MU professor Wendi Manuel-Scott
The keynote speaker at the Black History celebration at Woodson High was Wendi Manuel-Scott, a GMU professor of Integrative Studies and History. She had a class to teach, the night of the event, but still presented a powerful message to the audience via video:
“Carter Woodson, the son of formerly enslaved Black parents, understood that education is key to unlocking a people’s full capacity. He lived in a time when books were banned – when histories of indigenous people, Asian Americans, women and African Americans were erased. Teachers were silenced for daring to teach the truth. They were fired, lynched and had their homes burned.
“Woodson understood this violent strategy of silencing and knew that ignorant people didn’t know the facts. So he didn’t just study history, he built the infrastructure for its survival. He founded the Association for Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. And in 1926, he created Negro History Week – the foundation of Black History Month.
“Woodson insisted that history wasn’t just about the past, it was about equipping students to resist oppression in the present. So he called for teachers to be courageous to teach the truth, even when the system pushed back against their efforts. So how will you carry on his legacy?
“Woodson knew teaching was a radical act. Enslaved people risked their lives to teach other folks how to read. Black teachers and community members during the Reconstruction Era built schools that were then burned to the ground – because some people feared what an educated, Black population could do. Those teachers and students chose courage over comfort because they understood that education should never be about obedience and dominance but, rather, about freedom.
“These choices weren’t easy. Woodson’s time was marked by racial terrorism, legal segregation and systematic, purposeful exclusion. And yet his work didn’t cease. He built institutions, wrote books and supported Black teachers and students because he understood that America was at a crossroads and in an era where history was being sanitized. Some preferred to erase the past violent struggles, rather than courageously confront their legacy laid bare in the present.
“So Woodson, teachers, students and families chose courage because they understood that attacks on history and the past were about controlling the future. I hope you understand the legacy you carry and the importance of your inheritance. I hope you’ll commit to encouraging critical thinking and seek out evidence – archival records, scholarly sources – and read books that challenge you and expand your mind – books that generate questions.”
“And I hope Woodson’s legacy inspires you to never ever stop asking questions, because your power is in your curiosity. So be fearlessly inquisitive. I hope this [school] renaming is more than a ceremony for you. Let it be a lifelong commitment. Let none of us forget this lesson that, if you control a person’s mind, you control their future.
“But if you free their mind, there are no limits to what they can do, be or imagine. So let’s free some minds and build a future worthy of Woodson’s name. Onward!”