Learning Black History Changed My Life
For me , learning Black history wasn ’ t just about discovering what happened in the past . It was about understanding my present reality and predicting my future .
Based on the stats , I shouldn ’ t have even graduated high school , let alone attended college on a full scholarship , gone on to get an MBA and become a college professor . That shouldn ’ t have been in my future at all .
My high school was 91 % Black . 88 % of the students were considered economically disadvantaged and 83 % qualified for free lunch . I was in that 83 %. I barely managed to score the 1000 on the SAT I needed to gain admission to the University of Florida . But my GPA was over 4.0 and I graduated fifth in a class of over 200 . I attended UF on a full academic merit scholarship .
My teachers instilled in me the confidence that I could do anything . And I believed them . Regardless of the ragged , torn textbooks in our classrooms or the drug dealers on the corner outside the school , our teachers told us we were descendants of kings and queens . I believed that , too !
During my junior year of high school , I took an African American studies class . I read books that opened my mind and my spirit : “ The Autobiography of Malcolm X ” as told to Alex Haley , “ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ” by Maya Angelou , and “ The Miseducation of the Negro ” by Carter G . Woodson .
But two books in particular had the most impact on me : “ The Isis Papers ” by Frances Cress Welsing and “ The African Origin of Civilization ” by Cheikh Anta Diop . Those books changed my life .
Seeing pictures of ancient African civilizations as old as time itself helped me to reflect on myself for the very first time in a way I never had before . Who was I ? Where was I really from ? I asked myself those questions and realized I didn ’ t really know . I knew my address . But what was my ancestry ?
“ We have to talk about liberating our minds as well as liberating society .”
- Angela Davis
Learning the truth about my history set me free from a narrative I had believed my entire life based on my surroundings : that life would always be harder for me and that I was destined to struggle .
Instead , I embraced the possibility that life encompassed more than I could see around me and that my legacy was greatness and hope , rather than hopelessness and pain .
The brilliant author and activist Maya Angelou expressed it best when she said , “ I have great respect for the past . If you don ’ t know where you ’ ve come from , you don ’ t know where you ’ re going .”
Studying and attempting to understand implicit bias , racial inequity , systemic racism , lack of diversity and inclusion in the workplace , and the racial wealth gap in America is admirable . Attempting to fix these problems is even better . There is a reason I had to step over crack pipes on the sidewalk outside my high school , and it wasn ’ t because my parents were lazy or failed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps .
There is a reason my school suffered from a lack of resources , overburdened teachers and not enough guidance counselors , and it wasn ’ t because none of those Black parents cared or didn ’ t want better for their children .
But , like Maya Angelou , I am a strong proponent in the idea that there is no way to understand why we are where we are , as a country , without having the historical context to put events and phenomena into perspective .