“Willing to Sacrifice” Carter G. Woodson, the Father of ...

"WILLING TO SACRIFICE"

CARTER G. WOODSON, THE FATHER OF BLACK HISTORY, AND THE CARTER G. WOODSON HOME

WOODSON HOME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY

PERO GAGLO DAGBOVIE

PR EPARED UNDER COOPER ATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior National Capital Region History Program

National Captal Parks--East April 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Epigraph

iii

Preface

v

Introduction

1

Chapter One:

Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) and

the Development of the Black Historical Enterprise

9

Chapter Two:

Woodson's Life in the Nation's Capital and the Woodson Home

41

Chapter Three:

"Because of his selfless dedication to the work of the Association":

Negro History Week, Woodson's "Mass Education Movement,"

and The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933)

77

Chapter Four:

Chipping Past Woodson's "forbidding exterior":

"The Father of Negro History" Remembered

99

Conclusion:

Reflections and Recommendations from the Principal Investigator;

Unpacking Woodson's Personality Traits and Character

145

Glossary

167

Bibliography

175

Appendices

Appendix A: Oral Histories

185

Appendix B: Woodson Chronology

227

Appendix C: Books by Carter G

243

Appendix D: Manuscript Collections

247

Appendix E: Photographs Related to Woodson

249

Appendix F: Annual Meetings

269

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One of the most inspiring and instructive stories in Black history is the story of how Carter G. Woodson, the Father of Black History, saved himself for the history he saved and transformed.

The skeletal facts of his personal struggle for light and of his rise from the coal mines of West Virginia to the summit of academic achievement are eloquent in and of themselves...

For in an extraordinary career spanning three crucial decades, the man and the history became one -- so much so that it is impossible to deal with the history of Black people without touching, at some point, the personal history of Carter G. Woodson, who taught the teachers, transformed the vision of the masses and became, almost despite himself, an institution, a cause, and a month. One could go further and say that the systematic and scientific study of Black history began with Woodson, who almost single-handedly created the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History) and the prestigious Journal of Negro History. Not content with these achievements, he ventured into the field of mass education, creating annual Black history celebrations.

What makes this so remarkable is that Woodson created these cultural monuments largely by his own efforts.

--Lerone Bennett Jr., "Still on the Case: Carter G. Woodson, Father of Black History"

(February 1999)

ii

P R E FAC E

The aim of this generation should be to collect the records of the Negro and treat them scientifically in order that the race may not become a negligible factor in the thought of the world.

--Carter G. Woodson, 1939

Do not wait until the last moment to prepare for Negro History Week. The time is nigh at hand. Secure the necessary literature at once and begin to plan immediately to demonstrate to the community what you and your coworkers have learned about the Negro during the year. For free literature write to C. G. Woodson, 1538 Ninth St., N.W., Washington, D.C.

--Carter G. Woodson, 1940

This Historic Resource Study is about Carter G. Woodson (1875?1950)--his life, work, contributions, and legacy--and the historical evolution and significance of the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, located at 1538 Ninth Street NW in Washington, D.C. From 1922 until 1950, this three-story Victorian-style row house served as the thriving headquarters for the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) and Associated Publishers, Inc., as well as Woodson's modest "office home." The nucleus of the early black history movement, the house represented a black historical, cultural, and intellectual hub for the vibrant Shaw neighborhood (dubbed "Black Broadway"). In a tribute to Woodson as "the father of black history," The Residence of the Phyllis Wheatley Y.W.C.A. (901 Rhode Island Avenue, Washington, D.C.), referred to him using a house metaphor: "We deeply appreciated having known Dr. Woodson, who was truly `The House by the Side of the Road.'" After earning a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University in 1912 during an era of widespread Jim Crow segregation, Woodson, his ASNLH co-workers, a diverse group of black scholar-activists, and other contributors to the early black history movement (spanning 1915 to 1950) promoted the study of African Americans' past and published a significant body of historical scholarship on Afro-diasporic and African American history. Woodson and his colleagues challenged racism in U.S. popular culture and the ivory towers of the American academies, laid the foundations for the rigorous scientific study of African American history, and, equally important, were committed to teaching and popularizing black history throughout black communities. Woodson's actions, and those of his co-workers, foreshadowed the motto of the National Council of Black Studies, "Academic Excellence, Social Responsibility." An extraordinary organizer and motivator with a herculean work ethic (an eighteen-hour workday seemed routine for him), Woodson was a quintessential educational reformer and innovator who used history as his vehicle for generating far-reaching social and cultural change.

The central figure in the early black history movement, Woodson was born to the former slaves James Henry and Eliza Riddle in New Canton (Buckington County), Virginia, on December 19, 1875. Though they were landowners and homeowners, the Woodson family was similar to many other poor landowning blacks and sharecroppers. As a child, Woodson grew up on his father ten- to twenty-acre farm, and, like many black youth who came of age

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