Black history is often marginalized in traditional educational curricula, limited by an educational institution’s time restraints or staff expertise/certification. Although Black history education became more mainstream during the Civil Rights era of the 1960s, different states and school systems currently approach the topic in different ways. For example, in 2023, the Florida Board of Education approved new guidelines for Black history curricula in Florida’s public schools that has led to changes in how race is taught and discussed in school. Black History Project Saturday School responds to those changes by offering free, public Black history classes designed to supplement and enrich the current Black History curricula taught in Florida public schools. By offering tailored and culturally relevant instruction, Black History Project Saturday School provides an opportunity to address these changes in an environment of enlightenment and inclusivity.

AARLCC, a library dedicated to the study/research of the history and culture of people of African, African American, and Caribbean descent, partnered with Orlando-based Black History Project, an educational organization, to offer free Black history classes. The goal was to provide a thorough overview of global Black history to the community’s teens and young adults, offering a comprehensive curriculum designed by Black scholars spanning from pre-colonial Africa through today. Black History Project Saturday School instructors are licensed, vetted educators employed in area schools. The course includes classroom instruction, discussions and field trips to local sites relevant to Black history. The first cohort of students began attending Black History Project Saturday School in October 2023 and completed in June 2024. A summer session was held from June-August 2024, and the next Saturday School Series begins October 12, 2024, at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center.

The inaugural Black History Project Saturday School Series had 124 participants. The Summer School series, offered to teens attending the Urban League of Broward County summer day camp, currently has 299 participating students. The Black History Project Saturday School received positive local and state media coverage including an hour-long segment on a public radio talk show and a feature on CBS News Miami in February 2024. This feature included comments from attendees such as "I've learned so much in this class that sometimes it's hard to even understand what I've learned because it's so deep and rich and what happens and what's happened and what people try to hide” and “It helps me personally find out where I come from and how resilient the people that I come from are, making me feel better about, more confident when I walk in a room or happier when it's Black History Month.”

Additional Materials:

• CBS News Miami: 'Black History Project' teaches Black history outside of the classroom
• WLRN: "This South Florida historian leads free, monthly Black history classes"