african american history

Under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, pictured, the state is enacting a handful of controversial education measures that are attracting national attention.

High schoolers threaten to sue DeSantis over ban of African American studies course

4:33pm January 25, 2023

by Giulia Heyward

Attorney Ben Crump announced a potential lawsuit against the Florida governor after the state rejected a new Advanced Placement course, which the College Board now says it will revise.

"People across the country should be concerned that legislators and governors across the country are going to do exactly what Florida is doing," says Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones, pictured here in March 2022.

Florida's AP African American studies ban should raise alarm elsewhere, lawmaker says

10:49am January 23, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat, says the proposed course "wasn't indoctrination, it wasn't ideology, it was facts." He fears blocking it will harm students in Florida and beyond.

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Juneteenth highlights 'kaleidoscope of how freedom is delayed'

10:08am June 17, 2022

by Eddie Garcia

Juneteenth, now federally recognized, celebr

Lonnie G. Bunch III, shortly after he was named Smithsonian Secretary in 2019

Arts

Inside The Blacksonian With Lonnie Bunch

3:34pm March 18, 2021

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III talks about how he turned entry into the Blacksonian into the hottest ticket in town and how the coronavirus is affecting the Smithsonians.

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A field trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., led by Kimberly Grayson, the principal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College in Denver, inspired some of her students to demand a more inclusive school

Denver School Principal On How Black Students Led Swift Changes To History Curriculum

7:03pm July 10, 2020

Kimberly Grayson took her high schoolers to the African American history museum in D.C. When students pressed their white teachers to take the same trip, a revised history curriculum quickly followed.

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Race

'Lifted Voices' Brings African American History To Life

4:22pm February 11, 2020

by David Ford

The Greensboro History Museum will feature costumed actors portraying local African-Americans who made historic contributions to our nati

Race
Books

New Children's Book Highlights NC African American Heritage

6:00am January 20, 2020

by Eddie Garcia

A new children's book on North Carolina's African American history has been released.

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Education

Groups Push School District To Require African American History In High Schools

8:53am May 01, 2019

by Keri Brown

A local group is asking the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board to mandate an African American history course for high school students.

During the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival last April, Mr. Okra drove his iconic produce truck and called out to customers.

National

Goodbye, Mr. Okra: New Orleans Remembers Its Singing Vegetable Vendor

8:00am February 17, 2018

by Debbie Elliott

Arthur James Robinson, known as "Mr. Okra," died this week. But New Orleans residents will never forget his distinctive inventory call and his brightly-painted truck, winding through the city.

Interdisciplinary artist and TED Fellow, Damon Davis.

At TED This Week, Two Speakers Got To The Root Of Things

3:46pm April 28, 2017

by Nina Gregory

At the TED Conference in Vancouver this week, two Fellows, Devita Davison and Damon Davis talked about putting ideas to work to invigorate marginalized communities from within.