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The History of the Negro Church
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97 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1921
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About the author
Carter G. Woodson
146 books268 followersConvinced that the role of his own people in American history and in the history of other cultures was being ignored or misrepresented among scholars, Woodson realized the need for research into the neglected past of African Americans. Along with William D. Hartgrove, George Cleveland Hall, Alexander L. Jackson, and James E. Stamps, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History on September 9, 1915, in Chicago. That was the year Woodson published The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861. His other books followed: A Century of Negro Migration (1918) and The History of the Negro Church (1927). His work The Negro in Our History has been reprinted in numerous editions and was revised by Charles H. Wesley after Woodson's death in 1950.
In January 1916, Woodson began publication of the scholarly Journal of Negro History. It has never missed an issue, despite the Great Depression, loss of support from foundations, and two World Wars. In 2002, it was renamed the Journal of African American History and continues to be published by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).
Woodson stayed at the Wabash Avenue YMCA during visits to Chicago. His experiences at the Y and in the surrounding Bronzeville neighborhood inspired him to create the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History), which ran conferences, published The Journal of Negro History, and "particularly targeted those responsible for the education of black children". Another inspiration was John Wesley Cromwell's 1914 book, The Negro in American History: Men and Women Eminent in the Evolution of the American of African Descent.
Carter Godwin Woodson was an American historian, author, journalist and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. He was one of the first scholars to study African-American history. A founder of The Journal of Negro History in 1916, Woodson has been cited as the "father of black history". In February 1926 he launched the celebration of "Negro History Week", the precursor of Black History Month.
Woodson believed that education and increasing social and professional contacts among blacks and whites could reduce racism and he promoted the organized study of African-American history partly for that purpose. He would later promote the first Negro History Week in Washington, D.C., in 1926, forerunner of Black History Month. The Bronzeville neighborhood declined during the late 1960s and 1970s like many other inner-city neighborhoods across the country, and the Wabash Avenue YMCA was forced to close during the 1970s, until being restored in 1992 by The Renaissance Collaborative.
He served as Academic Dean of the West Virginia Collegiate Institute, now West Virginia State University, from 1920 to 1922.
He studied many aspects of African-American history. For instance, in 1924, he published the first survey of free black slaveowners in the United States in 1830.
The time that schools have set aside each year to focus on African-American history is Woodson's most visible legacy. His determination to further the recognition of the Negro in American and world history, however, inspired countless other scholars. Woodson remained focused on his work throughout his life. Many see him as a man of vision and understanding. Although Woodson was among the ranks of the educated few, he did not feel particularly sentimental about elite educational institutions.[citation needed] The Association and journal that he started are still operating, and both have earned intellectual respect.
Woodson's other far-reaching activities included the founding in 1920 of the Associated Publishers, the oldest African-American publishing company in the United States. This enabled publication of books concerning blacks that
In January 1916, Woodson began publication of the scholarly Journal of Negro History. It has never missed an issue, despite the Great Depression, loss of support from foundations, and two World Wars. In 2002, it was renamed the Journal of African American History and continues to be published by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).
Woodson stayed at the Wabash Avenue YMCA during visits to Chicago. His experiences at the Y and in the surrounding Bronzeville neighborhood inspired him to create the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History), which ran conferences, published The Journal of Negro History, and "particularly targeted those responsible for the education of black children". Another inspiration was John Wesley Cromwell's 1914 book, The Negro in American History: Men and Women Eminent in the Evolution of the American of African Descent.
Carter Godwin Woodson was an American historian, author, journalist and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. He was one of the first scholars to study African-American history. A founder of The Journal of Negro History in 1916, Woodson has been cited as the "father of black history". In February 1926 he launched the celebration of "Negro History Week", the precursor of Black History Month.
Woodson believed that education and increasing social and professional contacts among blacks and whites could reduce racism and he promoted the organized study of African-American history partly for that purpose. He would later promote the first Negro History Week in Washington, D.C., in 1926, forerunner of Black History Month. The Bronzeville neighborhood declined during the late 1960s and 1970s like many other inner-city neighborhoods across the country, and the Wabash Avenue YMCA was forced to close during the 1970s, until being restored in 1992 by The Renaissance Collaborative.
He served as Academic Dean of the West Virginia Collegiate Institute, now West Virginia State University, from 1920 to 1922.
He studied many aspects of African-American history. For instance, in 1924, he published the first survey of free black slaveowners in the United States in 1830.
The time that schools have set aside each year to focus on African-American history is Woodson's most visible legacy. His determination to further the recognition of the Negro in American and world history, however, inspired countless other scholars. Woodson remained focused on his work throughout his life. Many see him as a man of vision and understanding. Although Woodson was among the ranks of the educated few, he did not feel particularly sentimental about elite educational institutions.[citation needed] The Association and journal that he started are still operating, and both have earned intellectual respect.
