Often considered by many to be "the father of Black History," Woodson's
quote suggests that if a group of people wish to persevere and be a part of the
record of change, there must be a conscious effort to understand one's
historical underpinnings and examine how they impact the modern setting.
Woodson's quote suggests that individuals cannot operate without a
historical setting. Human beings are not thrown into a condition without
a sense of the past. In some form, Woodson's quote demands that
individuals understand their own social condition of the past, examining how
that history influences their own present. In turn, this will help
individuals chart a course for the future. Woodson understood that doing
this for people of color, specifically African- Americans was vitally
important. He was driven by the idea that African- Americans who
understood their history and their historical background would avoid "the awful
fate of becoming a negligible factor in world thought." Woodson
understood that for a generation of African- Americans that emerged from
slavery, the knowledge of the past was essential. He grasped that slave
owners sought to cut off Black slaves from their own historical identity.
For Woodson, the critical element to success resided in understanding the
past and understanding that identity was connected to something larger than the
modern individual. For Woodson, the notion of history and understanding
its own historical tradition is what enables a race to endure and eventually
triumph over the challenge of the present, something that is essential to
understanding the African- American predicament in American History.
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