The Mis-Education of the Negro

African-American historian, author, journalist and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, one of the first scholars to study African-American history and has been referred to as the “father of black history.” His announcement of the celebration of “Negro History Week” in February 1926 has been cited as the precursor to Black History Month. First published serially in 1903, “The Mis-Education of the Negro” is Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s thesis regarding the education, or lack thereof, of African Americans in the early part of the 20th century. His principal assertion was that African Americans were not really being taught in American schools but rather that they were being culturally indoctrinated. Dr. Woodson was highly critical of this trend for as he writes “When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his ‘proper place’ and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.” Dr. Woodson’s book is a compelling argument regarding the need for better education in the African American community which is surprisingly still relevant today.

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