BLACK HISTORY MATTERS

A series of virtual introductory short “crash courses” addressing various aspects of Black American history and culture

​1: Welcome to Black History Matters

Welcome to the Black History Matters series! In this video, intern Victoria Basulto will be introducing the series and providing general information on how to view the videos and their subject matter.

Black History Matters is a series of twenty-eight virtual introductory short “crash courses” addressing various aspects of Black American history and culture. The videos provide critical context for the ongoing racial justice movements and the persistence of racism in America.​

2: The Beginning, 1619 - 1712

In order to understand the culmination of 400 years of American history marked with the legacy of slavery and racial discrimination, we must go to the very beginning and explore the origins of slavery in the United States in 1619.

​In this presentation, Victoria Basulto will cover the arrival of the ship the "White Lion" which brought the first Africans to the English colony of Virginia. She will explore the ways in which the institution of slavery was antithetical to the ideals of representation and freedom with which the first colonist sought to establish their new government. Lastly, she will cover the 1712 slave revolts in New York City.

3: The Christiana Resistance of 1851 - Prelude to the Civil War

The Christiana Resistance took place at Christiana, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1851 when Edward Gorsuch, a slave owner from Maryland, attempted to recapture several runaways under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 at the house of William Parker, himself once enslaved. Parker and the freedom seekers engaged in a fight with the Gorsuch posse. The Christiana Resistance, as Frederick Douglass said, proved that “fugitive themselves” were determined to destroy the Fugitive Slave Act. What happened at Christiana was, like John Brown’s raid upon Harpers Ferry, a prelude to the Civil War. ​

4: 13th Amendment & the Abolition of Slavery

In this presentation, Dr. Hogle will describe the progress from the Crittenden Compromise to the ratification of the 13th Amendment (1860 –1865). The realization evolved that the ending of slavery must be more than a war measure or a statute; it must be an amendment to the Constitution.

5: 14th Amendment & Equal Protection Under the Law

Dr. Hogle explains the 14th Amendment and the incorporation of the Bill of Rights - the evolving fight for citizens’ protections from the Federal and State governments (1868 to the Present). The incorporation of the Bill of Rights using the 14th Amendment as protection of citizens from state action has wrought a revolution in Constitutional Law from the 1920’s up to the present day and will continue to do so in the future.

6: 15th Amendment & Black Male Suffrage

Dr. Hogle returns to the Black History Matters series to provide a deep look at the 15th Amendment and the long and winding road in the continuing struggle to ensure equal access to the ballot for all citizens (1870 to the present).

7: Wilmington Insurrection of 1898

On January 6th the United States witnessed an attempted coup upon the government. The attack on the Capitol sparked a conversation about the precedent of insurrection in our nation’s history. The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 is an example of how the democratic process can be disrupted, and has been disrupted, by those seeking to uphold white supremacist ideals.

​In this presentation, Victoria Basulto, manager of Black History Matters programming, a Colgate University Senior, and a Colgate Upstate Institute intern working with NAHOF, will cover the coup that overthrew a duly elected biracial government in Wilmington NC and the legacy of that massacre.

8: Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia

Timothy McLaughlin, PhD, professor emeritus at Cazenovia College NY, will explore the origins and impact of “popular” racism in white America and examine the cultural artifacts of white racism largely through the resources of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University.The presentation concludes with examples of how the racist imagery of the Jim Crow era persists in present-day America. McLaughlin’s favorite course, Race, Rights, and Resistance was a seminar on Black history from the fight to end slavery to the ongoing struggle for equality within contemporary American society. Dr. McLaughlin is Vice-President of the NAHOF Cabinet of Freedom.

9: Lynching and the Equal Justice Initiative

Jake will share his journey from Peterboro, NY and the home of Gerrit Smith to Montgomery, Alabama and the home of the Equal Justice Initiative where he served as a volunteer for the grand opening of the National Memorial to Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum. Jake will tell what he learned, what he thought, and what compelled him to go. ​

10: Tulsa Massacre

In this presentation, JJ Citron will demonstrate how both civilians and Tulsa’s city government collaborated to attack residents and businesses of the Greenwood District, also known as “Black Wall Street.” This lethal combination of mob mentality and racism resulted in the looting and burning of 35 city blocks in Tulsa, OK. JJ will explore the state-citizen collaboration, as well as the aftermath of such violence. She will then will fast forward to September 2020, where survivor Lessie Benningfield Randle filed a lawsuit for reparations. JJ will also cover the October 2020 discovery of twelve unmarked coffins, presumably massacre victims. In this way, the program will discuss the Tulsa Massacre in the context of both when it occurred in 1921 and the present day.

