This year marks the 100th anniversary of Black History Month. Founded by pioneering historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson, February is a time of celebration and remembrance of Black life.
Woodson was born in Virginia to formerly enslaved parents and later moved to West Virginia to assist his family and attain better educational opportunities. His quest for education took him to Kentucky, Illinois, Massachusetts, and later to Washington, D.C. Woodson’s geographic biography echoes that of so many Black people. Black lives in America have been marked by movement.
The Middle Passage is one of the most consequential geographic movements in the history of Black people. By the time these ships arrived on colonial shores, the destinies of these people were out of their control. From the depots that dotted the Mid-Atlantic and the southeast, Black people found themselves in the Carolinas, New York, Georgia, and all parts in between. If there was a demand for the knowledge, skill, and labor of African people, that is where they were shipped, but these were not decisions Black people made for themselves.
School Authors: Niambi Carter