- State: DC
- NPCA Region: Mid-Atlantic
- Est. Date: 2003
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Known as “the Father of Black History,” Carter G. Woodson was a scholar, author, educator and journalist who dedicated his life to documenting and promoting stories of the African American experience.
He earned his doctorate from Harvard University and went on to serve as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Howard University. As the nation’s first professionally trained historian of African descent, Woodson institutionalized the study of African American history, and from his home in the heart of Washington, D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood, he directed the operations of his organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, ran a publishing company, the Associated Publishers, and in 1926, started Negro History Week, which is now observed as Black History Month.
The historic site preserves the residence where Woodson spent the last 28 years of his life, as well as the original headquarters for the organization he founded, which continues today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
A Passion for Education
Carter G. Woodson rose from humble beginnings to become the second African American (after W.E.B. DuBois) to receive a PhD from Harvard University. Photo courtesy of ASALH.
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