Carter G. Woodson Began Negro History Week, Later Known As Black History Month 97 Years Ago

Screen Shot 2023 02 28 at 7.00.10 AM

Today, we will come to the end of what would be the 47th year of celebrating Black History Month. The historical celebration began in 1924 after Dr.Carter G. Woodson believed that African Americans were not being taught enough about the history and accomplishments of their ancestors.

Woodson turned to his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, to help him get the message of ‘Negro History Week’ out, spreading negro history and literature for a week in February of 1924. Out of all months in a year, Woodson chose February because of the birthdays of both Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

Schools and organizations across the nation took in Woodson’s initiative. However, Woodson had a hard time finding course materials and building a curriculum. This led Woodson to believe that a week of celebration was simply not enough to cut down the achievements of ancestors into. In the early 1940s, Woodson begins to make efforts to expand Negro History Week.

On April 3rd, 1950 Dr. Carter G. Woodson, died of a heart attack. With Black history still being prominent in the community, and civil rights and The Black Panthers coming to light in the 1960s, more people began to agree with the notion that Negro History Week should be expanded. On the 50th anniversary of the celebrated week, the Association for the Study of African American History would officially shift the week of celebration, to a month, giving February as we know today, Black History Month.

The post Carter G. Woodson Began Negro History Week, Later Known As Black History Month 97 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

97 Years of Tradition: Black History Month Started with Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week in 1926

web Carter G Woodson02 square

Today marks the start of the 46th year of celebrating Black History Month. This tradition originally began as “Negro History Week.” Dr. Carter G. Woodson felt that African Americans were not being educated enough about their ancestors’ achievements and history, so he started the historical celebration in 1926.

For assistance in spreading the word about “Negro History Week,” which took place in February 1926, Woodson went to his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi. Given that both Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass share a birthdate in February, Woodson decided for that month over all others in the calendar year.

The Woodson idea was adopted by institutions and groups all around the country. Woodson, however, had trouble locating course materials and creating a curriculum. Woodson came to the conclusion that a week of festivities was insufficient to adequately recognize the accomplishments of the past. Woodson starts to push for the expansion of Negro History Week in the early 1940s.

Dr. Woodson was born to former slaves James and Eliza Riddle Woodson in Dec. 1875. Early in his life, he worked on the family farm and in the Kentucky coal mines, beginning his education at 20 and graduating high school in less than two years. Woodson would earn a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s Degrees from the University of Chicago in 1908. He would later achieve his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912. He would go on to teach at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and the city’s branch of the NAACP. After a disagreement with their policies, Woodson moved on to found the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, which published The Journal of Negro History in 1916, leading to Negro History Week.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson passed away from a heart attack on April 3, 1950. More individuals started to support the idea that Black History Month should be extended as Black history continued to be important in the community, and issues like civil rights and The Black Panthers came to light in the 1960s. The Association for the Study of African American History decided to officially change the week-long celebration to a month on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the week in question, naming February Black History Month.

The post 97 Years of Tradition: Black History Month Started with Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week in 1926 appeared first on The Source.