About this Blog

This blog is about my class.  It's called B.L.A.C.K, which stands for Black Literary Awareness for Cultural Knowledge.  This course is an introduction to African American History with an emphasis on African Americans’ origins, their cultural path, and their legacy of resistance to discrimination and inequality in the Americas and Caribbean. While traditional African American history courses typically commence with the transatlantic slave trade, this curriculum begins with the rich history of ancient Africa and the historical period when people of color were important builders of world civilizations. The primary text will educate students from an “African center” about the achievements, failures, and victories of ancient African people and their African American descendants, who endured two centuries of enslavement in the New World after being forcibly removed from their African homelands. We will be introduced to several pioneering black historians and scholars, including Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. YYosef ben-Jochannan, Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop, Ivan Van Sertima, and Ashra Kwesi.

The goal is for me to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of my cultural heritage, and along the way engage in critical thinking, self-examination, and dialogue to cultivate cultural identity, racial dignity, and self-pride. Also, as a part of this class, my classmates and I embark on field research, also known as Metro Journeys.  On our journeys, we travel by metro all over the city to uncover our history in he Nation's Capitol.  This blog with chronicle those adventures.