The formal portrait shows Dr. Carter Woodson in a suit and patterned tie, representing him as a distinguished scholar and educator. During the dawning of the twentieth century, it was widely-presumed that people of African descent had little history besides the subjugation of slavery. Of course, it is obvious today that Africans have significantly impacted the development of the social, political and economic structures of not just the United States but also the world. Credit for the evolving awareness of the true place of blacks in history can, in large part, be bestowed upon one man, Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Dr. Woodson's parents had been enslaved, so he understood the importance of a proper education. Though he didn't begin his formal education until the age of 20, he earned his high school diploma, bachelor's and master's degrees in the span of a few years. Then, in 1912, he became the second African American to earn a PhD from Harvard and was the first person of enslaved parents to earn a PhD in history! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_G._Woodson#/media/File:Dr._Carter_G._Woodson_(1875-1950),_Carter_G._Woodson_Home_National_Historic_Site,_1915._(18f7565bf62142c0ad7fff83701ca5f6).jpg