Black American History — Course Overview

Overview

  • Series traces from 1619 to the Black Lives Matter movement to understand how slavery shaped American history and how it's taught.
  • Core claim: Black history is central to American history.

Terminology and Scope

  • Language around Black people has evolved; terms "black" and "African American" are often used interchangeably today; we may use them interchangeably here.
  • African American typically refers to people of African descent born in or living in the US.
  • Black Americans include those with enslaved ancestors generations ago and recent immigrants; experiences are diverse; terms are fluid.

Key Concepts

  • Race is a social construct with real cultural, sociological, and political implications.
  • Understanding this helps explain current disparities and policies shaping society.

Personal Motivation and Learning Gaps

  • The author didn’t know that 12 of our first 18 presidents owned enslaved people.
  • Didn’t know how redlining and government-sponsored housing segregation shaped today’s landscape.
  • Didn’t know that New Deal legislation and the GI Bill after WWII excluded millions of Black people from benefits, trapping them in intergenerational poverty.
  • Learning these facts can free and empower understanding of present-day inequities.

Scope: Black History Is Not Just Slavery

  • Slavery is deeply important, but Black history is more than slavery.
  • Also focuses on Black art, literature, cultural traditions, and accomplishments despite oppression.
  • Black history is intertwined with, not separate from, American history; both are coextensive.

Structure and Boundaries

  • The course will address challenging topics; some information may be sensitive or disturbing.
  • 50 episodes to tell these stories; some aspects will be left out.
  • Not a definitive history; one contribution to a broader, ongoing conversation.

Closing Message

  • Black history is central to American history.
  • The series aims to capture multiple dimensions of the Black experience and acknowledge both struggle and achievement.
  • Let’s go.