Woodson's other far-reaching activities included the founding in 1920 of the Associated Publishers, the oldest African-American publishing company in the United States. This enabled publication of books concerning blacks that
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 12, 2022
“A pioneer work”; “a monument”; “unsurpassed to this day.”
Indeed, this book, originally published in 1921 by one of the Founding Fathers of Black History, is as indispensable one hundred years later as it was at the time.
The book was “the first book published by the Associated Publishers, which was incorporated in 1921, through the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History as its publishing agency.” (Charles H. Wesley, “Preface,” 3rd Edition (1972), ix).
In it, Woodson attempted to do what had not been done before: survey the history of Black Christianity in America, from the first encounters with Europeans in the 16th to the early 20th century. As such, the book is seminal, in every sense of the word. While W. E. B. Du Bois had conducted his study on The Negro Church twenty years before, no one had yet attempted a historical survey of the Black church until Woodson. In 1981, Baptist historian Leon McBeth was still praising it thus: “This book must rank as the first major history of the black church in America and, dated as it is, in some ways it is unsurpassed to this day” (Leon McBeth, “Images of the Black Church in America,” Baptist History and Heritage 16.3 (1981), 21).
The book is valuable both for its survey of Black church history as well as for Woodson’s own insights and interpretations. Whether or not one always agrees with CGW, his views are powerful and worth grappling with.
As someone who has found a home in the Black Baptist church, I was particularly interested in Woodson’s treatment of this tradition. Sources for the early history of Black Baptists can be hard to track down, but suffice it to say, that Woodson’s book is the starting point.
“The starting point” — that’s probably another apt description. Because his scope was so broad, and the landscape not even surveyed at the time, the book is only an “introduction” to the History of the Black Church. As others have noted, the book “contains footnotes or bibliography, so it is impossible to know clearly and precisely what sources its author used.” (Albert J. Raboteau et al., “Retelling Carter Woodson’s Story: Archival Sources for Afro-American Church History,” The Journal of American History 77.1 (1990), 183 n. 2). Milton Sernett called it a “celebration of firsts on the order of a family scrapbook.”
Indeed, the hungry researcher has in Woodson an index of persons and subjects for further research — and the task is long overdue.
Thematically, there is so much in Woodson’s telling of the story of the Black Church(es) that is significant. F. C. Sumner, (the "Father of Black Psychology" and the first Black person to earn a Ph.D in psychology in 1920), said this: “In a larger sense it is more than the history of the Negro church; it is the very life history of the Negro race in America, so intimately have the spiritual strivings of the Negro been bound up with his sentiments and interests, his habits and endeavors, his situation and circumstances, his monuments and edifices, his poetry and song” (“Review,” Journal of Negro History, April 1922).
McBeth highlighted how Woodson “argued that the Christianity in the black church was a purer form and nearer to the spirit of Jesus than that of the secularized white churches. One would be hard put to find a more penetrating critique of secularized white churches than that of Woodson” (McBeth, 21).
Woodson’s taxonomy of “conservative” and “progressive” Black ministers is also interesting and explored further in Mark Sidwell, “Francis Grimké and the Value and Limits of Carter Woodson’s Model of the Progressive Black Pastor,” Fides et Historia 32.1 (2000): 99–117.
There is so much to unpack in this book. It is a classic, a monument, a legacy in itself. Almost every notable book on the Black Church that I’ve seen references it in the first footnote. You owe it to yourself to pick up this book.
A Note On Editions: I read the 2018 “DocSouth Books Edition” published by the University of North Carolina Press. The book did not follow the original pagination, but included the original page numbers in [brackets] in the text. It also included all of the original illustrations, which were wonderful to see.
You can read the first edition (1921) online here: https://archive.org/details/historyof...
The “Preface” to the 2nd edition is available here: https://archive.org/details/the-histo...
The 3rd edition (1972), with Charles H. Wesley’s “Preface,” is available here: https://archive.org/details/the-histo...
A 2013 edition with an introduction by Albert Raboteau, James Melvin Washington, and others, can be found here: https://archive.org/details/historyof...
Indeed, this book, originally published in 1921 by one of the Founding Fathers of Black History, is as indispensable one hundred years later as it was at the time.
The book was “the first book published by the Associated Publishers, which was incorporated in 1921, through the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History as its publishing agency.” (Charles H. Wesley, “Preface,” 3rd Edition (1972), ix).
In it, Woodson attempted to do what had not been done before: survey the history of Black Christianity in America, from the first encounters with Europeans in the 16th to the early 20th century. As such, the book is seminal, in every sense of the word. While W. E. B. Du Bois had conducted his study on The Negro Church twenty years before, no one had yet attempted a historical survey of the Black church until Woodson. In 1981, Baptist historian Leon McBeth was still praising it thus: “This book must rank as the first major history of the black church in America and, dated as it is, in some ways it is unsurpassed to this day” (Leon McBeth, “Images of the Black Church in America,” Baptist History and Heritage 16.3 (1981), 21).
