“A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
–MARCUS GARVEY
OUR VISION
We believe in using history as a tool to foster sustainable and intentional activism against systemic racism.
History does not have a common set of standards nationwide. As a result, the content and scope of an American history education varies wildly from state to state and from region to region. Frequently, hard truths about our nation’s history of racism and white supremacy are downplayed, distorted, or left out.
We teach people to unlearn history’s dominant narrative in order to empower our communities to reconcile with our past. As educators, we lead with compassion in building connections across lines of difference, centered on our belief in the collective capacity for change.
OUR VALUES
Community is critical.
We can’t do this alone! Community is what nourishes and sustains our work as activists, and that connection is what both empowers us and holds us accountable. This collective responsibility we share is critical to the learning process and to our understanding of & commitment to social justice movements.
We search for the truth.
We must know our history to understand our obligations. We’re committed to uncovering the truth in our past, unlearning and letting go of what we may have previously understood as history. We’re also committed to searching for truth in ourselves, to exploring why we seek this wisdom and why we want to do this work.
Equity and justice are end game.
Both our external goals and internal practices are informed by an equitable approach. We support our students with what they need to stay engaged. For white people, this looks like active allyship with non-white communities and an acknowledgement of white privilege. For people of color, this looks like healing and revolution.
We believe in the capacity for change.
We’re educators first and foremost. We believe our nation can change, and we also believe every individual person can grow. A growth mindset lets us focus on helping our students strengthen new muscles. If racial inequity and white supremacy are rooted in fear, then justice, change, and growth are rooted in courage.
We lead with compassion.
Compassion and love are the pivotal ingredients to sustainable activism. We know our students learn better when they are supported, so our foundation is one of belonging. We strive to create safe spaces for encountering new ideas and sitting with uncomfortable feelings, always underscored with understanding and encouragement.
We bring light to dark history.
The concepts we tackle are heavy, but we still believe it’s possible to find happiness, light, and hope. We do this work without losing ourselves in it, and a human-centered, healing approach helps us hold joy even in sadness–an essential aspect of sustainable activism we aim to pass on to each and every student.