There is too much important American history that we do not learn in school. My generation is not the only one that did not grow up learning about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre (Tom Hanks agrees) or the 1898 Wilmington, NC, insurrection, both of which left thriving Black communities in shreds.
I ended the celebration of Black History Month with humility, realizing how much more I must learn — how much more most white people raised in the U.S., and educated, as I was, with a whitewashed history of our country, must learn.
When the murder of George Floyd on Memorial Day ignited a new wave of Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis, across the U.S. and around the globe, young Nigerians connected the cause to police brutality in their own country, and held high the names of Alex Ogbu, Tina Ezekwe and others, alongside those of George Floyd and American victims.
This post is adapted from a July 9 letter to the Gillings School community that was endorsed by most members of the Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Dean’s Council. The text here reflects substantial revisions to the letter text. The opinions are mine, and I take responsibility for any errors or omissions.
