LC2801 .W6 1990.
• The History of the Negro Church, 1972. BR563.N4 W6 1972.
• A Century of Negro Migration, 1918. E185.9 .W89 1969.
• The Negro Professional Man and the Community, With Special Emphasis on the Physician and the Lawyer, 1934. E185.82 .W88.
• The Rural Negro, 1930. E185.86 .W896.
• Negro Orators and Their Orations, 1925. PS663.N4 W6.
• Free Negro Owners of Slaves in the United States in 1830, Together With Absentee Ownership of Slaves in the United States in 1830, E185 .W8873.

• The Negro Wage Earner, 1930. E185.8 .G79 1969.
• The Journal of Negro History, 1916-1982. E185 .J86.
• Negro History Bulletin, 1937-2001. E185.5 .N383.

• The Negro in Our History, 1931. E185 .W89 1962.
• The Story of the Negro Retold, 1959. E185 .W898 1959.

• The Negro as a Business Man, 1929.  E185.8 .H25 1969.

• The Early Black History Movement, Carter G. Woodson, and Lorenzo Johnston Green, 2007. E185.97.W65 D34 2007.

• Carter G. Woodson: The Man Who Put "Black" in American History, 2000. E175.5.W65 H37.

• Selling Black History for Carter G. Woodson: a Diary, 1930-1933, 1996. E185.97.W77 G735 1996.

• Carter G. Woodson : a Life in Black History, 1993. E175.5.W65 G64.

• Carter G. Woodson : a Bio-Bibliography, 1985. E185.97.W77.

“If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.”