Carter G. Woodson is the reason we have Black History Month and it’s time his name became mainstream. Woodson has been marked down in history as the father of Black history. It’s not that he created the chronicling of Black history, that has been happening through oral, artistic and physical record keeping for generations. However, Woodson started the popularization of telling Black history in formal academic settings. What had once been considered unimportant and mundane was now being introduced as a necessary part of the average American’s academic experience. 

Woodson was mostly self-taught, having to balance personal interest with helping his father make money in their home town of West Virginia. He was able to catch up on most subjects by 17, and entered high school at 20. When it comes to revolutions, a hunger for knowledge is important and he made sure to attend to it. He continued on as a teacher and eventually principal before moving on to get his bachelors in Literature from Berea College in Kentucky. He didn’t stop there, earning a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and became the 2nd Black person to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. 

Carter recognized the lack of attention Black history received among his peers and moved to change it. Empowered and funded by people, mainly philanthropists, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in Chicago in 1915. He aimed to scientifically study the “neglected aspects of Negro life and history”. This lead to a journal called The Journal of Negro History, later changed to The Journal of African American History in 2002. His dedication to his community and love for the culture reflected in his work. When you know the value of something you do have to force others to see it; you simply give it the reverence it deserves and it will honor you back. I know this to be true and so does Woodson, who in 1926 started “Negro History Week” in the 2nd week of February in recognition of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas’ birthdays. As time went on, it progressed into Black history month. 

Many people adopted the belief that February was dubbed Black History Month because it’s the shortest month, when in reality it was created with intention. The intention was to honor revolutionaries and lawmakers who, intentionally or not, with pure intentions or political ones, birthed a cultural revival. History might not have been kind to Black and African-Americans and it does not seem to be on the path towards righteousness. It has always been up to those who are the least privileged in society to pull it up from the dredges of itself. This, Carter G. Woodson knew, began with the conscious effort to value one’s self and the community that raised them. This Black History Month, I hope you move towards intentional kindness, intentional care and intentional community building, however it may look.