100 Years and Counting

This February marks the 100th anniversary of the written and recorded history of African Americans. In truth, African American history was born much earlier—when ships carrying enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown in 1619. However, it wasn’t until 1926 that Dr. Carter G. Woodson formally initiated the first Negro History Week, held during the second week of February. He intentionally chose that week because it coincided with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

From those early beginnings, Negro History Week steadily gained support throughout the first half of the 20th century. Eventually, it expanded into what we now recognize as Black History Month—a time dedicated to celebrating culture through the arts and humanities, acknowledging achievements and accomplishments, charting new directions in education and politics, and embracing narratives that continue to shape the African American community.

Today, Black History Month is celebrated across the nation in countless ways—from school programs and church tributes to art exhibits and professional sports. Each observance invites a closer look at the profound history of a people who have been in this country for more than 400 years. Dr. Carter G. Woodson was, and still is, someone every American should know—or at least want to know. Not only was he a brilliant historian, but he was also a dedicated educator at both the public school and collegiate levels.

While establishing himself as a leading scholar of Black history, Dr. Woodson remained deeply committed to educating Black youth. He served as principal of Armstrong Manual Training School in Washington, DC (1918), Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Howard University (1919–1920), and later at West Virginia Collegiate Institute (1920–1922), now West Virginia State University—both historically Black institutions. In 1922, he retired from teaching to focus on the development of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH).

Dr. Woodson authored influential works such as The History of the Negro Church (1921), Negro Makers of History (1928), and African Heroes and Heroines (1939). He also founded The Negro History Bulletin—still published today as The Black History Bulletin—as a resource for educators and students alike. The growing popularity of Negro History Week would eventually lead to the establishment of Black History Month as a national observance.

Growing up, my parents were intentional about ensuring that my siblings and I knew our history through multiple formats and experiences. Our home was filled with Black literature by authors such as Richard Wright, Frederick Douglass, James Weldon Johnson, Lorraine Hansberry, Zora Neale Hurston, and Toni Morrison. The encyclopedias—large, heavy, black-and-white volumes—lined the shelves, documenting dates, events, and stories that mattered.

Magazines arrived regularly in the mail. Alongside my mother’s Redbook and Life were the ever-present Black Enterprise, Ebony, and later Ebony Jr. And the artwork on the walls of our dining and living rooms grounded us culturally, reminding us of who we were. This environment became my introduction to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. I remember seeing and hearing his name often during my elementary school years.

From second through fifth grade, worksheets featuring his image and paragraphs outlining his accomplishments were common. Black History programs during Negro History Week were a staple of my childhood. I often performed with classmates, scanning packed auditoriums until I spotted my mother in the crowd. My father usually stood in the back—ready to make a quick exit to get back to work. Almost every program began with an acknowledgment of Dr. Carter G. Woodson—and rightfully so.

As a young man and later as an educator, my connection to Dr. Woodson deepened through his book The Mis-Education of the Negro. Published in 1933, the book argued that Black students were being culturally indoctrinated rather than truly educated in American schools. How prophetic that idea feels here in 2026. Some in American society still long to return to that mindset—but it won’t come without a fight. We’ve come too far, even as we recognize how far we still have to go.

As an educator, Black History became a cornerstone of my instructional program, intensifying during Black History Month but extending from August through May. I felt compelled to do so. I knew that failing to teach my students their history would be a disservice—an act of neglect.

Each week, I introduced my students to a notable Black American, male or female. These one-page profiles included a photograph at the top and text below. As a class, we annotated the material—highlighting, circling, and starring important facts and figures. Questions on the back became home study assignments, and yes, there were weekly quizzes—often open-note. I had a heart as an educator. I wasn’t a complete ogre!

During Black History Month, I expanded the focus even further. I knew my students had already heard extensively about Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman, so I leaned into the nontraditional. We explored Historically Black Colleges and Universities, assigning each student an HBCU and having them create a Google Slides “college tour.” One year, we conducted an in-depth study of the Black Panther Party—an organization most of my students had never heard of.

Of course, we still examined inventors, educators, entrepreneurs, athletes, and entertainers. Thanks to Dr. Carter G. Woodson and the resources he created, I was able to give my students the richness, depth, and affirmation of Black American culture they deserved.

For that, I owe him a deep debt of gratitude. And truthfully, so do we all.

Selected Sources

“Carter G. Woodson.” NAACP. Accessed August 10, 2023.

Goggin, Jacqueline Anne. Carter G. Woodson: A Life in Black History. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1993.

Givens, Jarvis R. Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2021

Morris, Burnis R. “Carter G. Woodson: The Early Years, 1875–1903.” ASALH: The Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Accessed September 13, 2023.

Stevenson, Brenda E. “‘Out of the Mouths of Ex-Slaves’: Carter G. Woodson’s Journal of Negro History “Invents” the Study of Slavery.” The Journal of African American History 100, no. 4 (2015): 698–720.