The Mis-Education of the Negro and The Education of the Negro

"The Mis-Education of the Negro" originally published in 1933 by Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, is arguably his greatest book. The thesis of Dr. Woodson's book is that African Americans of his time were being culturally indoctrinated, rather than taught, in American schools. This conditioning, he claims, causes African-Americans to become dependent and to seek out inferior places in the greater society of which they are a part. He challenges his readers to become autodidacts and to "do for themselves," regardless of what they were taught. "The Mis-Education of the Negro" by Carter G. Woodson is a classic book and should be a part of everyone's personal library. "The Education of the Negro," also by Carter Godwin Woodson, is an essential preface to "The Mis-Education of the Negro." Though often confused, these are two separate books. "The Education of the Negro" is Woodson's addresses the education of African Americans prior to the Civil War-a period of time that is not usually addressed or taught. "The Mis-Education of the Negro" addresses African American education from the Civil War period on. "The Education of the Negro" is a must read for anyone interested in African American history, as well as anyone planning to read Woodson's classic sequel, "The Mis-Education of the Negro."