FIRST NEGRO HISTORY WEEK

1926

Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week the February of 1926. Woodson chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of both Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. This week laid the foundation for what would become Black History Month.

As a historian (he earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1912), Woodson recognized the underrepresentation of African Americans in conversations and scholarship surrounding American history. In 1915, he founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). The organization began publishing the Journal of Negro History in 1916, later renamed and currently published as the Journal of African American History. Woodson dedicated his life to teaching and promoting the study of Black history, and the creation of Negro History Week served as a catalyst to advance that history and inspire others to continue his legacy.

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ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE AND HISTORY