11: The Great Migration

Victoria Basulto will present on the northward migration between 1910 and 1970 to industrial cities and urban centers of the estimated six million Black Americans who left behind their homes in the South. This movement has had a long-lasting effect on Black American culture and ways of life. In this presentation, Basulto will cover the push and pull factors that contributed to this journey, making it one of the largest internal migrations in U.S. history. Black people often left the South due to a combination of racially discriminatory practices and economic disparities that made the North, with its booming industry, appealing to those seeking a better life. Basulto will use artwork like that of The Migration Series by Jacob Lawrence to highlight the different stages in the journey undertaken by those who chose to move, as well as the difficulties they faced along the way.

12: A Raisin in the Sun

The play A Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry debuted on March 11, 1959, and covered the story of a Black family, the Youngers, struggling to make their dreams a reality in the ghetto of Southside Chicago. Victoria Basulto will provide an exploration of this play. The Youngers’ struggles will highlight a variety of historical issues that Black Americans and other marginalised people continue to face in our modern-day. Most importantly, the rich characters of the play allow the audience to explore the consequences of housing inequality on the dreams and aspirations of Black Americans. The play itself also emphasizes the important role that literature and the arts played in serving as an avenue for expressing these inequalities. ​

13: Involuntary Sterilizations

John C. Bowen MD will examine 19th-century views of science, progress, evolution, and eugenics linking those views with progress in medicine and surgery and their application to 20th-century social engineering. While scientific progress brought benefits to many, some people were victimized either inadvertently or through specific targeting. Some early 20th century progressives embraced aspects of eugenics and social engineering as a means to improving the quality of life in overcrowded cities. These ideas were carried to excess or perverted into sterilizing people with undesirable traits such as mental illness, deformities, and criminal behavior. Dr Bowen will discuss why sterilization policies in combination with other historical and unethical medical events have left us with persisting distrust of medical care among the poor and communities of color. This has ramifications in the current covid-19 pandemic as well as other diseases primarily affecting black women such as HPV, cervical cancer, and maternal mortality. ​

14: John Lewis

Ann Jones will present on John Lewis and his legacy of voter rights. Jones will follow young Lewis to stories of voting prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1965, which she will explain. Voting problems that still exist after 1965 will be addressed, as well as how to close the gap today.

15: Black History Education in the American South

Evan Faulkenbury PhD, will share his personal background story asking the question, “Why didn’t I learn that history?” and explaining how his private evangelical education ignored the history of racism in America. Faulkenbury grew up in North Carolina, and his K-12 experience occurred through private, evangelical Christian schools. It was only when he went to graduate school to study U.S. history that he began to understand African American history, the Civil Rights movement, and the historical legacy of racism that continues today. Dr. Faulkenbury will share a bit about his scholarly research and how it is rooted in his desire to help others realize this history sooner than he did. ​

16: H.R. 40 and the Quest for Reparations

JJ Citron and Jeff McArn will center this program around legislation H.R. 40, which has been discussed in the House of Representatives for over three decades. The legislation has not made it beyond debate within the house. In addition to explaining the text itself, the presentation will also include videos of 2019 congressional testimonies by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Coleman Hughes (in favor and against reparations, respectively) on Juneteenth. Citron and McArn plan to center Black voices and perspectives on H.R. 40 throughout the presentation. With this in mind, they will also be including prominent voices who have weighed in on the case for reparations, including politicians, religious figures, political organizers, and activist groups. ​

17: Black Law Enforcement

Max Smith interviews Gregory L. Riley, Sr. on racism and the need for structural change in the police force in the context of the recent Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality. Riley reflects on his experiences as a police officer and provides insight into what changes he thinks could bring about significant change to the way we do policing in the United States.

