Carter G. Woodson was a catalyst for change within and outside West Virginia. 


This story was originally published in the February 2025 issue of Wonderful West Virginia. To subscribe, visit wonderfulwv.com.

Written by Mason Jack


Carter Godwin Woodson, often called the Father of Black History, reshaped America’s understanding of its past and the role of African Americans in the American story. Woodson was a pioneering historian, educator, and advocate, and his dedication to documenting and celebrating Black history underscored the transformative power of education and the necessity of racial equity. 

Although Woodson was born in New Canton, Virginia, in 1875, it was in West Virginia that much of his intellectual foundation and lifelong mission were forged.

Early Life

Woodson was born into poverty as the son of formerly enslaved parents, James Henry Woodson and Anne Eliza Riddle. James Woodson was a Civil War veteran and a skilled carpenter who helped Collis P. Huntington construct the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Despite their poverty, the Woodson household was rich in values such as hard work, self-reliance, and integrity. Education was important to the family, and Carter Woodson often read aloud to his father, who was illiterate, from newspapers and books, turning their home into a shared space for literacy and learning.

The challenges of survival often defined Woodson’s early years. He recalled his mother staying up late to wash his only set of clothes on Saturday nights so he could attend Sunday school. Food was scarce, and he sometimes foraged in the woods for persimmons or ate “sour grass” in early spring. These struggles fortified Woodson’s resolve to pursue education as a pathway to a better life. He later wrote often of his upbringing, crediting it with instilling in him the principles of hard work and integrity and the importance of education.

Courtesy of West Virginia State Archives

Woodson’s early education took place in Virginia, but his pursuit of schooling intensified when his family settled in Huntington in 1890. Although he had to work to help support the family, he attended Douglass High School, an all-Black institution named for Frederick Douglass, when he could. As Burnis R. Morris, Carter G. Woodson Professor of Journalism at Marshall University, notes in his book Carter G. Woodson: History, the Black Press, and Public Relations (2017), “Although it did not hurt him scholastically, Woodson’s sporadic school attendance before (and during) his Douglass School years was not unique among African Americans living in the South before the early twentieth century, especially those residing in farming communities, where educational opportunities were limited.”

At 17, Woodson worked alongside his brother, Robert Woodson, as a coal miner and railroad builder in Fayette County while continuing his studies. During this time, he fell under the influence of Oliver Jones, a Civil War veteran and community leader who operated a tearoom frequented by Black miners. Jones stocked his tearoom with newspapers and books, inviting Woodson to read aloud to illiterate patrons. These sessions exposed Woodson to the political, economic, and social debates of the day, making him aware of omissions and distortions in mainstream accounts of African American history. It marked the beginning of his lifelong mission to correct historical narratives.

An Impact on Education

Woodson’s commitment to learning propelled him to extraordinary academic achievements. After graduating from Douglass High School, he worked as a teacher at a school in Winona, in Fayette County, and later as principal of Douglass High while continuing his education. He would earn degrees from Berea College in Kentucky and the University of Chicago and, ultimately, a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912—the second African American to earn a Ph.D. in history at Harvard, after W.E.B. Du Bois. Notably, he was also the first documented child of formerly enslaved parents to earn a doctorate in history at any U.S. institution.

Woodson was not content with just critiquing the historical canon. He envisioned a revolution in how African American history was studied and shared. In 1915, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, creating a platform for scholars to collaborate and disseminate research. The following year, he launched the Journal of Negro History, a groundbreaking scholarly periodical that the renamed Association for the Study of African American Life and History publishes still today as the quarterly Journal of African American History. One of Woodson’s most impactful initiatives came in 1926, when he established Negro History Week—later expanded into Black History Month. He selected February in order to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. This observance was a celebration of achievements and a reclamation of a narrative long overshadowed by omission and distortion.

In his seminal work, The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933), Woodson critiqued the American educational system for perpetuating an incomplete and biased version of history. He argued that the exclusion of African American contributions left Black students feeling inferior and disconnected from their heritage. History was not just a record of the past, in his thinking, but a tool to empower and inspire. 

Courtesy of West Virginia State Archives

Woodson remained deeply connected to West Virginia throughout his life, advocating for better educational opportunities for African Americans. In 1920, he began a two-year position as dean of West Virginia Collegiate Institute—known now as West Virginia State University—where he began researching the state’s black education. In a 1922 report, he criticized the segregated schools of West Virginia for their inequities, noting that Black students were often relegated to poorly funded institutions with inadequate resources. His writings laid the groundwork for future generations of educators and scholars.

It is tempting to view Woodson’s years in West Virginia as simply a prelude to his later accomplishments, but that misses the profound influence the state had on his life’s work. The coal mines, schools, and communities of Huntington shaped his belief that ordinary lives hold extraordinary significance. The stories he encountered in West Virginia became the foundation of his conviction that history could be a means of resistance and empowerment.

Woodson’s legacy continues to resonate in our state, where his contributions are commemorated through schools, cultural institutions, and historical markers. The Carter G. Woodson Memorial Foundation in Huntington works to preserve his memory and promote the study of African American history, ensuring that future generations understand the significance of his work. However, his most significant monument may be the annual celebration of Black History Month in February, which has been dedicated as such by every U.S. president since 1976 and continues to grow in scope and impact, a living testament to his enduring vision.