View source for Association for the Study of African American Life and History

{{Short description|Learned society}}
{{Infobox organization
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| formation           = {{start date and age|1915|September|9}}
| founders             = [[Carter G. Woodson]],  William B. Hartgrove, [[George Cleveland Hall]], Alexander L. Jackson, and James E. Stamps
| founding_location   = Chicago
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| status              = Non-profit
| purpose             = History, Sociology
| headquarters        = Washington, DC
| location            = United States
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| website             = {{URL|asalh.org}}
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| formerly            = Association for the Study of Negro Life and History<br />Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History
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}}
{{African American topics sidebar|right}}
The '''Association for the Study of African American Life and History''' ('''ASALH''') is a [[learned society]] dedicated to the study and appreciation of [[African-American History]].  The association was founded in Chicago on September 9, 1915,<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/history-of-black-history-month.html|title=How Negro History Week Became Black History Month and Why It Matters Now|first=Veronica|last=Chambers|author-link=Veronica Chambers|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 15, 2022|date=February 25, 2021}}</ref> during the [[National Half Century Exposition and Lincoln Jubilee]], as the '''Association for the Study of Negro Life and History''' (ASNLH) by [[Carter G. Woodson]], [[William B. Hartgrove]], [[George Cleveland Hall]], [[Alexander L. Jackson]], and [[James E. Stamps]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baldwin |first=Neil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ts4UH0bDuJIC |title=The American Revelation |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-4299-0137-6 |publication-date=2007 |page=168 |language=en}}</ref> and incorporated in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 1915.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://legacy.berea.edu/cgwc/the-founding-of-the-association-september-9-1915/|title=The founding of the association September 9, 1915|first=Daryl Michael|last=Scott|publisher=Carter G. Woodson Center|access-date=September 13, 2023}}</ref> The association is based in Washington, D.C. In 1973, ASNLH was renamed the '''Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History'''.
ASALH's official mission is "to promote, research, preserve, interpret, and disseminate information about Black life, history, and culture to the global community." Its official vision is "to be the premier Black Heritage and learned society with a diverse and inclusive membership supported by a strong network of national and international branches to continue the Woodson legacy."<ref name=hisorg>[http://www.historians.org/affiliates/assn_study_afro-am_life_his.htm American Historical Association]</ref>
ASALH created [[Negro History Week]] in 1926. Woodson selected the week to coincide with the birthdays of [[Frederick Douglass]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]].<ref name=NYT/> Each year, he established a national theme for the celebration.  Since 1976, ASALH extended the celebration for all of February.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
The organization publishes ''The [[Journal of African American History]]'' (formerly ''The Journal of Negro History'') and the ''Black History Bulletin'' (formerly the ''Negro History Bulletin''). In 2005, ASALH established the ASALH Press, reissuing Carter G. Woodson's ''[[Mis-Education of the Negro]]''. The same year ASALH established ''The Woodson Review,'' a magazine that promotes its Annual Black History Theme, including it as part of its Black History Kit. In 2005, ASALH discovered a previously unpublished manuscript by its founder, Carter G. Woodson, and published it in a special edition as ''Carter G. Woodson's Appeal: The Lost Manuscript Edition.''{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
ASALH is a membership organization with more than 25 branches.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
==ASALH Conventions==
Annually the organization strives to continue its research focus as well as efforts to share and disseminate historical information—for which the organization was founded.<ref>Mjagkij, N., ''Organizing Black America'', p. 69. Kindle Books, 2007.</ref> One of the major ways the organization focuses it resources in this area is with the ASALH annual convention that takes place in the fall (usually September or October) ASALH hosted its first convention in 1917, two years after the organization was founded. At that time the convention was biennial. During the first convention, Woodson stated the goals of the organization as he saw them: "The organization primary responsibilities would be the publishing of an historical magazine, researching the achievements of Negros, directing a home study program along with writing and publishing books and monographs. Charles Harris Wesley, one of the organization's early developers, was not pleased with the first convention because more race solvers and educators attended than historians, which is in opposition to ASALH’s vision as an historical research society."<ref>Harris, J., "Woodson and Wesley: A Partnership in Building the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History", ''The Journal of Negro History'', 83(98): 111.</ref>
Each year, the location of the convention rotates to a major US city and coincides with the annual black history theme. The 2008 convention took place in Birmingham, AL, the 2009 convention took place in Cincinnati, OH, the 2010 convention was held in Raleigh, NC, the 2011 conference was held in Richmond, VA, and the 2012 convention from September 26 to September 30 in Pittsburgh, PA. According to the Association, the annual convention draws over 1,000 participants.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
At the convention, ASALH organizes plenary sessions and workshops, facilitates scholarly presentations selected from the "Call for Papers", sponsors a black history tour of famous landmarks in the city, and hosts a youth day for high school students in the area.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
===Derived organizations===
Numerous organizations have risen out of the ASALH conventions. One such example is the [[Association of Black Women Historians]] (ABWH), founded at the 1977 ASALH convention in Washington, D.C. The ABWH was founded by three women participants: [[Rosalyn Terborg-Penn]], Eleanor Smith, and Elizabeth Parker.<ref>Mjagkij (2007), ''Organizing Black America'', p. 70.</ref>
The National Council of Black Studies was also conceptualized at an ASALH convention.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}
==See also==
{{Portal|United States}}
*[[Negro Society for Historical Research]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
* [http://www.asalh.org Official website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100514210037/http://lostmanuscript.com/ For information on the recently published Woodson manuscript.]
* [http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/website-reviews/23007 Teachinghistory.org review of ASAALH web resource ''Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Digital Archive'']
{{Mid-Atlantic U.S. historical societies}}
{{African American topics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Association For The Study Of African American Life And History}}
[[Category:1915 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:African-American history of Illinois]]
[[Category:Black studies organizations]]
[[Category:Ethnic studies organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1915]]