Written by Sandhya Dirks
NPR News
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
It’s Black History Month. And the man who laid the foundations of this celebration is Carter G. Woodson. He founded Black History Week in 1926. It became a full month in the 1970s. NPR’s Sandhya Dirks has this story about some of Woodson’s descendants and how they’ve come together in an unexpected way.
SANDHYA DIRKS, BYLINE: When he was in middle school, Brett Woodson Bailey’s mom sat him down.
BRETT WOODSON BAILEY: ‘Cause my mom made a big deal about it, like, when she told me. She was like, you are the descendant of a very famous historical figure.
DIRKS: His great-great-great-uncle was Carter G. Woodson.
WOODSON BAILEY: Obviously, I was like, who the heck is that? I’ve never met that man.
DIRKS: As he got older, Brett came to understand he was descended from the father of Black history.
WOODSON BAILEY: I’m not exactly, like, carrying down his legacy too much. Well, I guess I kind of am by still being here ’cause, you know, he was a fighter fighting for civil rights.
