Carter G. Woodson: The Mis-education of the Negro--A black history classic of African-American literature

"The Mis-Education of the Negro" is one of the most important black history books or African American literature ever written. Penned by thought leader Carter G. Woodson, "The Mis-Education of the Negro" unveils the weakness of Euro-centric based curriculums that fail to include African American history and culture. This system mis-educates the African American student, failing to prepare them for success and to give them an adequate sense of who they are within the system that they must live. This mis-education creates a serious identity crisis on the part of African youth and it causes many Black "educated" middle class people to spend more time trying to reach the consumer-oriented American Dream rather than working toward real self-determination. Thus it's of little surprise today that most African students never enroll in a course on African-American studies. In fact, these courses are becoming more rare in high school and colleges across the nation. In Carter G. Woodson's words: "Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better, but the instruction so far given Negroes in colleges and universities has worked to the contrary. In most cases such graduates have merely increased the number of malcontents who offer no program for changing the undesirable conditions about which they complain. "