HAPPY 150TH BIRTHDAY DR. CARTER G. WOODSON, FATHER OF BLACK HISTORY AND CREATOR OF BLACK HISTORY WEEK IN 1926!!
Freedom Plaza, now a site on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program of the National Park Service, is home to the Freedom Suits Memorial, a place for reflection and contemplation about the more than 300 enslaved people who sued for their freedom in the St Louis Circuit Court. The first petition was filed in 1814, before Missouri was even a state. One can only wonder about the bravery of not only the petitioners but also the lawyers who represented the petitioners.
The story of the freedom suits – Black plaintiffs seeking justice in an all-white court
system – is an important part of American History. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, it is fitting that we recognize the Father of Black History, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson who was born 150 years ago on December 19, 1875, in New Canton, Buckingham County, Virginia; this was between Richmond VA and the West Virginia state line, near the James River.
Desiring to obtain an education, Woodson moved to West Virginia where, in 1895, he enrolled in the Douglass High School in Huntington, at twenty years of age. The school had just opened in 1891, named in honor of abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass, and served Black students from grades 1 through 12. Woodson earned his high school diploma in 1897, completing four years of coursework in only two. In 1903, he obtained a bachelor’s degree from Berea College, an integrated school in Kentucky. Woodson earned a master’s in European history from the University of Chicago in 1908 and a doctorate from Harvard University in 1912, becoming the second Black person – the first was iconic visionary, W.E.B DuBois – to be awarded a doctorate in history from Harvard. Moreover, he was the first – and the only – person in the United States born of enslaved parents who went on to receive a PhD in history.
Dr. Woodson was one of the founders of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) on September 9, 1915, in Chicago with the stated purpose “to treat the records scientifically and to publish the findings of the world” in order to avoid Black people suffering “the awful fate of becoming a negligible factor in the thought of the world” by documenting their significant contributions and heritage. In 1926, Dr. Woodson began the annual celebration of Negro History Week in February, the birthday month of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The week-long celebration eventually expanded to occupy the entire month of February, beginning in 1976.
There is a significant, academic Missouri connection for Dr. Woodson. He mentored and employed Lorenzo J. Greene, a key figure in the Black History Movement. Dr. Greene authored the seminal and historic, Missouri’s Black Heritage, regarded as a pioneering work on the African American experience in Missouri. He also was an esteemed Lincoln University professor for many years.
So, as we prepare to celebrate our Nation’s 250th birthday, we should also look forward to the Centennial Celebration of “Negro History Week” throughout the coming year. To honor Dr. Woodson, the Board of Directors of the Freedom Suits Memorial Foundation has voted unanimously to dedicate all its 2026 educational programs and events in his name.
Happy 150th Birthday, Dr. Carter G. Woodson!
Hon. Anne-Marie Clarke
Prof. Gregory S. Carr
Board Members
Freedom Suits Memorial Foundation
FREEDOM SUITS MEMORIAL FOUNDATION 