Themostinfluentialworkby“thefatherofBlackhistory“,reflectingthelong-standingtraditionofantiracistteachingpioneeredbyBlackeducatorsAPenguinClassicTheMis-educationoftheNegro(1933)isWoodson’smostpopularclassicworkofBlacksocialcriticism,drawingonhistory,theory,andmemoir.Asbothstudentandteacher,WoodsonwitnesseddistortionsofBlacklifeinthehistoryandliteraturetaughtinschoolsanduniversities.HeidentifiedarelationshipbetweenthesedistortionsincurriculumandtheviolencecircumscribingBlacklifeinthematerialworld,declaring,“Therewouldbenolynchingifitdidnotstartintheschoolroom.“Woodson’sprimaryfocuswastheimpactdominantmodesofschoolinghadonBlackyouth.Thissystematicprocessofmis-educationunderminedBlackpeople’sstrugglesforfreedomandjustice,anditwasanexperiencethatscholarsbeforeandafterWoodsonrecognizedandworkedtochallenge.Woodsonarguedthatstudents,teachers,andleadersneededtobeeducatedinamannerthatwasaccountabletoBlackexperiencesandlivedrealities,bothpastandpresent.ThiseditionincludesanappendixofselectedlettersandarticlesbyWoodson,andSuggestionsforFurtherReading.
