Did You Know?

The Impact of Dr. Carter G. Woodson

Did you know that Dr. Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week in 1926 which is now widely celebrated as Black History Month? Negro History Week took place during the second week of February to commemorate the births of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who claimed February 14 as his birthday, and President Abraham Lincoln, who was born on February 12.

Historian Daryl Scott, Professor of U.S. History at Howard University, refutes this rumor, saying that “Black people gave us Black history month.” Specifically, he adds, “It was Woodson,” as in Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who established Negro History Week in 1926 to celebrate the contributions of African Americans to American life and history. Various Black communities throughout the U.S. already hosted Douglass Day and Lincoln Day celebrations to honor their work. “So when Woods comes along,” says Scott, “He takes those two unofficial celebration days and he says, ‘We’ll celebrate the week.’”

Three years later, Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), to provide Americans with information about how Black Americans had contributed to American history and culture. In 1976 the ASALH expanded the week-long celebration into a month-long celebration, and President Gerald R. Ford acknowledged it with a presidential proclamation.

Although Woodson never lived to see Black history week transition into a month long celebration for all those who paved the way, his contributions to the world will never be forgotten.

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