- The most dangerous thing to a person or a race is if he/she is ignorant or does not realize that he/she has been cheated or enslaved.
DR. CARTER GOODWIN WOODSON
Carter
Goodwin Woodson (1875-1950) wrote: “If a race has no history, if it has
no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought
of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.” Woodson
saw the educational system of his generation as solely dedicated to the
glorification of Europeans and their achievements. Consequently, he
dedicated his entire life to informing the masses, both black and white,
about the magnificent history and “worthwhile traditions” of people of
African descent.
Dr.
Carter G. Woodson has been called the “Father of Negro History” because
of his pioneering efforts to systematically and continuously have the
accomplishments of Black people taught in our school systems. In 1915,
he organized the “Association for the Study of Negro Life and History”
and in 1916 started the “Journal of Negro History.” In 1926, he
initiated the observance of “Negro History Week” which was later
expanded to “Black History Month”. Dr. Woodson felt that any African
American only exposed to the white educational system without any
exposure to positive black achievements was “miss-educated and
completely useless to his race.”
The
founding of the “Association for the Study of Negro Life and History”
in 1915 was one of Woodson’s most important accomplishments. Centered
in Washington D.C., this association gathered as many books on black
history and achievements as possible and many of these books were later
used as textbooks in all grades of schools from elementary to the
university. Dr. Woodson also published voluminously to help fill the
initial textbook void. His most popular books include: “A Century of
Negro Education,” “History of the Negro Church,” “The Rural Negro,”
“Education of the Negro Prior to 1861,” “Miss-Education of the Negro,”
“African Backgrounds Outlined,” “African Heroes and Heroines,” and “The
Negro in Our History.” Dr. Woodson also collected vast quantities of
original documents by people of African descent, which might otherwise
have been lost.
Dr.
Woodson’s “Journal of Negro History” which soon became established as
one of the most scholarly and authoritative journals in America. The
journal received contributions from some of America’s foremost scholars,
both Black and White, with many of its articles widely quoted in the
leading educational centers of Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and
the United States. Woodson hoped that articles from his journal would
help black students develop a more self-respecting view of themselves.
J.A. Rogers says: “Woodson’s outspokenness at the manner in which
Negroes were being taught to despise themselves by their teachers
brought him several powerful enemies among leading Negro educators; but
undaunted, he attacked them fearlessly until they were forced to his
point of view.”
“Negro
History Week” was initiated in 1926 with Carter G. Woodson as the
principal founder. “Negro History Week” forced both Black and White
schools and colleges throughout the nation to gather and present
information on “Negro” history and achievements, which they had never
done before. Woodson once said at the annual meeting of the Georgia
Teachers’ and Educational Association: “I lament the teachers’ ignorance
of their rich heritage…Few of our college presidents could make more
than 10% on an examination in Negro history.”
Dr.
Woodson was extremely critical of the so-called “highly educated”; that
is, “the Negroes who have put on the finishing touches of our best
colleges.” He wrote: “The same educational process which inspires and
stimulates the oppressor with the thought that he is everything and has
accomplished everything worthwhile, depresses and crushes at the same
time the spark of genius in the Negro by making him feel that his race
does not amount to much and never will measure up to the standards of
other peoples. The Negro thus educated is a hopeless liability of the
race.” Woodson frequently told his audiences that it took him over 20
years to “get over” his Harvard education. He felt “modern education”
meant bringing a person’s mind under the control of his oppressor. He
wrote that once a black person’s mind is controlled, you won’t have to
tell him to go to the back door because he will already know his “proper
place.” He continued: “ In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut
one out for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.”
Dr.
Woodson had even less respect for the black professional class,
believing it to be more culturally backward and less race conscious than
the masses. In 1930, he analyzed 25,000 Black professionals including
doctors, dentists, and lawyers and concluded that they were more
interested in making money than contributing to the advancement of their
professions or to their race. He wrote that Black professionals were
less likely than their White counterparts to keep up with the
professional literature in their fields and that Black professional
associations tended to emphasize social rather than professional
advancement. Although Black professionals were dependent upon the Black
working class to earn a living, Woodson saw the Black professional as
“just as much class prejudice against the poor Negro as his White
professional counterpart” and the least socially responsible among all
Black people. Woodson viewed the Black physician as the worst. He
wrote that Black physicians, when attending meetings of the National
Medical Association were more interested in discussing the merits or
demerits of the latest Cadillac than discussing the proper treatment for
Tuberculosis or Typhoid Fever.” He said that most successful Black
physicians “frittered away much of their energy in quest of material
things like fine cars, fine homes, and a fine time.” Woodson once told a
group of professionals: “You spend millions yearly to straighten your
hair and bleach your skin and some of you go so far as to have your
noses lifted in the hope of looking like the White man. Well, monkeys
too have straight hair and thin lips.”
Dr.
Carter Goodwin Woodson was born on December 19, 1875 in New Canton,
Virginia to parents who were former slaves. Woodson was the eldest of
nine children and was forced to work in the coal mines of West Virginia
at an early age to help his parents make ends meet. This precluded his
attending school until he was twenty years old. However, his love of
knowledge was so great that despite the hard work he studied by himself
at night and was especially fond of Greek and Latin classics. When he
finally was able to go to school, he scored so high on the high school
entrance examination that he was given an advanced standing and thus
earned a diploma in only 18 months. Woodson then went on to obtain his
bachelor’s degree and master’s degree at the University of Chicago. He
completed studies for his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1912, and then
went to Sorbonne, Paris where he was one of the most brilliant students
in “French languages and literature” for that year. After teaching
several years in West Virginia, he went to the Philippines as a teacher
and five months later was promoted to “Supervisor of Education” where he
served for three years. He subsequently returned to the United States
to become dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Howard University and
later, dean of the West Virginia Collegiate Institute.
Carter
Goodwin Woodson would be proud to know that black history is now a
well-established, legitimate, and respected subject of study, and that
historians are finally acknowledging his pioneering contributions. Dr.
Woodson was tremendously effective in helping to improve the
self-respect of Black people and giving them a brighter, more optimistic
outlook. As he so eloquently said: “If you read the history of Africa,
the history of your ancestors - people of whom you should feel proud -
you will realize that they have a history that is worthwhile. They have
traditions that have value of which you can boast and upon which you
can base a claim for the right to share in the blessings of democracy.”
by Bishop G Mlalazi
