Working with Carter G. Woodson, the Father of Black History

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Working with Carter G. Woodson, the Father of Black History: A Diary, 1928–1930 is a short, clear look into the life of Lorenzo Greene as he worked with Carter G. Woodson’s effort to study Black history. Greene kept a daily diary from March 15, 1928, when he was 28, while he worked for the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). The diary, later published in 1989 by Louisiana State University Press and edited by Arvarh E. Strickland, gives a rare inside view of the early days of Afro‑American history as a field and of Woodson himself.

Greene describes the Black community in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore during the late 1920s, focusing on the middle class and daily life, as well as his interviews and his unfinished task of surveying Black churches. The book also reveals tensions: a rivalry between Woodson and Wesley (Charles H. Wesley), Greene’s own conflicted feelings as an African American, and his uneasy relationship with W. E. B. Du Bois. Greene’s final entry is February 10, 1930, after which Woodson fired him. Yet Greene later came to believe in Woodson’s mission and credited Wesley for helping to get the book published. Greene’s own skepticism about religion—he was not fond of preachers—color some of his writing.

Experts view the diary as an important source for understanding the early development of Black history as a field and Woodson’s life. Strickland’s introduction, along with Greene’s notes, helps readers see the context and the conditions Black people faced in the 1920s. The diary is described as a vivid, sometimes abrupt account of current events, attitudes, and problems in Black communities in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and nearby areas. A portion of Greene’s diary also appeared in Black Dixie (1992).