Title: Black History Is About More Than Oppression (Opinion)
Headings: Black History Is About More Than Oppression
Black History Is About More Than Oppression
We keep teaching about Black history, not through it
LaGarrett J. King
Black historical consciousness is a set of principles to understand, develop, and teach Black histories that recognize Black people's full humanity.

Content: Black people are taught as passive people and disconnected from their liberation. The prevailing narrative emphasizes white saviors and the federal government as Black people’s primary liberators. When Black liberation is taught, “liberation” is limited to “nonviolence,” and historical narratives that state otherwise are vilified and compared to white supremacy. The stale K-12 Black history instruction rarely builds on itself; instead, the same context and content are regurgitated throughout students’ educational careers. Black historical consciousness is a set of principles to understand, develop, and teach Black histories that recognize Black people's full humanity. We can’t get Black history education right because we teach about Black history instead of through Black history. Teaching about Black history has meant that schools teach from how white people imagine Black histories. Teaching through Black history should mean listening, writing, and teaching narratives from the actual historical experiences and voices of Black people. These historical perspectives differ significantly.