On Feb. 7, 1926, Carter G. Woodson -- a historian, scholar and journalist -- established the first Negro History Week.

Here in Black History Month, the meaning of my identity resonates even more deeply after my mother told me we are descendants of the man who founded this great holiday: Carter G. Woodson.

That has long proved a challenge to historians of the Black experience. Carter G. Woodson worked to change that. Best known as the Father of Black History Month for having created the predecessor ...