Woodson became a devout Christian at an early age and recognized the invaluable role the black church plan in the community. When Woodson’s family moved to West Virginia, he took a job in the coal mines. While in West Virginia, Woodson met Oliver Jones a black Civil War veteran. Jones were interested in black history and had a collection of books and black-owned newspapers that he shared with Woodson.
When Woodson’s family moved to Huntington, West Virginia, Woodson enrolled in Frederick Douglass High School. After completing high school in less than two years, he enrolled in Berea College in Kentucky. Before completing his studies, he became a teacher at Douglass High School, his alma mater. He received a B.A. from Berea College in 1903.
Woodson became a teacher of health, English, and agriculture in the Philippines. He quit in 1907 due to health problems. After his recovery, he traveled to parts of North Africa, Asia, and Europe. He took courses for one semester at the Sorbonne in Paris to improve his French. He entered the University of Chicago to obtain a graduate degree. Because the University did not accept the credits he had earned from Berea College, he received a second BA in 1907 and a master’s degree in history, romance languages, and literature in 1908. Woodson taught at the M Street High School in Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1917. While teaching, he studied for his doctorate. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1912, the second black in the U.S. to receive a doctor of philosophy degree. The first honor goes to W.E.B. Du Bois.
Woodson had his first book published in 1915, “The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861.” He founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (later named the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History) in an effort to ensure that the history of African Americans was available for all people. In 1916 he began publication of the Journal of Negro History. In 1920, he became dean of the School of Liberal Arts, head of the graduate faculty and professor of history at Howard University. In addition to his research, done primarily at the Library of Congress, and publishing activities, Woodson lectured throughout the United States. Woodson donated a five-thousand-item collection of black historical artifacts to the manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.
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