Carter G. Woodson
December 19, 1875–April 3, 1950
The 'Father of Black History' who created Negro History Week (now Black History Month) and dedicated his life to preserving and teaching African American history.
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Who Was Carter G. Woodson?
The 'Father of Black History' who created Negro History Week (now Black History Month) and dedicated his life to preserving and teaching African American history.
Carter Godwin Woodson was born on December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Virginia, to parents who had been enslaved. He was one of nine children. Too poor to attend school regularly, he worked in coal mines as a teenager. He didn't start high school until age 20 but completed it in under two years.
Woodson earned his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1912 - the second African American to do so after W.E.B. Du Bois. In 1915, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. In 1916, he launched the Journal of Negro History. In February 1926, he created Negro History Week - choosing the second week of February to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. He published 'The Mis-Education of the Negro' in 1933.
"Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history."- Carter G. Woodson, The Mis-Education of the Negro, 1933
Woodson died on April 3, 1950, at age 74. In 1976, Negro History Week was expanded to Black History Month by ASALH, and President Ford officially recognized it. Woodson's creation of Black History Month remains one of the most enduring cultural contributions in American education.
Key Events in Carter G. Woodson's Life
Did You Know?
Woodson didn't start high school until he was 20 years old!
He was the second African American to earn a PhD from Harvard.
He created Negro History Week in 1926, which became Black History Month in 1976.
He chose February because it contains Lincoln's and Douglass's birthdays.
He worked in coal mines as a teenager before pursuing education.
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Carter G. Woodson Complete Teaching Bundle
Lesson Plan
8-page comprehensive lesson plan with learning objectives, activities, and assessment. Differentiation included.
Student Workbook
12-section interactive workbook with reading passages, activities, quizzes, and a completion certificate.
Flashcard Set
40 cards across 6 categories: vocabulary, key facts, events, quotes, fun facts, and review challenges.
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