Category: Black History

500-Year-Old Slave Revolt of 1526 Redefines Freedom as US Turns 250

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn 1619 Project, Black Freedom Struggle, Black History, SlaveryLeave a comment

In 1526 — long before the more renowned dates that anchor the nation’s story of 1619 and 1776 — enslaved Africans rose up and freed themselves on the land that would eventually become the United States. You would expect MAGA memory-hole historians — obsessed with banning books, declaring that slavery was of “personal benefit” to enslaved people, and firing educators who teach honestly about systemic racism — to erase any accounts of this event. What is more troubling is how rarely it appears in mainstream history books, or even in spaces committed to truth-telling — among educators and even within movements for Black liberation — muting the earliest act of resistance to the enslavement of Africans on this land.

“Where I Got My Name: A Story of Struggle and Self Discovery”–Help Us Tell the Story of Our Enslaved Ancestors

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn #Juneteenth, Black History, Lenoir, SlaveryLeave a comment

I just got back from taking my sons on a life-changing journey to Mississippi and Louisiana where we went to the sites of the plantations on which our family members were enslaved. There we began making a documentary film about our experience—but we need your help to finish the project, so please consider donating to our GoFundMe page.

#LegalizeBlackHistory: Past Lessons to Resist Florida’s Ban on AP African American Studies—and the College Board’s Capitulation

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn AP, Black History, Black History Month, Legalize Black History, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Past struggles in Florida against slavery, Jim Crow, the Red Scare, and the Lavender Scare are replete with lessons to build a justice society today. We can’t allow Florida--or the College Board--to purged them from our classrooms.

#LegalizeBlackHisotry: Celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth With 20% Off New Apparel That Sends a Message to Florida & the Nation

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn Black History, Black History Month, Legalize Black History, UncategorizedLeave a comment

In celebration of Black History Month, we have opened a new on-line “Legalize Black History” store--with more products than the previous one--and are offering a 20% discount on all appeal and school supplies! The new online Legalize Black History store features t-shirts and merch, some with the classic design, some messages specifically for Florida educators, and others for educators all over the country. Our demand to legalize Black history is particularly urgent since Florida banned the new AP African American Studies course and has passed a law stipulating that teachers caught with banned books—related to Black history or the queer experience—face “up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine…a third-degree felony.”

“Where I Got My Name (Down in Mississippi)” Music Video: A family revelation turned into medicine for historical trauma on Juneteenth

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn Black History, Blues, The Blue Tide, UncategorizedLeave a comment

"As I continued to work on our 'Plague Blues' album over the summer, my dad Gerald Lenoir made a stunning discovery: our family was enslaved on the same plantation in Morgantown, Mississippi as the family of the legendary blues artist, J.B. Lenoir."