This year marks the 80th year of The Mis-Education of The Negro by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, which was originally printed in 1933. It is an honor to share this information because this is the book that helped me knock off my blinders to my mis-education and the lack of progress in the education of African Americans over the years. Also, it unlocked the chains that were binding my mind by personal experiences, perceptions and the effects of being an educated black woman in a white racist America. Lastly, I gained a great admiration for Dr. Carter G. Woodson, for his commitment to researching all of this information, as well as his dedication to showing black people’s contributions to arts and literature, education, medicine and other disciplines through his teachings.
He is the founder of Negro History Week, which is now Black History Month, thus earning him the title of “Father of Black History.” Did you know that many of Dr. Woodson’s works were developed in Chicago??
I read this book for the first time in my mid-20s and it was THE BEST BOOK I had ever read, and I had read many books by that time. I think I loved it so much because I was ready for the truth about Black History and my place in it. I had read Roots by Alex Haley and most of Dr. Maya Angelou’s books, which were great reads, but nothing had impacted me like The Mis-Education of The Negro. I cannot say specifically what it was, but I just know that it changed my mind and life forever.
Dr. Woodson shared many realities of “educated” Negroes, black people who went to college and earned their degrees, but were of little use to themselves, and did little or nothing to advance the African American race. He documented how blacks were underrepresented and misrepresented in all disciplines and were taught to despise themselves and their race.
What’s amazing about this work is that many of the doctrines presented by Dr. Woodson in this book, published in 1933, still holds true today, in 2013. Let’s compare The Mis-Educated Negro from 1933 to The Mis-Educated Negro in 2013.
• Some Educated Negroes thought they were too good for the communities from which they came but white people didn’t really welcome them in their communities or companies.
• Even though Educated Negroes had earned their degrees, very few started their own businesses and did very little to support the black enterprises that had already been created. Thus, they spent more time criticizing than uplifting.
• Educated Negroes were more content working for white people, who really didn’t want to hire them, than starting their own ventures and hiring their own people.
• Dr. Woodson said that Educated Negroes “do not think for themselves” because they have been taught otherwise by their oppressors. Ain’t this deep??
• Educated white men will lift a downtrodden white man, but Educated Negroes “forget the delinquents of his race.”
• “His religion is merely a loan from the whites who enslaved and segregated the Negroes.”
• Negroes were taught by their oppressors to discourage their children from being doctors and lawyers. Once black people entered these professions, white people didn’t want to work with them and black people didn’t feel they were qualified.
• White people would not employ Educated Negroes and black people could not provide such opportunities.
• Even educated black authors had trouble finding publishers and readers. White people thought they were better than black people at everything. This explains why many black stories are untold.
• Negroes were intentionally blocked from learning political education in order to keep “the Negro in his place.” This is a testament to the power of politics which explains why white politicians have always worked so hard to disenfranchise black voters.
• History books, written by white people, taught white superiority and black loathe. There was either no or inaccurate information about black people. From what I hear, this is still true about history books in public schools today.
• Educated Negroes joined ranks with real estate professionals to keep Negroes out of desirable areas of the city and in unsanitary conditions. As this example shows, slavery and other maltreatment to black people could not have been successful without the help of other black people.
• White people will hire their own, even for the lowest positions, before they hire black people. This explains the unemployment rates reported in December 2012. The total unemployment rate was 7.8%; it was 14.0 percent for blacks and 6.9 percent for whites. And these figures are skewed because many people are accounted for in these figures for many reasons. However, even though there are many white people accounted for in these records, clearly, there are more of them working than black people.
• Black people “berate their own and worship others.” Watch Uncle Ruckus on The Boondocks and see if you can find yourself in him.
• The only way the Negroes will be free is to “plan and do for themselves.” Okay, I’m going to need to repeat this in Marcie-speak: “You have to do for yourself to get what you want.” You cannot look to others to do for you. They will help – to a degree – but they don’t care about you like you care about you. Your dreams are not their dreams; therefore, the efforts they make will not compare to yours.
And once you achieve a certain level of success, help others. I said, “help”, not “carry.” And your help does not have to be financial. You can give back in time, resources, advice and referrals.
I didn’t mean to write a dissertation but it’s an honor to be educated by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. It’s an even greater honor to be enlightened to the state of Black people living in America based on his historical teachings.
I must say, though, that it’s amazing how many black people have not read The Mis-Education of The Negro. If you fall into that category, honor Dr. Woodson educate yourself by reading this book during Black History, the month in which he founded.
Have you read The Mis-Education of The Negro? Did you like it? Why or why not?