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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Each year, myriad events and activities signal the |
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celebration of February as Black History Month, and commemorations |
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in 2015 coincide with the 140th anniversary of the birth year of |
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Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, the eminent African American historian |
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who, more than anyone, is responsible for this observance; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Virginia in 1875, Carter Woodson was the |
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eldest son of two former slaves, Anna Eliza and James Woodson; he |
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received little schooling as a child, spending most of his time |
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doing farm work to help support his family, and in his teens he |
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became a coal miner; when he at last entered high school at the age |
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of 20, he proved to be such a fine student that he finished in two |
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years; this gifted and determined young man went on to attend Berea |
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College and earn bachelor's and master's degrees from the |
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University of Chicago, and in 1912, he became the second African |
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American, after W. E. B. Du Bois, to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard |
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University; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Woodson dedicated his career as a scholar to the |
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study and dissemination of African American history, working to |
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ensure that it was taught in schools and universities; in 1915, he |
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helped to found the Association for the Study of Negro Life and |
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History (ASNLH), now known as the Association for the Study of |
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African American Life and History, and the following year he |
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launched the highly regarded Journal of Negro History, today The |
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Journal of African American History; he served as a dean at Howard |
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University and at the West Virginia Collegiate Institute, and he |
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published more than a dozen books, including his famous critique, |
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The Mis-Education of the Negro; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1926, Dr. Woodson and the ASNLH sponsored the |
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first Negro History Week, choosing the second week in February |
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because it encompassed the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and |
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Abraham Lincoln; Dr. Woodson's and the association's efforts |
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inspired schools and communities to sponsor local events, establish |
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history clubs, and host lectures and performances, and over the |
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following decades, mayors across the nation began issuing Negro |
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History Week proclamations each February; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1960s, the civil rights movement and a |
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growing acknowledgment of African American contributions to the |
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development of this country led many colleges to devote a full month |
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to the study and celebration of black history, and in 1976, |
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President Gerald R. Ford became the first president to recognize |
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February as Black History Month; every president since then has |
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followed suit, bringing to fruition Dr. Woodson's dream of making |
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African American history one of the foundational stories of |
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American history and culture; and |
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WHEREAS, By the time of his death in 1950, Dr. Carter G. |
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Woodson had created a body of scholarship that helped bring the |
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long-neglected history of African Americans into the full light of |
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day, and his role in the creation of Black History Month continues |
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to inspire Americans of all races and every generation; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate Black History Month 2015 and pay |
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tribute to the life and achievements of Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson. |