The life of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a former Huntington resident known as the “Father of African American history,” will be reintroduced to the Huntington and Marshall University communities in a series of events beginning Friday, Feb. 5, which will be proclaimed “Dr. Carter G. Woodson Day” by Mayor Steve Williams.
Dr. Alan Gould, executive director of the John Deaver Drinko Academy at Marshall, and Burnis Morris, the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications at MU and a Drinko Fellow, have organized the special events that will honor Woodson.
“This is the 90th anniversary of Black History Month,” Gould said. “I’ve always wanted to do something to honor this remarkable man and what better time to do it than on the 90th anniversary of Black History Month – which Dr. Woodson began by creating Negro History Week beginning Feb. 7, 1926. It then grew to a month in the 1970s.”
Before he became one of the more recognizable African Americans of his day through his newspaper columns and frequent public appearances in support of black history, Woodson worked in the West Virginia coal mines, graduated from Douglass High School in Huntington and returned four years later as the school’s principal.
He became the second black person to earn a doctorate from Harvard University and the only offspring of former slaves anywhere to receive a Ph. D. in history. He launched the Modern Black History Movement when he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 and The Journal of Negro History in 1916.
Dr. Woodson’s former home/office in Washington, D.C., is now being restored by the National Park Service as a National Historic Site.
At 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5, Williams’ proclamation on Woodson will take place during a reception in the Drinko Library Atrium on Marshall’s Huntington campus. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin is planning to submit a statement in the Congressional Record honoring Woodson and is sending a representative to Marshall to present his remarks. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin also is preparing a proclamation for presentation by a member of his staff, and a member of U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins’ staff has been designated to attend the program and read Jenkins’ statement. Other local and state public officials also are expected to participate.
Here are some other key events planned in Woodson’s honor during February:
- 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7 – the annual Soul Food Feast, to be held in the John Marshall Dining Room, located on the second floor of the Memorial Student Center on the Huntington campus, will feature a tribute to Woodson.
- 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8 – Morris will present a lecture about Woodson’s early career, especially his ties to Huntington and West Virginia, in the Huntington City Council chambers.
- 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12 – “This place matters,” inspired by Woodson, uses technology to bring recognition to African American contributions in central Appalachia. Presentations will be by Dr. Monica Brooks, assistant vice president of information technology at Marshall, and Dr. David Trowbridge, associate professor of history, in the Morrow Library’s Hoffman Room on the Huntington campus.
- 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 18 – WMUL-FM 88.1, Marshall’s student-run public radio station, will broadcast two panel discussions on the official emancipation of 50 slaves in Cabell County and the only known return of their descendants to this area since the mid-19th century.
- 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, Bishop Samuel R. Moore will speak on “The Deceitfulness of Difference,” the inaugural John Deaver Drinko Academy’s Dr. Carter G. Woodson Lecture, Memorial Student Center’s Shawkey Room, Huntington campus.
- Cabell County Schools have produced a Black History Month curriculum, which honors Woodson and African American achievements. The lesson development plan, developed through a collaboration involving Vickie Linville, Rhonda O’Neal and Alexandria McCloud, will be made available to teachers for use in their classrooms in February.
Throughout February, the Drinko Library Atrium will display photographs from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History’s exhibit of African Americans who made major contributions to the state’s history. Other events planned include a presentation by David Harris, who is coordinating a historical interpretation of Woodson. Two documentary films also are being scheduled for presentation/discussion.
The project is being supported by Mayor Williams; the City of Huntington; Cabell County Schools; the Cabell County Public Library; the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Foundation; the office of Intercultural Affairs, the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications, the College of Arts and Media and University Libraries at Marshall; the Black Ministerial Association; and the NAACP.
For a complete list of events and schedule updates, please visit the John Deaver Drinko Academy’s special Carter G. Woodson project page at www.marshall.edu/drinko/woodson/.
