Known as the “Father of Black History,” Carter G. Woodson dedicated his career to the field of African American history and lobbied extensively to establish Black History Month as a nationwide commemoration. He was the second Black American to receive a doctorate from Harvard, after W.E.B. Du Bois. Woodson wrote many historical works, including the influential 1933 book The Mis-Education of the Negro. He died in 1950, a quarter-century before President Gerald Ford recognized the first Black History Month.
Places named in honor of Woodson
California
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Los Angeles.
- Carter G. Woodson Public Charter School in Fresno.
Florida
- Carter G. Woodson Park, in Oakland Park.
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary School was located in Oakland Park. It was closed in 1965 when the Broward County Public Schools system was desegregated.
- Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg.
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Jacksonville.
- Dr. Carter G. Woodson PK–8 Leadership Academy in Tampa, Florida.
Georgia
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary in Atlanta.
Illinois
- Carter G. Woodson Regional Library in Chicago.
- Carter G. Woodson Middle School in Chicago.
- Carter G. Woodson Library of Malcolm X College in Chicago
Indiana
- Carter G. Woodson Library in Gary.
Kentucky
- Carter G. Woodson Academy in Lexington.
- Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education, Berea College, in Berea.
Louisiana
- Carter G. Woodson Middle School in New Orleans.
- Carter G. Woodson Liberal Arts Building at Grambling State University, built in 1915, in Grambling.
- Carter G. Woodson High School in Lawtell, Louisiana.
Maryland
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary in Crisfield.
Minnesota
- Woodson Institute for Student Excellence in Minneapolis.
New York
- PS 23 Carter G. Woodson School in Brooklyn. PS 23 Carter G. Woodson
- Carter G. Woodson Children’s Park in Brooklyn.
North Carolina
- Carter G. Woodson Charter School in Winston-Salem.
Texas
- Woodson K–8 School in Houston.
- Carter G. Woodson Park in Odessa
Virginia
- The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
- C.G. Woodson Road in his home town of New Canton.
- Carter G. Woodson Education Complex in Buckingham County, built in 2012.
- Carter G. Woodson Avenue at Virginia State University, Ettrick
- Carter G. Woodson High School, the new name of Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, to take effect at the 2024–2025 school year
- Carter G. Woodson Middle School in Hopewell, Virginia
Washington, D.C.
- Carter G. Woodson Junior High School was named for him. It currently hosts Friendship Collegiate Academy Public Charter School.
- The Carter G. Woodson Memorial Park is between 9th Street, Q Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NW. The park contains a cast bronze sculpture of the historian by Raymond Kaskey.
- The Carter G. Woodson Home, a National Historic Site, is located at 1538 9th St., NW, Washington, D.C.
West Virginia
- Carter G. Woodson Jr. High School (renamed McKinley Jr. High School after integration in 1954) in St. Albans, built in 1932.
- Carter G. Woodson Avenue (also known as 9th Avenue) in Huntington, West Virginia. Notably, Woodson’s alma mater, Douglass High School is located between Carter G. Woodson Avenue and 10th Avenue in the 1500 block.
- The Carter G. Woodson Memorial, also in Huntington, features a statue of the educator on Hal Greer Boulevard, facing the loca Carter Godwin Woodson (December 19, 1875 – April 3, 1950) was an American historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). He was one of the first scholars to study the history of the African diaspora, including African-American history. A founder of The Journal of Negro History in 1916, Woodson has been called the “father of black history.” In February 1926, he launched the celebration of “Negro History Week,” the precursor of Black History Month. Woodson was an important figure to the movement of Afrocentrism, due to his perspective of placing people of African descent at the center of the study of history and the human experience.
Born in Virginia, the son of former slaves, Woodson had to put off schooling while he worked in the coal mines of West Virginia. He graduated from Berea College, and became a teacher and school administrator. Earning graduate degrees at the University of Chicago, Woodson then became the second African American, after W. E. B. Du Bois, to obtain a PhD degree from Harvard University. Woodson is the only person whose parents were enslaved in the United States to obtain a PhD in history. Largely excluded from the uniformly-white academic history profession, Woodson realized the need to make the structures which support scholarship in black history, and black historians. He taught at historically black colleges, Howard University and West Virginia State University, but spent most of his career in Washington, D.C., managing the ASALH, public speaking, writing, and publishing.
Places named in honor of Woodson
California
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Los Angeles.
- Carter G. Woodson Public Charter School in Fresno.
Florida
- Carter G. Woodson Park, in Oakland Park.
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary School was located in Oakland Park. It was closed in 1965 when the Broward County Public Schools system was desegregated.
- Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg.
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Jacksonville.
- Dr. Carter G. Woodson PK–8 Leadership Academy in Tampa, Florida.
Georgia
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary in Atlanta.
Illinois
- Carter G. Woodson Regional Library in Chicago.
- Carter G. Woodson Middle School in Chicago.
- Carter G. Woodson Library of Malcolm X College in Chicago
Indiana
- Carter G. Woodson Library in Gary.
Kentucky
- Carter G. Woodson Academy in Lexington.
- Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education, Berea College, in Berea.[49]
Louisiana
- Carter G. Woodson Middle School in New Orleans.
- Carter G. Woodson Liberal Arts Building at Grambling State University, built in 1915, in Grambling.
- Carter G. Woodson High School in Lawtell, Louisiana.
Maryland
- Carter G. Woodson Elementary in Crisfield. Carter G
Minnesota
- Woodson Institute for Student Excellence in Minneapolis.
New York
- PS 23 Carter G. Woodson School in Brooklyn. PS 23 Carter G. Woodson
- Carter G. Woodson Children’s Park in Brooklyn.
North Carolina
- Carter G. Woodson Charter School in Winston-Salem.
Texas
- Woodson K–8 School in Houston.
- Carter G. Woodson Park in Odessa
Virginia
- The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.[51]
- C.G. Woodson Road in his home town of New Canton.
- Carter G. Woodson Education Complex in Buckingham County, built in 2012.
- Carter G. Woodson Avenue at Virginia State University, Ettrick
- Carter G. Woodson High School, the new name of Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, to take effect at the 2024–2025 school year[52]
- Carter G. Woodson Middle School in Hopewell, Virginia
Washington, D.C.
- Carter G. Woodson Junior High School was named for him. It currently hosts Friendship Collegiate Academy Public Charter School.
- The Carter G. Woodson Memorial Park is between 9th Street, Q Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NW. The park contains a cast bronze sculpture of the historian by Raymond Kaskey.
- The Carter G. Woodson Home, a National Historic Site, is located at 1538 9th St., NW, Washington, D.C.[54]
West Virginia
- Carter G. Woodson Jr. High School (renamed McKinley Jr. High School after integration in 1954) in St. Albans, built in 1932.
- Carter G. Woodson Avenue (also known as 9th Avenue) in Huntington, West Virginia. Notably, Woodson’s alma mater, Douglass High School is located between Carter G. Woodson Avenue and 10th Avenue in the 1500 block.
- The Carter G. Woodson Memorial, also in Huntington, features a statue of the educator on Hal Greer Boulevard, facing the location of the former Douglass High School.[
