"Carter G. Woodson was born of former slaves, Annie and James Woodson, in 1875, at New Canton, Virginia. He suffered all the hardships of poverty while growing up. Only a five-month district school was available to him, and he was unable to attend it on a regular basis. He studied at home while working on the family's farm. Already he has established a lifetime habit--studying at home. In his early years he was mostly self-taught . He mastered all the fundamentals of common school subjects by the time he was seventeen, then went to Huntington , West Virginia, where he worked in the coal mines. He later entered Douglass High School and earned a teaching certificate in less than two years; pursued further education at Berea College in Kentucky , where he received a Litt. B. degree. He continued his education at the University of Chicago, where he was awarded the B.A. and the M.A. degrees. His travels in Europe and Asia and graduate studies at the Sorbonne in Paris enriched his cultural background and prepared him for graduate work at Harvard University, where he was awarded a Ph. D. in 1912. After Harvard he had an extensive career as an educator: principal of Douglass High School, teacher of languages and history in the high schools of Washington, D.C. , dean of the School of Liberal Arts, Howard University, and supervisor of schools in the Philippines. This varied experience made Carter G. Woodson see the need for a special time each year to call attention to his people's contribution to the history and culture of this country and the world. Thus Black History Week."
P. 166, "The Reclaiming of African History," by John Henrik Clarke AFRICAN CULTURE THE RHYTHMS OF UNITY (1990) by Molefe Kete Asante and Kariamu Welsh Asante
"Carter G. Woodson was born of former slaves, Annie and James Woodson, in 1875, at New Canton, Virginia. He suffered all the hardships of poverty while growing up. Only a five-month district school was available to him, and he was unable to attend it on a regular basis. He studied at home while working on the family's farm. Already he has established a lifetime habit--studying at home. In his early years he was mostly self-taught . He mastered all the fundamentals of common school subjects by the time he was seventeen, then went to Huntington , West Virginia, where he worked in the coal mines. He later entered Douglass High School and earned a teaching certificate in less than two years; pursued further education at Berea College in Kentucky , where he received a Litt. B. degree. He continued his education at the University of Chicago, where he was awarded the B.A. and the M.A. degrees. His travels in Europe and Asia and graduate studies at the Sorbonne in Paris enriched his cultural background and prepared him for graduate work at Harvard University, where he was awarded a Ph. D. in 1912. After Harvard he had an extensive career as an educator: principal of Douglass High School, teacher of languages and history in the high schools of Washington, D.C. , dean of the School of Liberal Arts, Howard University, and supervisor of schools in the Philippines. This varied experience made Carter G. Woodson see the need for a special time each year to call attention to his people's contribution to the history and culture of this country and the world. Thus Black History Week."
P. 166, "The Reclaiming of African History," by John Henrik Clarke AFRICAN CULTURE THE RHYTHMS OF UNITY (1990) by Molefe Kete Asante and Kariamu Welsh Asante