High School Changes Name To Honor African American History Pioneer

FAIRFAX, VA — A rededication ceremony Thursday at newly renamed Dr. Carter G. Woodson High School in Fairfax drew representatives from Fairfax County Public Schools, elected officials, students, and community members.

“I am excited to be here with you, celebrating our new namesake, reflecting on his accomplishments and contributions and sharing the inspiration he and his life work brings to our students and our future,” said Principal Kevin Greata. “Dr. Carter G. Woodson was a man who lived his life with a clear mission to preserve and promote Black history.”

Last November, the Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously to change the name of W.T. Woodson High School to Carter G. Woodson, considered to be the father of Black history in the U.S.

In 1915, Carter Woodson founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, where he conducted research and produced publications about African American history. He also developed a curriculum so future generations of African American students would know the full history of their community.

As part of the association’s mission, Carter Woodson established Black History Week in 1926. Fifty years later, it was expanded to Black History Month, which is celebrated every February in the U.S.

“I'm so grateful for the inspiring modeling that Dr. Woodson provided, his passion for the transformative power of education and his belief in the importance of diverse representation is as urgent today as it was in his time,” said Dr. Michelle C. Reid, FCPS superintendent.

Opened in 1962, the high school was previously named after former Fairfax County Superintendent Wilbert Tucker Woodson. The process for renaming the school located to the east of Fairfax City started after students and community members expressed concerns about the legacy of the school's namesake.

After the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation in schools with its decision in Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education, school officials in Virginia, including W.T. Woodson, opposed integration.

"The order to desegregate schools is highly improper and infringes on human rights," W.T. Woodson wrote in 1959. "To force integration of schools is to force social mixing, since attendance in public schools is usually compulsory. It takes advantage of the immaturity of children in that it tends to use it to force upon both parents and children social adjustments to which so many parents strongly object."

Even though W.T. Woodson eventually supported a plan to gradually integrate the county's public schools, that plan was struck down in September 1960 in federal district court, forcing Fairfax schools to integrate. W.T. Woodson announced his retirement a month later, when the court's decision went into effect in June 1961.

Related: School Named For Segregationist Renamed For 'Father Of Black History'

Although some of the speakers at Thursday night’s ceremony mentioned W.T. Woodson’s name, most of the focus was on how Dr. Carter G. Woodson's legacy could inspire the school's students and the wider Fairfax community.

“Today we honor his legacy by challenging ourselves to continue his work, not only by seeking knowledge, but by becoming the kind of leaders who will change the world for the better,” said Rebecca Baenig, assistant superintendent for Region 5. “So, the students of Carter G. Woodson High School, as you walk these halls, know that you are not just carrying books or backpacks. You're carrying potential. You're standing in the shadow of a man who changed the course of history, and that same courage, that same resilience, lives within you. So today, as we rededicate the school, I challenge you to lead in the same spirit that Carter G Woodson embodied, to be bold, to be brave and to be the leaders that our world so desperately needs.”