20c Carter G. Woodson stamp

Credited with formalizing the field of academic black history in America, Dr. Carter G. Woodson also broadened public awareness to the impact of black Americans on our nation's history by starting Negro History Week in 1926. This later became Black History Month, celebrated every February.

He would become a prominent historian after studying at the University of Chicago and Harvard University, but Woodson first attended school at the age of 17 while working in a coal mine. The son of former slaves studied Latin and Greek between trips to the mine shafts. During his career as a historian he worked to formalize the study of black history beyond its previously accepted status as folklore. His legacy includes the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and the prestigious Journal of Negro History.

This stamp is part of the Black Heritage Stamp Series. Initiated in 1978, the USPS continues to issue a stamp featuring a notable Black American every February in conjunction with Black History Month and at other times during the year.

Scott Catalogue USA: 2073

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Museum ID: 1999.2004.333