The book is valuable both for its survey of Black church history as well as for Woodson’s own insights and interpretations. Whether or not one always agrees with CGW, his views are powerful and worth grappling with.
As someone who has found a home in the Black Baptist church, I was particularly interested in Woodson’s treatment of this tradition. Sources for the early history of Black Baptists can be hard to track down, but suffice it to say, that Woodson’s book is the starting point.
“The starting point” — that’s probably another apt description. Because his scope was so broad, and the landscape not even surveyed at the time, the book is only an “introduction” to the History of the Black Church. As others have noted, the book “contains footnotes or bibliography, so it is impossible to know clearly and precisely what sources its author used.” (Albert J. Raboteau et al., “Retelling Carter Woodson’s Story: Archival Sources for Afro-American Church History,” The Journal of American History 77.1 (1990), 183 n. 2). Milton Sernett called it a “celebration of firsts on the order of a family scrapbook.”
Indeed, the hungry researcher has in Woodson an index of persons and subjects for further research — and the task is long overdue.
Thematically, there is so much in Woodson’s telling of the story of the Black Church(es) that is significant. F. C. Sumner, (the "Father of Black Psychology" and the first Black person to earn a Ph.D in psychology in 1920), said this: “In a larger sense it is more than the history of the Negro church; it is the very life history of the Negro race in America, so intimately have the spiritual strivings of the Negro been bound up with his sentiments and interests, his habits and endeavors, his situation and circumstances, his monuments and edifices, his poetry and song” (“Review,” Journal of Negro History, April 1922).
McBeth highlighted how Woodson “argued that the Christianity in the black church was a purer form and nearer to the spirit of Jesus than that of the secularized white churches. One would be hard put to find a more penetrating critique of secularized white churches than that of Woodson” (McBeth, 21).
Woodson’s taxonomy of “conservative” and “progressive” Black ministers is also interesting and explored further in Mark Sidwell, “Francis Grimké and the Value and Limits of Carter Woodson’s Model of the Progressive Black Pastor,” Fides et Historia 32.1 (2000): 99–117.
There is so much to unpack in this book. It is a classic, a monument, a legacy in itself. Almost every notable book on the Black Church that I’ve seen references it in the first footnote. You owe it to yourself to pick up this book.
A Note On Editions: I read the 2018 “DocSouth Books Edition” published by the University of North Carolina Press. The book did not follow the original pagination, but included the original page numbers in [brackets] in the text. It also included all of the original illustrations, which were wonderful to see.
You can read the first edition (1921) online here: https://archive.org/details/historyof...
The “Preface” to the 2nd edition is available here: https://archive.org/details/the-histo...
The 3rd edition (1972), with Charles H. Wesley’s “Preface,” is available here: https://archive.org/details/the-histo...
A 2013 edition with an introduction by Albert Raboteau, James Melvin Washington, and others, can be found here: https://archive.org/details/historyof...
July 12, 2018
Somehow I wound up with a weird, strangely formatted copy with something like 6-pt font, incorrect pagination, and no illustrations (although the illustrative descriptions were included). Despite the shortcomings of the edition, the information was rich and interesting. I've marked passages to revisit and added a few names to my must-read-a-biography-of list.
February 11, 2021
Good as a personal statement, lacking citations as a historical work.
Dr. Woodson had many interesting references to events, but he failed to document the references. As a result, I created my own set of footnotes which, I hope, I hope would accurately reflect the intentions of the Author.
Dr. Woodson had many interesting references to events, but he failed to document the references. As a result, I created my own set of footnotes which, I hope, I hope would accurately reflect the intentions of the Author.
January 27, 2024
An amazing book about the creation and development of the Negro Church. An study of the different types of churches from different views. Check out the documentary of this book.
Available on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@documentingbo...
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmKOb...
Available on Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@documentingbo...
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmKOb...
February 4, 2024
🖍️ An informative and interesting history of the Negro church. Although it is a long and intense work, it is invaluable for knowledge and further research on my part for the books I am currently writing. 💥 Recommended.
📙Published in 1921.
🟢The e-book version can be found at Project Gutenberg.
🟣 Kindle.
ˋ°•*⁀ ˋ°•*⁀➷
📙Published in 1921.
🟢The e-book version can be found at Project Gutenberg.
🟣 Kindle.
ˋ°•*⁀ ˋ°•*⁀➷
November 5, 2021
A detailed and surprising summary of the birth of Christianity in the African-American community. This book should be taught in schools around the United States.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews