Black History Fact: After the War on Drugs expanded in the late 20th century, Black Americans were incarcerated at vastly disproportionate rates despite similar drug usage across races. Punishment did not end at prison. Black history shows us how criminal records became lifelong barriers—to housing, employment, voting, and stability.
Black History Fact: Black communities have been disproportionately exposed to pollution and environmental hazards due to discriminatory housing and zoning policies. Environmental racism is not incidental. Black history shows us that toxic sites, highways, landfills, and industrial plants were placed where political power was weakest. The result? Higher rates of
From the earliest days of American newspapers, Black people were either invisible or caricatured. Enslaved people were described as property. Reconstruction-era Black leaders were portrayed as corrupt or incompetent. During Jim Crow, headlines routinely reinforced fear, criminality, and inferiority. Even well into the 20th century, major outlets either minimized
Black History Fact: Black churches were among the few institutions fully controlled by Black communities and became central hubs for organizing, education, and resistance. Religion in Black history is complex. It was used to justify slavery—and to survive it. Black churches offered sanctuary where society offered hostility. They became
Black History Month Day 22: Medicine Has a Memory Black History Fact: Black Americans were subjected to medical experimentation without consent, including the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which continued until 1972. Trust is not broken overnight. Black history shows us that medicine has often been a site of harm rather than
In case any of my readers wondered if I would focus my newsletter on Black History Month for the entire month — it should now be very clear: YES. Hell yes. Because the moment you begin telling the truth about history, it refuses to stay politely inside a day or two
Black History Fact: The FBI’s COINTELPRO program targeted Black leaders and organizations in the 1950s–70s, surveilling, infiltrating, and destabilizing movements for racial justice. Black history reminds us that activism has always been monitored. Movements are labeled dangerous not because they are violent—but because they are effective. Surveillance
Black History Fact: Jazz, blues, rock, and hip-hop were created by Black artists, often while white performers profited more widely and were deemed more “marketable.” Black culture has always been influential—and exploited. Black history shows us how creativity flourishes even under constraint, and how that creativity is often
Black History Fact: During the Civil Rights Movement, peaceful protesters were routinely arrested, beaten, surveilled, and labeled threats to public order. Now, history textbooks prefer to stage this period like a polite church picnic — brave people walked, sang, and the nation slowly felt better about itself. Curtains close. Applause. Democracy
Black History Fact: After Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, many school districts did not simply hesitate to integrate — they resisted it with planning, policy, and open defiance. Some communities closed entire public school systems rather than allow Black children to sit beside white children. Public education itself was
Black History Fact: Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses were designed specifically to prevent Black Americans from voting after Reconstruction. Voting rights were not “lost.” They were stolen. Black history makes clear that barriers to voting were engineered with precision. The goal was never subtle. It was effective. The
Black History Fact: In 1968, just days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., more than 100 U.S. cities erupted in uprisings responding to decades of racial violence and inequality. America likes neat endings. A speech. A law. A moment we can point to and say, That’