Dr. Carter G. Woodson[1] started it all in 1926. Born to former slaves, Carter worked in Kentucky coal mines as a young man, but he managed to work his way through college. He became a historian. It was his grand idea to improve upon the history books by adding the important stories that African-Americans had been contributing since Colonial Times. In 1926, he chose the second week of February for the “Negro History Week”. We’ve been celebrating in February ever since.

Two men critical in Black History were born in this week, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Lincoln has always been my hero for the obvious reasons. But when I learned about Frederick Douglass, he rose higher in my heart than all my other heroes. For, he taught himself to read at a time when that brought him the bloody lash. Then he taught as many as he could to read. Then he lived a long life of leadership that included service in the U.S. Congress!

Now, I have added Dr. Carter G. Woodson to my list of heroes—for his vision, for his action and for his superior lessons.

Image: Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), found online at BlackPast.org[2]

[1] See The History of Black History by Elissa Haney at: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmintro1.html

[2] See: http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/woodson-carter-g-1875-1950