In Part I of a three-part class, seven Black scholars invite you to learn the American history not taught in schools. Examine white supremacy and its antithesis, Black love; explore the 1619 Project and the origins of slavery; and begin to reshape the conversations on race in America.
Professor Cornel West explains the significance of Black love in all its forms-art, culture, family, community, and dignity-and why, despite trauma, Black Americans continue to create freedom fighters to spread Black joy and win liberty for all.
Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the 1619 Project, shares how Black American resistance has historically been a major democratizing force in America, and offers insight on the complicated relationship between Black citizens and patriotism.
4. Plantation: The Birthplace of American Capitalism
Nikole Hannah-Jones exposes the true foundation of American capitalism-the chattel slavery of Black people in the South-and how those roots continue to inform much of our modern-day economic systems.
Black Liberation Movement icon Angela Davis speaks to the importance of thinking about enslaved people as people much like us-and not objectifying them strictly as victims of a violent, inhumane economic system.
Linguist John McWhorter shares the origins of Black English. Often dismissed as slang, Black English is a uniquely sophisticated form of communication with its own nuances and complexities.
Angela Davis describes slavery's lasting impact on Black women-from emancipation to the Moynihan Report and beyond. She focuses on the lasting significance of Black matriarchy and how Black women were at the crux of two great struggles.
8. What They Didn't Teach You About the End of the Civil War
Nikole Hannah-Jones unravels the truth about what happened after emancipation, beginning with the Great Nadir. Black codes were introduced, Black businesses were destroyed, and Black Americans were terrorized by the practice of lynching.
Civil Rights lawyer and NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Sherrilyn Ifill explains the 14th Amendment and how in making emancipated people full citizens, it also allowed for birthright citizenship and the "nation of immigrants" narrative.
Constitutional law expert Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw explains the Reconstruction Amendments, and how white supremacists successfully resisted reform through the Supreme Court.
