The Truth About Black History in American Education

It’s been a while, but I’m excited to be back to blogging. And what better way to kick things off than during Black History Month, with a conversation we can’t afford to avoid:

The Truth About Black History in American Education

Let Me Start Here

As an elder millennial, I’m honestly flabbergasted by the bold, callous, and flagrant attempts coming from the White House to erase the history of Black Americans, while labeling anything related to the only history we have in America as divisive, “woke,” critical race theory, or anti-American.

For someone who grew up hearing the stories of my grandfather, born in 1930, a Black man who came of age in the Jim Crow South where the color of his skin was a daily threat to his life as he risked everything to provide for his family, this moment feels like the greatest gaslight of all time.

A preposterous catch-22.

An insane duality.

We are labeled “African American,” yet there is nothing African about us by choice. We were stolen, enslaved, raped, and forced onto this land. Stripped of heritage, bloodlines, tribes, culture, and lineage. Forbidden to speak native tongues.

Families were torn apart. Identity erased.

And yet, the only history we know, the history we endured, survived, and conquered through resilience, courage, and the bravery of countless Black pioneers from the late 1700s through the 1900s, is now the very history being erased, removed from imagery, and forbidden from being taught in schools.

That is beyond comprehension.

It is hurtful.

And it is deeply insulting.

Context for My Gen Z Audience

There was a time in America when it was illegal for Black people to learn to read.

I want you to sit with that for a moment.

Black History Month isn’t just about looking back. It’s about acknowledging what was never supposed to exist and celebrating the fact that it does anyway.

It’s about honoring the brave Black men and women who didn’t just survive American history. They shaped it. Their courage is the reason educators like myself can show up today on digital platforms, in classrooms, and in community spaces speaking life into the next generation.

For Black Americans, education has always been our quiet and most powerful revolution.

Despite systemic attempts to suppress our access to education and the quality of it, what was once weaponized to keep us inferior has become essential to our growth, agency, and success.

Let that sink in.

When Learning Was Criminalized, We Chose Resistance

During slavery, literacy wasn’t discouraged for Black people. It was criminalized. Laws were created to keep us disconnected from knowledge, power, and self-determination.

And yet…

In 1794, the African Free School opened its doors to educate free Black children.

In 1837, before slavery even ended, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania was founded to prepare Black educators.

That wasn’t permission.

That was resistance.

That was brilliance meeting belief.

Why Education Has Always Been Our Revolution

Let me break this down the way I would if we were sitting at the table together.

1. When Knowledge Was Denied, We Built Our Own

After the Civil War, during Reconstruction, the Freedmen’s Bureau helped establish more than 1,000 schools across the South for formerly enslaved children and adults.

Were these schools perfect? No.

Were they well-funded? Absolutely not.

But they were rooted in community, faith, and a shared understanding that education was the way forward. Long before policies changed, Black families already knew learning was liberation.

We understood that the more we learned, the greater our access and the weaker the lie of inferiority became.

2. Representation in Education Isn’t Symbolic, It’s Measurable

Here’s something I always want families to understand.

Research has confirmed that Black students who have even one Black teacher before third grade are significantly more likely to graduate from college. That likelihood increases with additional exposure.

That’s not a feel-good statistic.

That’s proof.

Black educators don’t just teach content. They affirm identity, possibility, and belonging.

Often, there is a level of patience, care, and cultural understanding extended to “one of our own.” That impact traces back to the earliest Black teachers who taught in secret, in churches, and in newly freed communities.

3. HBCUs Are Evidence That Purpose Beats Scale

Historically Black Colleges and Universities make up a small percentage of U.S. colleges, yet they produce a disproportionate number of Black professionals, educators, and leaders.

I’m one of them. A proud graduate of Texas Southern University and the president of my alumni association, where I remain deeply committed to service and giving back.

HBCUs are living proof that excellence isn’t defined by size, prestige, or endowment, but by mission, culture, and commitment to community.

Progress Has Never Been Linear and That’s the Truth

The 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declared segregated schools unconstitutional. It was a major legal victory, and still, it came with complicated consequences.

Many Black schools were closed.

Many Black educators lost their jobs.

And inequities didn’t magically disappear.

Instead, they have manifested into many of the educational disparities we still see today. Funding and resource gaps. Disproportionate discipline. Academic opportunity gaps. Teacher quality disparities. Lower reading scores.

These inequities still exist for many Black students in America in 2026.

Which is why the work that myself and so many other educators do holds tremendous value. We serve as alternatives and advocates to help fill these gaps.

Understanding the origins of Black history in American education, along with the current attempts to erase it, further validates the ongoing need for Black educators, representation, cultural awareness, and culturally responsive approaches to teaching, family engagement, in-home learning, and access to resources.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Here’s some food for thought. I’ll leave you with a few questions to sit with:

• Since education has always been collective for us and not just individual, how are you continuing that tradition in your home and community today?

• Who do you or your children see teaching them, leading them, and affirming them?

• Are we treating education as a checkbox or as a legacy?

• What time and visibility are we giving to our students and their schools?

Now is an opportunity to help rewrite future Black history for our students and to remember that Black History Month isn’t just a reminder of struggle. It is a celebration of brilliance.

From hidden classrooms to historic institutions to digital platforms, education has always been one of our most intentional tools for change.

As we move forward together, my hope is that we continue to honor the past, protect the truth, and plan boldly for the future. Because education was never accidental for us.

It has always been the revolution.

Happy Black History Month.

Xo,

Coach Rahk