The Threat to Black History and Its Founding Father | Opinion

Black history is under attack, and that includes the story of Black History Month's founder himself.

Without historian and activist Carter G. Woodson's lifelong dedication to ensuring that we celebrate the contributions and positive impact of Black Americans, so much may have been lost. And it is far from certain there would be a month dedicated to Black history and accomplishments. Woodson, himself the descendant of slaves, was the driving force behind the cataloging and recording of the story of Black people, and in 1926, he was the primary figure responsible for Negro History Week.

Woodson lived for another 24 years after that, dying of a heart attack in 1950 in his Washington, DC, home and office. It was another 26 years after that before Black History Month was born. In 1976, President Gerald Ford called upon the public to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Most often, when we think of Black pioneers and civil rights advocates in February they are household names, regardless of your background: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Frederick Douglas, Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Adam Clayton Powell, and W.E.B Du Bois. But it's vital to remember the man who worked so hard to remember the totality of Black culture and history, and to transmit it down the generations, Woodson himself. I am fortunate to be a part of his family through my great-grandmother, Mary Riddle Nicholas.

Woodson was born in 1875 to illiterate parents, who had been slaves, in New Canton, Virginia. He worked on the farm from his earliest years before becoming a coal miner in West Virginia in an effort to provide more money for his family. But Woodson always wanted more. He understood the importance of a good education, though he often had to learn on his own. When he had saved up enough money to attend, he graduated from high school in less than two years. From there he obtained a bachelor's degree in literature from Berea College in Kentucky, and a master's degree from the University of Chicago. Eventually, he became the second Black American, (W.E.B. Du Bois was the first), to obtain a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Woodson was determined to preserve and tell stories that others felt had no place in American history. He founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, and started the scholarly Journal of Negro History, which is around to this day under the name Journal of African American History. He published more than 20 books on Black history.

The rowhouse Woodson purchased in Washington D.C. served as headquarters for the Association and the home for Associated Publishers, which focused on Black culture and history at a time when most other publishers refused to amplify Black voices. The house, which also served as his home, became a Mecca for Black scholars, historians, writers, and activists looking to tell their stories and receive guidance from Woodson. Langston Hughes, Lorenzo J. Greene, and Mary McLeod all walked through Woodson's doors.

But for all of Woodson's enormous successes, Black people and our history are still under attack nearly 100 years after that first week of celebration. So much of what Woodson and other civil rights pioneers accomplished is being undone. The Supreme Court's 2023 ruling to remove race as a consideration for college admission is having a detrimental effect. Without it, Black students will have less access and face unfair barriers to education. And over the past two years, school districts in Texas and Florida have banned books on Black history and other necessary topics as a way to limit discussions about race in the classroom. Even books written about Woodson himself have been banned, including "Carter Reads the Newspaper."

With today's efforts to erase Black history from the classroom, a famous quote by Woodson continues to play through my head: "Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history."

We must not let the hard work of those who came before us be whitewashed. We must do everything we can to preserve their experiences, teachings, and lessons so that we can apply them and continue to move Black history forward.

Brennan Nevada Johnson is the CEO and Founder of Brennan Nevada Inc. a PR and media partner to tech companies and startups.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.