Carter G. Woodson: A Life in Black History

In preparing this detailed biography of Woodson, the first book-length treatment of his life, Jacqueline Goggin conducted extensive research in archival sources throughout the country. From a paucity of primary materials, she provides as complete a account as possible of Woodson's humble upbringing and early influences. She also describes his education at Berea College, the University of Chicago, and Harvard University, and his early career as a teacher in the public schools of Washington, D.C., an experience that deepened his belief in the uplifting power of education for blacks.

Publishers Weekly

This dry but thorough biography traces the life and career of Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), known to many as ``the father of Negro history.'' Goggin, a historian at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute of Harvard University, explores the influences of Woodson's virtuous ex-slave parents, his stints as a manual laborer and his studies at the University of Chicago and Harvard. Founding the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915, he taught the first black history courses at Howard University and later, in several scholarly projects, spurred consideration of blacks as participants in, not merely victims of, American history. He published both the scholarly Journal of Negro History and the popular Negro History Bulletin and became a political activist who eschewed party politics. Examining Woodson's simultaneous support of black nationalism and integration, and how he both celebrated and criticized black culture, Goggin lauds the breadth of his contributions while fairly assessing their limitations. Photos not seen by PW. (June)