Crash Course Black American History Preview
Summary
TLDRIn this introduction to Crash Course Black American History, host Clint Smith outlines the series' focus on how slavery, segregation, and systemic racism have shaped the U.S. He highlights the evolving language around race, the impact of historical policies like redlining and the GI Bill, and stresses that Black history is more than just slavery—it’s a celebration of Black art, culture, and achievements. While some topics will be challenging, the series aims to provide a comprehensive look at Black history as an essential part of American history.
Takeaways
- 👨🏫 Clint Smith is the host of Crash Course Black American History and is a writer, teacher, and PhD holder.
- 📚 The series explores Black American history from the arrival of enslaved people in 1619 to the Black Lives Matter movement.
- 🔄 Terms like 'Black' and 'African-American' are often used interchangeably but reflect a diverse range of experiences and histories.
- 📜 Slavery is central to understanding American history, but Black history encompasses much more than slavery and oppression.
- 🏛️ The series will explore the impact of historical events like redlining, housing segregation, and discriminatory policies like the GI Bill on Black Americans.
- 🎨 In addition to discussing oppression, the series will also highlight Black art, literature, and cultural traditions.
- 💡 The goal of the series is to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how Black people have shaped U.S. history, focusing on both struggles and achievements.
- 🛠️ Clint Smith emphasizes that he didn't learn important aspects of Black history in school, but later found it liberating to gain this understanding.
- ⚖️ The series will address challenging topics but aims to provide a balanced perspective on both the hardships and joys of Black life in America.
- 🎥 Crash Course aims to be one contribution to a broader conversation about Black history, with 50 episodes to explore key aspects of the Black experience in the U.S.
Q & A
Who is the host of Crash Course Black American History?
-The host of Crash Course Black American History is Clint Smith.
What qualifications does Clint Smith have?
-Clint Smith is a writer, a teacher, and holds a PhD in areas related to race, inequality, education, and history.
What time period does the series cover?
-The series covers the period from 1619, when enslaved Black people first arrived in the American British colonies, up through the modern-day Black Lives Matter movement.
What is the difference between the terms 'Black' and 'African-American' as explained in the script?
-'Black' and 'African-American' are often used interchangeably, but 'African-American' typically refers to people of African descent born or living in the U.S. 'Black' includes a broader group, such as Black immigrants from various countries.
Why does Clint Smith believe it is important to discuss the history of slavery in the U.S.?
-Clint Smith believes discussing slavery is crucial because it shaped American history and has ongoing implications for racial inequality in the U.S.
What are some historical factors mentioned in the script that have contributed to Black Americans being economically disadvantaged?
-Historical factors include redlining, government-sponsored housing segregation, and the exclusion of Black people from New Deal and GI Bill benefits.
Why does Clint Smith emphasize that Black history is more than just the history of slavery and oppression?
-Clint Smith emphasizes that Black history includes achievements in art, literature, and cultural traditions, not just the history of slavery and oppression, highlighting the full spectrum of Black life.
What is the intended focus of the series, according to the script?
-The series aims to address both the struggles and triumphs of Black Americans, presenting a more complete picture of Black life and history in the U.S.
Why does the series include a content warning?
-The series includes a content warning because it will cover challenging and sometimes disturbing topics related to the history of Black people in the U.S.
What is the central message Clint Smith wants viewers to understand by the end of the series?
-Clint Smith wants viewers to understand that Black history is not separate from American history; rather, Black history is central to American history.
Outlines
🎤 Introduction to Black American History and the Host
Clint Smith, the host of Crash Course Black American History, introduces himself as a writer, teacher, and PhD holder, though not a medical doctor. He discusses his passion for history, particularly how slavery influenced American history. Smith emphasizes that this series will cover Black history from the arrival of enslaved Africans in 1619 to the present-day Black Lives Matter movement. He also hints at how the course will explore the impact of slavery and highlight Black contributions to American history.
📜 Evolution of Language in Black History
The host reflects on the evolution of terminology used to describe Black people, noting that 'Black' and 'African-American' are often used interchangeably today. He explains that while African-American typically refers to people of African descent living in the U.S., Black people have a range of historical backgrounds. Some descendants of enslaved people cannot trace their roots, while others are recent immigrants. Despite the diversity of experiences, all are considered Black, highlighting the rich plurality of Black identity and its beautiful complexity.
