Carter G. Woodson, Research Paper Example

Introduction   

Carter G. Woodson is often referred to as a father of black history. He was an African-American historian, author and journalist. This man is also known as a founder of the Association for the study of African American Life and History and the person who came up with the idea of the Black History Week. Woodson was a great man, who tried to live his life sticking to clear purposes: reveal the Afro-American nation’s history to the black people and prove the rest of the world that these people have greatly contributed the development of the United States and the rest of the world.

Early Years

Woodson was born on a small farm in 1875 in New Canton, Virginia, to an ex-slave family. He had eight brothers and sisters and they lived rather poor. His father, James Woodson fought with the Union troops during the Civil War. Eliza Riddle Woodson, Carter’s mother, secretly learned reading while being a slave and taught her children[1]. It is very likely that the future historian got his thirst for knowledge and deep respect towards the African people in the very early childhood.

Because of the tough financial condition of the family, Woodson could not attend the school regularly, as his help at the form was frequently required. The boy, however, demonstrated true whit and great willingness to study. He tried to read whenever and whatever possible, learned to write very soon and pursued with studying math, literature and history. Carter J. realized the great importance of education for the further life never skipped a chance to learn something new. Gradually, by the age of seventeen Woodson managed to grasp the knowledge of the basic school subjects. The facts of his struggle for knowledge can be presented as follows:

• At seventeen Woodson was a coal miner, earning and saving money for the future education at the high school.
• At nineteen, after mastering arithmetic all by himself, Carter finally started his official education at the high school. The young black man managed to master the four-year long curriculum in just two years.
• At the age of 22 the future founder of the black history was learning the peculiarities of Latin and English languages between trips down into the mine[2]. It is usually considered that Woodson’s wish to learn the undocumented facts from the African American history. The coalminers, mostly black loved to talk about the things they have seen and experienced, which were not likely to be preserved in time.

Education

In 1900 he started teaching at school and was soon chosen its principal. He then earned a bachelor degree from Berea College, Kentucky in 1903. He then spent time travelling and teaching in Philippines, Asia, Europe and Africa. While travelling, he continued his education, earning a second bachelor degree in history, and M.A. through correspondence from the Chicago University by correspondence[3].

In 1912 Carter G. Woodson was awarded a PhD from the Harvard University. He stayed at Washington DC for several years, where he taught at school. All the free time was spent in the Library of Congress, where Woodson was working at his dissertation. He became the only person of slave parentage to earn a history degree from Harvard and the second black person to get PhD degree from the Harvard University[4].

Studying African-American History

Carter G. Woodson dedicated all of his life to the through study of the history of the black people. His first publication was entirely based on his dissertation and saw light in 1915. Many more literary works followed. Woodson was incredibly productive and published over thirty books in his lifetime, including hundreds of journal and articles and book reviews. Woodson was one of the most important scholars for the proto Black Studies Movement[5].

His works are definitively deep and well-written, but his printed legacy is still not the most important factor. What really matters is that that he managed to democratize history, made it accessible and understandable for a broad range of people. “His mission and ability were to transform black history into a practical and popular medium for uplifting blacks and challenging racial prejudice”[6].

Woodson’s most significant works are:

• The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861 (1915)
• A Century of Negro Migration (1918)
• The History of the Negro Church (1921)
• Negro Orators and Their Orations (1925)
• Negro Makers of History (1928)
• African Myths, Together With Proverbs (1928)
• The Rural Negro (1930)
• The African Background Outlined: Or, Handbook for the Study of the Negro (1936)
• African Heroes and Heroines (1939)

Social Activities and Initiatives 

Apart from written legacy, Woodson has left other significant traces in the US history. He founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, which main mission was to encompass the collection of historical and sociological data about the black people. This association remained as the nationally recognized center for the study and promotion of the black culture throughout the entire Woodson’s life.

Carter G. Woodson also founded the Journal of Negro History – the first truly scientific journal entirely dedicated to the history of the black people. He himself published over 150 articles and literature reviews for the journal. Due to Woodson’s commitment and strong will not a single issue was missed in the times of the great depression and two World Wars. In fact, the journal is still published and remains an important part of the American scientific press.

Another vital legacy of Carter G. Woodson includes the celebration of the Black History Month. Initially, it was just a week in February aimed to go deeper into the Afro-American history and have extra time to study it. Today it has evolved into a black history month, during which a great number of schools and university focus on the history of the black people. February is symbolic, as Abraham Lincoln was born in this month.

Conclusion

The role of Carter G. Woodson is definitely huge. He was the first one to address the issue that has been ignored for decades. Virtually any finding in the black history is somehow related to this man. His great mind and strong spirit helped to fight discrimination and segregation and gave Afro-American people a great gift: identity. Woodson stood for what he was right and succeeded in changing the society for the better at least in some way.

Works Cited

McElrath, J. “Carter J. Woodson”. Accessed April 30, 2009 at: http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/cartergwoodson/p/bio_woodson_c.htm

Dagbovie, P.G. “Making Black History Practical and Popular: Carter G. Woodson, the Proto Black Studies Movement, and the Struggle for Black Liberation”. The Western  Journal of  Black Studies. Vol. 28, 2004. Accessed April 30, 2009 at:       http://www.questia.com/read/5009564608

Bennet, L .Jr. “Still on the Case Carter. G. Woodson: Father of Black History”. Ebony.  Vol. 54, February 1999. Accessed April 30, 2009 from: http://www.questia.com/read/5001231428?title=Still%20on%20the%20Case%20Cart   er%20G.%20Woodson%3a%20Father%20of%20Black%20History

[1] McElrath, J. “Carter J. Woodson”

[2] Bennet, L .Jr. “Still on the Case Carter. G. Woodson: Father of Black History”

[3] McElrath, J. “Carter J. Woodson”

[4] Dagbovie, P.G. “Making Black History Practical and Popular: Carter G. Woodson, the Proto Black Studies Movement, and the Struggle for Black Liberation”

[5] Dagbovie, P.G. “Making Black History Practical and Popular: Carter G. Woodson, the Proto Black Studies Movement, and the Struggle for Black Liberation”

[6] Dagbovie, P.G. “Making Black History Practical and Popular: Carter G. Woodson, the Proto Black Studies Movement, and the Struggle for Black Liberation”