CARTER G. WOODSON + THE ORIGINS OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH [VIDEO]
Carter G. Woodson was born December 19, 1875 in New Canton, Va. One of the first African-Americans to receive a doctorate from Harvard, Woodson dedicated his career to the field of African-American history and lobbied extensively to establish Black History Month as a nationwide institution.
He’s best known for his 1933 book The Mis-Education of the Negro. In his book, Woodson describes the process of systematically depriving African-Americans of their knowledge of self. Dr. Woodson believed that miseducation was the root of the problems of the masses of the African-American community and that if the masses of the African-American community were given the correct knowledge and education from the beginning, they would not be in the situation that they find themselves in today. Dr. Woodson argues in his book that African-Americans often valorize European culture to the detriment of their own culture.
Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African Diaspora. Since 1976, it is celebrated annually in the United States. Black History Month actually started as Negro History week, February 12, 1926, by Woodson. The goal of Black History Week was to educate Blacks about their cultural and African background and instill in them a sense of pride in the original race. But Black History Month sparks an annual debate about the continued usefulness of a month dedicated to the history of the original race. Several journalists argue the advantages and disadvantages of emphasizing one month of the year to promote African-American History.
Does this month-long celebration still have relevance in 2014?