📚 Understanding Race as a Social Construct
Clint Smith explains how the fluidity of terms like 'Black' and 'African-American' will help in understanding the concept of race as a social construct, but one with very real social, political, and cultural consequences. He emphasizes the importance of understanding these implications as part of this educational series.
🧠 Personal Connection to Black History
Smith shares his personal experience growing up without the tools to fully understand the historical injustices faced by Black people. He recounts how he didn’t know that 12 of the first 18 U.S. presidents owned enslaved people, or how policies like redlining, the GI Bill, and the New Deal excluded Black Americans from opportunities, leaving them in poverty. Learning these facts later in life was liberating for him, helping him make sense of the modern disparities faced by Black people.
⛓️ Black History is More Than Slavery
Smith cautions against reducing Black history solely to slavery and oppression, though he acknowledges their centrality to American history. While slavery is essential to understanding the economic development and inequality in the U.S., Black history encompasses far more, including Black achievements in art, literature, and cultural traditions. Despite centuries of systemic violence, Black Americans have contributed immensely to American life and culture.
🎉 Celebrating Black Life Alongside Challenges
Black history encompasses both the struggles and the triumphs of Black Americans. Smith highlights that Black history is about both the challenges Black people have faced and their joys, traditions, and contributions to American society. The complex relationship between these two aspects will be explored throughout the series, reflecting the richness of Black life in America.
⚠️ Sensitive Topics and the Purpose of the Show
The series will cover sensitive and potentially disturbing topics, but Smith assures viewers that they will be informed when particularly difficult content is coming. While the show won’t be able to cover every aspect of Black history in 50 episodes, it aims to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing conversation about Black life and history in the U.S. Smith stresses that Black history is central to understanding American history as a whole.
🎬 Crash Course's Mission and Acknowledgments
The episode concludes by acknowledging the team behind Crash Course, including the animation team at Thought Café and patrons who support the series on Patreon. The host reminds viewers that contributions help keep the show free for everyone, encouraging continued support.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Slavery
💡Race
💡Inequality
💡Redlining
💡New Deal
💡GI Bill
💡Black Lives Matter
💡Social construct
💡Intergenerational poverty
💡Black history
Highlights
Clint Smith is the host of Crash Course Black American History, a writer, teacher, and PhD.
The series explores how slavery shaped American history and how it is taught in schools.
Crash Course covers Black American history from the arrival of enslaved Africans in 1619 to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The terms 'Black' and 'African-American' are often used interchangeably in the U.S., referring to people of African descent.
Black American history includes the experiences of those whose ancestors were enslaved and more recent immigrants.
The show will address the fluidity of racial terms and their sociopolitical and cultural implications.
Clint Smith lacked understanding of how historical policies like redlining and the GI Bill excluded Black Americans from key benefits.
Slavery is central to understanding U.S. history but should not be the sole focus of Black American history.
Black history encompasses more than oppression, including Black art, literature, and cultural achievements.
The show emphasizes the importance of balancing discussions of Black oppression with Black joy and accomplishments.
Some of the topics discussed in the series may be challenging or disturbing, but are essential for understanding U.S. history.
Black American history is not peripheral to American history—it is central to understanding the country.
This series is a contribution to a larger, ongoing conversation among scholars and activists about Black history.
There will be a lot to learn and unlearn, and the show aims to encourage a broader understanding of Black history.
Crash Course is produced by Complexly and funded by Patreon supporters to keep it free for all.
Transcripts
Hi there, I’m Clint Smith and I am the host of Crash Course Black American History. I am a
writer, a teacher, and a doctor. No, not the kind who can help you if you have a serious medical
issue, more like the kind who spent too many years holed up in the basement of the library reading
books on race, inequality, education, and history before getting the letters PhD behind my name.
So, while I can’t perform open heart surgery, I can tell you a lot about how slavery shaped
the course of American History and the ways it’s been taught in our schools..
This series, will move from the moment enslaved Black people first arrived on the shores of the
American British colonies in 1619, all the way through the Black Lives Matter movement that
has pushed this country to more fully reckon with all that it has done to Black people
and to more fully acknowledge all that Black Americans have contributed to its history.
