EBONY remembers Carter G. Woodson, the author, publisher, historian and activist most known for being the Godfather and creator of Black History Month. It was Woodson’s lifelong mission to ensure that America celebrates the contributions and positive impact that Black Americans have had on all elements of society.
Woodson, the descendant of enslaved people, established The Journal of Negro History in 1916 which cataloged Black people’s stories. In 1926, he co-founded Negro History Week. Woodson chose February to encompass the birthdays of two great Americans; Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, who celebrated their birthdays in the month. President Gerald Ford officially established the month dedicated to Black history observance in 1976.
Woodson was determined to preserve and tell stories others felt had no place in American history. He founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. He started the scholarly Journal of Negro History, which still exists, now under the name Journal of African American History. He published more than 20 books on Black history.
“It was brought to my attention by my mother that we are descendants of the man who founded this great holiday,” shares Brennan Johnson, founder of the PR agency Brennan Nevada Inc. “My maternal great-grandmother, Mary Riddle Nicholas, was Woodson’s cousin.”
Having that family connection has made Brennan a connoisseur of her family legacy. “Our family helped push and ultimately create the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum which is a cultural institution in St. Petersburg, Florida,” she shares. “The museum’s mission is to preserve, present and interpret African American history and to engage a broad and diverse audience through various exhibitions and events.”
Education was of utmost importance to Woodson. He saved for and graduated from high school in less than two years. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in literature from Berea College in Kentucky and a master’s from the University of Chicago. He was the second Black American to obtain a Ph.D. from Harvard University, following in W.E.B. Du Bois’ footsteps.
“Growing up in my own household, my mother stressed and pushed my sister and I to pursue our education to the fullest. Besides Woodson, my mother, Tina M. Johnson, is the second member in our family to receive her Ph.D.,” Johnson shares. “My family is a bunch of go-getters like Woodson, and my sister and I had this to look up to. As a result we were stellar students all throughout grade school, we both graduated from top universities and now have thriving careers in the medical field and public relations industry.
Following in Woodson’s entrepreneurial footsteps, Johnson’s company, Brennan Nevada Inc., is the only New York-based Black, female-owned PR and media agency for tech companies and startups. It represents some of the largest Black and minority-owned businesses and founders, including SoLo Funds, the biggest Black-owned personal finance company in the U.S. “As a descendant of Carter G. Woodson, we keep his legacy alive by telling Black and BIPOC stories for companies that don’t usually have access to best-in-class PR services,” she declares. “I noticed there needed to be an agency that could represent and understand the unique challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs and tech companies. We actively work towards changing the narrative by ensuring that impactful stories and solutions from the Black community gain the visibility they deserve.”
As Black History Month comes to a close, Johnson suggests that Black people spend all year investing in their communities. “Black people need to spend and invest their time, money and energy into other Black businesses and communities. That is how we can start to close the wealth gap that keeps growing larger and larger as time goes by,” she emphasizes. “Whether it’s eating at a Black-owned business, buying a book from a Black author or partnering with Black-owned suppliers to run and operate your company, we need to be a lot wiser with where we put our funds. It’s time that we support and uplift one another in every way possible.”