About ASALH

Established on September 9, 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, we are the Founders of Black History Month and carry forth the work of our founder, the Father of Black History.

We continue his legacy of speaking a fundamental truth to the world–that Africans and peoples of African descent are makers of history and coworkers in what W. E. B. Du Bois called, “The Kingdom of Culture.” ASALH’s mission is to create and disseminate knowledge about Black History, to be, in short, the nexus between the Ivory Tower and the global public. We labor in the service of Blacks and all humanity.

ASALH is the world’s oldest learned society devoted to the research, education, culture, and history of people of African descent. Dr. Carter G. Woodson is the recognized “Father” of Black history. From its inception, ASALH has remained the paramount organization dedicated to promoting scholarship involving the life and history of African Americans.

The vision of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History is to be the premier Black Heritage learned society with a strong network of national and international branches and partners whose diverse and inclusive membership will continue the Woodson legacy.

The mission of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH®) is to promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history and culture to the global community.

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH®) is head-quartered in Washington, D.C., 301 Rhode Island Ave, NW in Washington, DC. The Association operates as local, state, and international branches promoting greater knowledge of African American history through a program of education, research, and publishing.

1916-1917, George Cleveland Hall 1917-1920, Robert E. Park 1921-1930, John R. Hawkins 1931-1936, John Hope 1936-1951, Mary McLeod Bethune 1952-1964, Charles Harris Wesley 1965-1966, Lorenzo J. Greene 1966-1967, J. Reuben Sheeler 1968-1970, J. Rupert Picott 1971-1973, Andrew Brimmer 1974-1976, Edgar Toppin 1977-1980, Charles Walker Thomas 1981-1982, Earl E. Thorpe 1983-1984, Samuel L. Banks 1984-1985, Jeanette Cascone (acting) 1986-1988, William Harris 1989-1990, Andrew Brimmer 1991-1993, Robert Harris, Jr. 1993-1995, Janette Hoston Harris 1995-1997, Bettye J. Gardner 1997-1999, Edward Beasley 1999-2001, Samuel DuBois Cook, Sr. 2001-2003, Gloria Harper Dickinson 2004-2006, Sheila Y. Flemming 2007-2009, John E. Fleming 2010-2012, James B. Stewart 2013-2015, Daryl Michael Scott 2016-2021, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham Current, W. Marvin Dulaney

The ASALH Annual Conference is an occasion to explore the history and culture of people of African descent. Our conference brings together more than one thousand people, including educators, students, community builders, business professionals, and others who share an abiding interest in learning about the contribution of African Americans to this nation and the world.

For over a century, our conference has featured a rich program, which now includes scholarly sessions, professional workshops, plenaries, a Film Festival, and other presentations that analyze and illuminate a critical theme in the Black experience. Our 2021 virtual conference will offer attendees sessions featuring ASALH members who are prominent figures in Black cultural studies, as well as students from many disciplines.

Sessions will be on the theme and many aspects of Black life, history, and culture.

The theme for 2022 focuses on the importance of Black Health and Wellness. This theme acknowledges the legacy of not only Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of knowing (e.g., birthworkers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, herbalists, etc.) throughout the African Diaspora. The 2022 theme considers activities, rituals and initiatives that Black communities have done to be well.

In the still overhanging shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, Black people should and do use data and other information-sharing modalities to document, decry, and agitate against the interconnected, intersecting inequalities intentionally baked into systems and structures in the U.S. for no other reason than to curtail, circumscribe, and destroy Black well-being in all forms and Black lives. Moreover, Black communities must look to the past to provide the light for our future, by embracing the rituals, traditions and healing modalities of our ancestors. These ways of knowing require a decolonization of thought and practice.

• Discounted conference registration • FREE online posting of jobs and events • Ability to participate in the Authors’ Book Signing • Ability to present papers at the Annual Conference • Digital copies of the JAAH, BHB, and Fire!!! • One vote in the Executive Council Elections and more • ASALH branch members receive free print copies of the JAAH during the membership year

For more information on member benefits and to become a member, visit www.asalh.org/join and click on JOIN.

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (EIN: 53-0219640) is a tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) organization. Contributions to ASALH are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Bertis English, President Octavius Jackson, Vice President

Destiny Williams, Secretary

Steve Murray, Treasurer

Howard Robinson, Historian