A fresh portrayal of one of the architects of the African American intellectual tradition, whose faith in the subversive power of education will inspire teachers and learners today.

“As departments…scramble to decolonize their curriculum, Givens illuminates a longstanding counter-canon in predominantly black schools and colleges.”
—Boston Review

“Informative and inspiring…An homage to the achievement of an often-forgotten racial pioneer.”
—Glenn C. Altschuler, Florida Courier

“A long-overdue labor of love and analysis…that would make Woodson, the ever-rigorous teacher, proud.”
—Randal Maurice Jelks, Los Angeles Review of Books

“Fascinating, and groundbreaking. Givens restores Carter G. Woodson, one of the most important educators and intellectuals of the twentieth century, to his rightful place alongside figures like W. E. B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells.”
—Imani Perry, author of May We Forever Stand: A History of the Black National Anthem

Black education was subversive from its inception. African Americans pursued education through clandestine means, often in defiance of law and custom, even under threat of violence. They developed what Jarvis Givens calls a tradition of “fugitive pedagogy”—a theory and practice of Black education epitomized by Carter G. Woodson—groundbreaking historian, founder of Black History Month, and legendary educator under Jim Crow.

Givens shows that Woodson succeeded because of the world of Black teachers to which he belonged. Fugitive Pedagogy chronicles his ambitious efforts to fight what he called the “mis-education of the Negro” by helping teachers and students to see themselves and their mission as set apart from an anti-Black world. Teachers, students, families, and communities worked together, using Woodson’s materials and methods as they fought for power in schools. Forged in slavery and honed under Jim Crow, the vision of the Black experience Woodson articulated so passionately and effectively remains essential for teachers and students today.

"Through meticulous research, Givens has reconstructed the radical historical methods, teaching ethic, and writings of Carter G. Woodson; his book is a long-overdue labor of love and analysis…I have nothing but admiration for this outstanding contribution to the history and theory of Black education…A tremendous offering and one that would make Woodson, the ever-rigorous teacher, proud." - Los Angeles Review of Books

"Takes the case of historian and ‘father of black history’ Carter G. Woodson as a prism to uncover a dissenting tradition of American learning, in the history, theory, and practice of black educators…As departments and disciplines today scramble to decolonize their curriculum, Givens illuminates a longstanding counter-canon in predominantly black schools and colleges." - Boston Review

"Informative and inspiring…a significant contribution of the history of Black education in the United States…An homage to the achievement of an often-forgotten racial pioneer." - Florida Courier

"Fugitive Pedagogy is a needed, yet somber, reminder that activism is always entangled within and confined by hostile opposition…A must-read for students, parents, and policy makers." - Journal of Southern History

"Givens provides a new language for historians of education to understand the hidden pedagogical work of Carter G. Woodson and Black teachers during slavery and in the Jim Crow era…Intellectually stimulating and rigorously researched." - Historical Studies in Education

"Givens has made an important contribution to our understanding of race and education in American history and has illuminated the important but often overlooked role of Carter G. Woodson as a central figure in both the struggle for civil rights and equity in public education." - North Carolina Historical Review