Black History Is More Than Slavery and Civil Rights

There is an unfortunate pattern in some history curricula.

Black people appear when slavery begins. They disappear after Reconstruction. They reappear during the Civil Rights Movement.

Imagine what that communicates to a Black child.

There is another story to teach.

Students can study Black towns and businesses after emancipation, the Harlem Renaissance, Black newspapers, historically Black colleges and universities, Black military service, the Great Migration, Black churches, writers, physicians, educators, scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, and families who created thriving communities despite tremendous obstacles.

We should absolutely teach slavery, segregation, racism, and the struggle for civil rights. Students deserve an honest history.

But struggle cannot become the only Black history we teach.

Children also need stories of creation, intellect, faith, ingenuity, family, achievement, joy, leadership, and community.

Take-away: Ask yourself a simple question about your Black history curriculum: Do my students learn only what happened to Black people, or do they also learn what Black people built, created, discovered, wrote, believed, and changed?

The Capable Scholar's Black history materials are developed with this wider story in mind, giving homeschool families and educators opportunities to explore achievement alongside struggle.