Statement on the Election of Donald Trump
BLM Grassroots Statement on the Execution of Marcellus Williams: A Modern-Day Lynching
Carter G. Woodson – Historian, Author, Journalist
Carter G. Woodson was born in 1875 in New Canton, Virginia, to formerly enslaved parents, where he grew up facing many systemic challenges, including limited access to education. Despite these obstacles, he graduated high school and received a BA in Literature from Berea College in Kentucky. After undergrad, Woodson worked as a teacher and principal before enrolling in grad school at the University of Chicago, where he earned a Ph.D. in history.
Woodson then worked at Harvard University, where he received a second Ph.D., and was the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Howard University. His experience and commitment to education are an important part of his legacy and demonstrate the value he placed on learning and knowledge.
Throughout his life, Woodson was committed to promoting and preserving Black history. He founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and created “Negro History Week,” which was the precursor to Black History Month. He once stated in discussing the week’s importance, “This crusade is much more important than the anti-lynching movement because there would be no lynching if it did not start in the schoolroom.” He believed sharing a more accurate understanding of the contributions and experiences of African Americans would be critical to creating a more just and equitable society.
One of Woodson’s most influential and cited books was “The Mis-Education of the Negro,” in which he argued that the United States education system is purposely flawed and systematically designed to provide African Americans (and others) with an incomplete and inaccurate understanding of their history and culture. Woodson believed this mis-education was one of the main obstacles to Black people achieving equality and justice.
As we watch white supremacists attack curriculum in an attempt to suppress the understanding of Black History, Carter G. Woodson remains positioned as a seminal figure in the study of Black culture and history whose work continues to be celebrated and remembered today.
Written by A.Dee Williams @adeewilliams
Recent Posts
Statement on the Execution of Marcellus Williams: A Modern-Day Lynching
BLM Grassroots Statement on the Execution of Marcellus Williams: A Modern-Day Lynching
Black Lives Matter Grassroots Supports Renewed Campus Protests to Demand an Arms Embargo and a Free Palestine as Fall Semester Begins
Black Lives Matter Grassroots Joins Springfield Activists and Attorney Ben Crump in Calling for Justice & Legislative Changes in the Name of Sonya Massey.
