Beyond the textbooks: What is missing from Black History education

The Back to Africa Movement

Started in 1815

• An initiative to relocate freed slaves to land below the Saharan Desert
• Created by the American Colonization Society (ACS)
• Received funding from southern slave owners and federal grants to buy land in West Africa
• Around 15,000 African Americans relocated between 1815 and 1848

Mary Prince

Autobiography published in 1831

• First Black woman to publish an autobiography of her experience as a slave 
• Escaped slavery in 1828 and after immigrating to England, decided to write and publish her autobiography, “The History of Mary Prince,” with help from writer Susanna Strickland
• The book was published in 1831 and helped promote abolitionism

The Harlem Renaissance

Started in the 1920s

• Cultural movement during the 1920s and 30s in Harlem, NY
• Created foundations for the Civil Rights Movement by empowering African Americans
• Popular jazz style called the Harlem Stride was invented during this time
• Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes were influential artists during the movement

Ralph Buche

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950

• African American political scientist 
• Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950 for his mediation in the Arab-Israeli conflict 
• Made significant contributions to the de-colonization movement
• Leading figure in the Civil Rights Movement
• Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President John F. Kennedy

Ella Baker

Influential woman during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement

• Influential leader in her community
• Was a part of the Young Negros Cooperative League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• Co-founded In-Friendship with Stanley Levison and Bayard Rustin
• Helped organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) with Martin Luther King Jr.

The Black Panther Party

Founded in 1966

• Black power political and militant organization meant to aid and protect Black communities that was based in Oakland, CA
• Founded by two young political activists, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale
• The party helped start community service programs around transportation, food, and clothing.

Trevor McDonald

Journalist since 1973

• Black power political and militant organization meant to aid and protect Black communities that was based in Oakland, CA
• Founded by two young political activists, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale
• The party helped start community service programs around transportation, food, and clothing. 

Dr. Patricia E. Bath

Invented Laserphaco Probe in 1981

• American ophthalmologist and laser scientist
• Invented the Laserphaco Probe in 1981, which created a less painful method of removing cataracts from patients
• Received a patent for the Laserphaco probe and in turn became the first African-American female doctor to hold a medical patent.