MPR News with Angela Davis

What we didn't learn in history class

Buffalo soldiers
Buffalo soldiers pose for a photo in 1890 in Ft. Keogh, Mont. "Buffalo soldiers" were Black military men who served in the U.S. Army after the Civil War.
Library of Congress file

Many Minnesotans are reexamining what they learned in their history textbooks and what was left out, like Juneteenth and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

While this isn’t a new conversation, more educators are starting to rethink how to teach a more complete history of the United States that includes experiences from Black and Indigenous people and other communities of color.

Also during the hour, Davis will chat with the co-editor of “Minnesota's Black Community in the 21st Century,” a new book published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Guests:

  • Ramona Stately is an enrolled member of the Santee-Sioux Nation and is a former American Indian culture and language specialist at Osseo Area Schools. She is now with the nonprofit "We Are Still Here MN” which works to change the narrative of Indigenous people in Minnesota.

  • Courtney Bell is the founder Courtney S. Bell Consulting LLC and former program manager of culturally relevant instruction at St. Paul Public Schools. She’s also a former high school social studies teacher.

  • Angela Bianco is a fourth grade teacher at Matoska International IB World School in White Bear Lake.

  • Professor Chaunda L. Scott is co-editor of “Minnesota's Black Community in the 21st Century,” a book published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Use the audio player above to listen to the program.

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