Carter Godwin Woodson (1875-1950) is best known as the "father of Black history". Woodson was a teacher, scholar, publisher, historian, and pioneer in the field of Black studies who popularized the subject in the schools and colleges of Black people.

The Ultimate Carter Godwin Woodson Collection includes Book one: The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861 (1919). In it, he documents the ways that education took place among African Americans from the beginning of slavery to the Civil War. There was fierce opposition to teaching slaves to read and write, while some slave owners thought it important for slaves to learn book and record keeping. Others wished for slaves to become educated enough to read the bible and become Christians; in this, Catholics and Quakers were at the forefront. At one stage, the South made draconian laws against educating slaves, specifically targeted to prevent Northerners from educational initiatives, which hampered the efforts of Abolitionists. As regards to higher education, the debate about whether to teach a trade or a liberal education was ongoing, and White trade unions protested the potential competition.

Book two: A Century of Negro Migration chronicles the movement of Blacks from the South to the North and West. The introductory section discusses early migrations during the colonial era and at the close of the 18th century. The history up to the early 20th century is covered in chapters like "Transplantation to the North"; "Fighting It Out on Free Soil"; "Colonization as a Remedy for Migration"; "The Successful Migrant"; "Confusing Movements"; "Exodus to the West"; "The Migration of the Talented Tenth"; and "The Exodus During the World War". Drawing on information from newspapers, personal letters, and academic journals, the work is both a detailed history and a poignant account of decades of oppression and of liberation and achievement.

Book three: The History of the Negro Church traces the development of the Black church in America from colonial times to the early years of the 20th century. The book includes a series of biographical sketches of church leaders, and offers a broad overview of church experience.

Book four: The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933) discusses the flaws of Eurocentric curricula that ignores African American history and culture. Dr. Woodson claims that Blacks of his day were being culturally indoctrinated in American schools. He believed the system neglected to give African American students a proper sense of who they are within society; it failed to prepare them for success and caused them to seek out inferior positions in society. The author goes to great lengths to identify the historical roots of the problem, its development, and its influence on interpersonal relations and historical scholarship.