This Day in History

Sept. 9, 1915: The Association for the Study of African American Life and History

Time Periods: 1910
Themes: African American, Democracy & Citizenship, Education, Racism & Racial Identity
Print
Carter G. Woodson | Zinn Education Project

Carter G. Woodson, ca 1940s, Scurlock Photographic Studio Records, National Museum of American History Archives. Source: Encyclopedia Virginia

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) was founded in Chicago, Illinois on Sept. 9, 1915 by Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland to promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history and culture to the global community.

ASALH founded “Negro History Week” in 1926, which was the same week as Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays. In 1976, ASALH transformed “Negro History Week” into Black History Month for the entire month of February. Carter G. Woodson was the son of people who had been enslaved and since his death has been referred to as the Father of Black History.

Dr. Woodson’s home in Washington, D.C. is an historic site of the National Park Service. It also serves as the headquarters for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Woodson’s home is open for visitors and guided tours.

Related Resources
Articles

Stripmining Black History Month

Article. By Jeff Biggers. If We Knew Our History Series.
Biggers asks us to remember the role of African Americans in shaping—and being shaped by—a region of the country that is too often forgotten.

Carter Reads the Newspaper book cover | The Zinn Education Project
Material

Carter Reads the Newspaper

Picture book. By Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by Don Tate. 2019. 36 pages.
This picture book chronicles the young life of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an Appalachian-born Harvard scholar and advocate for African American history. He founded Negro History Week in 1926 (which grew into Black History Month), the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), and the Journal of Negro History.

Books: Non-Fiction

Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching

Book — Non-fiction. By Jarvis R. Givens. 2021. 320 pages.
Details the long assault on Black education that occurred from the period of enslavement through the life of one of the founders of the Black studies tradition, Carter G. Woodson.

book cover showing portrait of Carter G. Woodson with colorful background.
Books: Non-Fiction

The Mis-Education of the Negro

Book — Non-fiction. By Carter G. Woodson, with an introduction by Jarvis Givens. 2023. 224 pages.
Originally released in 1933, The Mis-Education of the Negro continues to resonate today, raising questions about the legacy of slavery and enduring white supremacy.

Carter G. Woodson in his library.
This Day in History

Feb. 7, 1926: Carter G. Woodson Launched Negro History Week

Carter G. Woodson initiated the first celebration of Negro History Week which led to Black History Month.