Carter Godwin Woodson, the American school teacher who created Black History Month, an annual celebration of the many outstanding contributions African Americans have made to our country. Photo credit: Public Domain

This February, educators all over the country are sharing Black History Month with their students. The observance is an annual celebration of the many important  contributions African Americans have made to American society. But did you know that Black History Month, itself, was the brainchild of a brilliant African American teacher?

Carter Godwin Woodson (1875-1950)  is credited with organizing and advocating annual Black History Month celebrations in American schools, starting in 1926. Certainly this is an admirable accomplishment in and of itself, but there is so much more to learn about this outstanding educator.

Did you know that, as a youngster, Carter was forced to work on the family farm rather than attend school? Nevertheless, he taught himself to read using the Bible and local newspapers. He didn’t finish high school until he was 20 years old. Did you know that he once worked as a coal miner in Fayette County, West Virginia, and then later went back there to teach school to the children of Black coal miners, serving as a personal role model for using education as a means to get out of the mines? And did you know that Carter taught school in the Philippines, and then became the supervisor of schools, which included duties as a trainer of teachers, there?

This Chalkboard Champion was one of the first to study African American history, to collect data, oral histories, and documents, and to publish his findings in a scholarly magazine he published, The Journal of Negro History. For these accomplishments, and many more, Carter Godwin Woodson has been called the “Father of Black History.”

To read more about this fascinating historical figure, check out the chapter I have written about him in my first book, Chalkboard Champions.