Dr. Carter G. Woodson's Deep Freedom

100 years ago, Dr, Carter G. Woodson initiated a cultural revolution in service of Black people and Black history. Dr. Woodson aimed for his cultural revolt to achieve the firm and complete integration of Black history into a wide array of institutions of learning, places of worship and communities of the oppressed across the United States. Negro history week was created to be more than a mere symbol for the Black historical experience; it aimed to intervene decisively in how America views itself. For four decades, civil rights organizations, social justice movements and, increasingly, larger portions of U.S. society took up the mantle of his cultural transformation. 50 years after its initiation and founding, the United States government adopted Negro history week into Black History Month.

This month’s ‘Unbound Sprint’ writing project is in honor of Dr. Woodson’s legacy. Today- I stand on the shoulders of giants like Dr. Woodson. I live in the luminous afterglow of those like him who have come before me, and it is precisely because they lived and loved that I might have a chance at love and life. My hope is that this month of essays are in service to Dr. Woodson’s deep hope for Black people and those who love us:

“Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better”