The easiest decision the Buckingham County School Board and public school system will ever face is whether or not to name the elementary school on Route 20 in honor of Carter G. Woodson.

The whole elementary school complex. Not part of it. The whole thing. The grades K-2 structure and the third through fifth grade facility.

Name the whole thing the Carter G. Woodson Elementary School.

Yes,

Of course.

Absolutely.

The no-brainiest of no-brainers.

The New Canton native known as the Father of Black History is one of the great Americans and no person born in Buckingham County can equal the impact Mr. Woodson has had on this nation; he is the best the county has produced.

In fact, naming a school in this man's honor, and keeping it there, should have been done long ago. Carter G. Woodson's life was entirely about education.

Actually, there once was a school named for Carter G. Woodson in Buckingham, a high school for African Americans in 1954, but his name was removed, the school's name changed in 1971 to Buckingham Junior High School and later to Dillwyn Elementary School.

A name that was taken away should be given back. This is not a black honor or a white honor. Not a this or a that honor. Not an either, not an or honor. This is honoring a human being, and one whose story gives hope and faith and is an inspiration to all human beings. Put Carter G. Woodson out there loud and proud.

Schools all over the country are named after Carter G. Woodson, the son of former slaves who earned a Ph.D. in history at Harvard University in 1912, later establishing Negro History Week.

The county where he was born on December 19, 1875-and the School Board should choose a name for the school this spring-surely should do so.

There is a Carter G. Woodson Charter School in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Carter G. Woodson Middle School in Chicago, Illinois.

Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Crisfield, Maryland.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland.

Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia.

Carter G. Woodson Middle School in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Los Angeles, California.

The Carter G. Woodson Institute for Excellence in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Carter G. Woodson Middle School in Hopewell, Virginia.

Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Jacksonville, Florida.

Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Oakland Park, Florida.

PS 23 Carter G. Woodson School in Brooklyn, New York.

The Carter G. Woodson K-8 School in Houston, Texas.

There are also libraries, museums, campuses and parks named after Carter G. Woodson.

Nobody has brought more honor to Buckingham County than Carter G. Woodson. He is recognized all over the United States of America and his Washington, D.C. home is a National Historic Site.

It is time for Buckingham County, Virginia and the Carter G. Woodson Elementary School to join the long list of honors across the length of America, from sea to shining sea.

In its own way, the Carter G. Woodson Elementary School, on Route 20 not terribly far from the place of his birth in Buckingham County, would be the most meaningful of all.

-JKW-