18: Music of Enslavement and Emancipation

Music was used by the enslaved and the emancipators to express thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. The importance of music to the abolition and Civil Rights movement was, and is, significant. Max Alden Smith will provide background on a selection of songs sung by enslaved Black Americans and by abolitionists at antislavery meetings. Smith will also perform the songs as he had done often for programs at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark and for the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum.

19: Triumph of the Human Spirit

In 1991, the remains of more than 400 African slaves were excavated during the construction of a federal building in New York City’s Foley Square financial district. Following an extensive archeological study, Dr. Lorenzo Pace was commissioned to create a monument paying homage to the African slaves originally buried on that site in the 1700s. Pace created Triumph of the Human Spirit, a large sculpture that includes a replica of a lock that shackled Pace’s great, great grandfather. Dr. Pace is an artist, author, storyteller, performer, and lecturer. His doctorate is in art education, and he is the author of four children’s books on Black American History.

20: Survival of the Gullah Geechee Culture

“Ef oona ent kno weh oona da gwuine, oona should kno weh oona kum from.” (Trans: If you don’t know where you are going, then you should know where you are from.) The Gullah Geechee of coastal South Carolina and Georgia believe that understanding the past is essential to planning for the future. These people were purchased by white planters for their rice growing expertise. They struggled to survive enslavement and Jim Crow segregation. They are also a unique example of Black cultural continuity expressed in their language, music, cultural beliefs, and material culture. This lecture by Timothy McLaughlin PhD continues into the present day, identifying current threats to cultural survival.

21: Abolition of Slavery in New York State 1827

With the bicentennial of New York State’s abolition of slavery approaching in 2027, New Yorkers need to examine the state’s role in slavery even after the March 31, 1817 action by the legislature setting July 4, 1827, as the end of slavery in the state. The new regulations following the 1799 gradual abolition law, were complex according to birth years, sex, and extension of service years. The enslaved were not all emancipated.

22: The Blood Hound Law - the Hated 1850 Fugitive Slave Law

​This program will present a review of the historical conditions that led to the passage of this hated law, what it legally required, and its effect on the antislavery movement. Norman K. Dann PhD will describe specific protests against the law and provide examples of the atrocities of the execution of the law.

23: Mistreatment of WWI Soldiers

Timothy McLaughlin PhD presents on the Black experiences of World War One, both home and abroad, which foreshadowed the more well-known history of the Second World War’s Double V campaign against Axis fascism and white American racism. This lecture looks at race relations during World War One, covering the struggle of the newly formed NAACP to react to the American entry to the war, the treatment of Black American soldiers in US training camps, their subsequent experiences overseas, and the racist violence of white Americans opposing Black Americans’ efforts to achieve economic progress.

24: Housing Inequality

​Truman Hartshorn PhD, professor emeritus Georgia State University, Atlanta GA, will address the black residential spaces in the cities which traditionally existed as a “city within a city,” sometimes called a ghetto space. Many institutional, economic, and governmental discriminatory practices meted out by the white population maintained the system. Among the actors controlling the process have been realtors, bankers, zoning practices, and government policies. Although the trend to strike down restrictive housing policies gained momentum after World War II, the legacy remains. Many unwritten tools continue to be used to discriminate against black families. 

25: Black Joy

While teaching about the history of white people exploiting and dehumanizing Black people in America is critical to understanding and dismantling ongoing, violent legacies, a singular focus on stories of Black trauma and pain constructs a one-dimensional idea of Blackness as suffering. To resist the omnipresent, intrusive and pervasive nature of white supremacy, Black Americans must also allow themselves to be rebelliously joyous. Erin Burke will present on the definition and importance of making space for narratives of Black Joy. ​

26: Anti-racism education

​"Anti-racism" is different from "not being racist.”  Because media representations, social systems and institutions enfranchise white people and entrench racism, being simply "not racist" allows the continuation of these racist ideas and structures. Anti-racism focuses on how to actively deconstruct and dismantle these racist ideas and structures. Delving into anti-racism for the first time can be intimidating, and the most common fears NAHOF hears are worries about not knowing enough, saying the wrong thing, or not knowing where to start. Erin Burke will use a short video which will signpost to ideas, resources, and actions to help become anti-racist.

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