, "father of African-American history" and founder of the
Journal The Journal of African American History (formally
The Journal of Negro History) was one of the first scholarly journals to cover African-American history. It was founded in January 1916 by Carter G. Woodson, an African-American historian and journalist. The journal was and is a publication of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, an organization founded by Woodson. The journal was the dominant scholarly source for the study of African American history at the time of its inception, because there were no other such texts. The journal gave black scholars the chance to publish articles examining African-American history and culture while also documenting the current black experience in the United States. While the journal mainly published the work of black authors and encouraged their academic success, it was also an outlet for white scholars who had different views than their counterparts. Woodson's efforts to cover African-American history at a time when it was unacknowledged has led him to receive the nickname "Father of African American History".
Carter G. Woodson Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950) was a professor and historian at
Howard University. He was among the first black scholars, with other notable figures such as
W. E. B. Du Bois, to receive a doctoral degree. He was a pioneer in the field of black history and African-American studies. After getting his Ph.D. in history from
Harvard University, he joined the faculty at Howard University. At the start of his career, black history was not recognized as separate field of study. Woodson was one of the first black scholars to identify this need and do something about it. "He didn't just see a need, he moved to fill the need", said Carol Adams, CEO of the
Chicago Museum of African American History. "It wasn't easy to get your work published if you were an African-American scholar, for example, so he started a journal and then a press."
Woodson and the journal's impact on Black History Month In 1915, Woodson co-founded the
Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). Just as the name of the
Journal of Negro History was changed to the
Journal of African American History, ASNLH's name was later changed to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Along with Woodson himself, this non-profit organization, founded in Chicago and based in Washington, D.C., was responsible for the creation of African American History Week in 1926 to bring attention to the importance of black history. The week that was chosen coincided with the birthdays of
Frederick Douglass and
Abraham Lincoln. African American History Week built upon the work of
The Journal of Negro History in highlighting the need to examine black history and celebrate African-American culture.
The journal and women of color The Journal of African American History played a vital role for women of color in the 1900s. Before it was commonplace for women to be openly welcomed in the world of academia, the
Journal of African American History (still known then as
The Journal of Negro History) provided women of color with an outlet to publish their work without the ridicule of others. The first black female historians paved their way using the
Journal of Negro History. Female authors contributed nine percent of the articles published in
The Journal of Negro History, compared to an average of only three percent in other notable journals of the time, such as
Mississippi Valley Historical Review or the
Journal of Southern History.
The Journal of Negro History was therefore quite revolutionary in its time by allowing more female authors to contribute to the journal. One of the most notable examples is
Marion Thompson Wright, who received a doctoral degree in history. She published her own work on blacks in New Jersey in
The Journal of Negro History. == References ==