We should probably begin by addressing the name of this course itself, Black American
History. Over the course of American history the language used to describe Black people has
changed and evolved over time and will no doubt continue to change and evolve moving forward.
Across the United States today, the terms “Black” and “African-American” are often used
interchangeably and there’s a good chance that we’ll use them interchangeably here as well.
Typically, African-American is meant to refer to people of African descent who were born in, or are
living in, the United States. In the U.S., there are Black people whose ancestors were enslaved
many generations ago and who are unable to trace their history to a specific place of origin,
and there are Black people who immigrated to the United States just a few years ago
from countries all over the world. While people’s histories and experiences
may be different, each of these groups of people, and everyone in between,
is Black. And that plurality of experiences is both a remarkable and just a beautiful thing.
As we’ll discover, there is a great deal of fluidity with regard to how these terms are used
and who they apply to, and delving into this will really help us understand how race is a social
construct, but also one with very real cultural, sociological, and political implications.
Part of why this show is so important to me personally, is that when I was younger,
I felt like I didn’t have the language or the toolkit, with which to fully understand and
make sense of what this country had done to Black people over the course of centuries.
I didn’t know that 12 of our first 18 presidents owned enslaved people.
I didn’t have the language to understand how redlining and government-sponsored
housing segregation shaped the landscape of contemporary America. I didn’t know that
New Deal legislation and the GI Bill after World War II purposefully left out millions of Black
people from accessing its benefits, basically trapping them in intergenerational poverty,
while millions of white Americans received those benefits, giving them a leg up into
purchasing homes, attending and graduating college, and moving comfortably into the
middle class. The sorts of things that have long-term, intergenerational implications.
I didn’t know these things, because no one told me. No one taught us this in school.
And when I did learn it many years later, it was so important--it was so freeing--because
it helped me better understand why our country looks the way that it does today.
It helped me understand that the disparities Black people experience in this country, are not because
there is anything wrong with Black people, but because of everything that has been done
to Black people over the course of generations. Now it should be said that, sometimes, when people
think of Black history, they think only of slavery and oppression. And while slavery is deeply
deeply important (trust me I wrote a whole book about it) to understanding how Black Americans
first arrived here en masse, how the United States developed its early economy, and why so
much inequality persists between Black and white Americans across the board , it would be a mistake
to conflate the story of Black life in this country singularly with the issue of slavery.
Which is to say, naming the centrality of slavery to the American project can be done
without falling into the trap of suggesting that Black History begins
and ends with slavery. Black History is more than slavery, it is more than Jim Crow apartheid,
it is more than oppression. And while we will obviously be addressing these issues
because they are central to understanding how this country came to be what it is,
we will also be talking about Black art, Black literature, Black cultural traditions,
and all that Black people have created and accomplished /in spite of/ centuries
of both interpersonal and structural violence. Black American history is as much about the joys
and celebrations and traditions of Black life, as much as it is about being able to name and
identify the ways this country has long subjugated Black people. They are not mutually exclusive,
in fact they go hand in hand. That being said, we want to note
that this series will address topics that can be challenging to discuss, but we believe it is
important to cover them thoroughly so that we can fully grapple with the reality of US History.
When watching this course, you will encounter some information that may be sensitive
and disturbing. But we will also try to let you know when there are extreme cases.
Over the course of this show, we will do our very best to capture the various dimensions of
the Black experience, but because we only have 50 episodes to tell these stories, there will
inevitably be some things that are left out. This show is not meant to be a definitive
history of Black American life, it is meant to be one contribution to a much wider conversation
that has been happening among scholars, writers, activists, and citizens for generations.
There’s going to be a lot to learn over the course of this show, and a lot to unlearn.
But what we hope you come to understand is that Black history is not /peripheral/ to
American history, it is central to it. Black history is American history. So let’s go.
Crash Course is made with the help of all these nice people
and our animation team is Thought Cafe. Crash Course is a Complexly production.
If you’d like to keep Crash Course free for everybody, forever, you can support
the series at Patreon; a crowdfunding platform that allows you to support the content you love.
Thank you to all of our patrons for making Crash Course possible with their continued support.
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