02/02/2026
In 1915, historian Carter G. Woodson published The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861.
Using court records, school reports, church documents, and personal accounts, Woodson documented that Black Americans actively pursued education long before the Civil War—even when laws and social systems tried to prevent it.
His research directly challenged the prevailing belief of the era that Black Americans lacked interest in education. The records showed the opposite: educational exclusion was imposed, not chosen.
This work mattered because the records existed—and because someone took the time to preserve and study them.
Courts, schools, and public institutions don’t just resolve issues in the present. They create records that shape how history is understood in the future. Preservation is how the truth lasts.
