Amid the nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice, Americans appear to be rushing to educate themselves about the history and present reality of systemic racism.
The latest New York Times non-fiction bestseller list was dominated by books about these issues, from Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility to Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist and Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. Publications (including Town & Country) have created reading lists for those interested in learning about institutionalized racism and how to fight it.
But while self-guided education can be great, it sometimes it helps to have a teacher to curate and illuminate the curriculum. Fortunately, years ago, Yale University made just that: a free online course titled "African American History: From Emancipation to the Present," which looks at the Black experience in America from 1863 to today. It's taught by Jonathan Holloway, former Dean of Yale College and Professor of History, African American Studies, and American Studies at Yale (and newly-named president of Rutgers), and author of Jim Crow Wisdom: Memory and Identity in Black America since 1940. (Find the course here.)
On social media, users have been using their platforms to signal boost the class. "For all my Beloveds upset about the Black History you never learned in school, I present to you...a FREE course on African American History at YALE UNIVERSITY!" poet and professor Honorée Fanonne Jeffers tweeted.
Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff of the Center for Policing Equity also shared the link to the course, writing, "For anyone looking to learn more about our history, @JonSHolloway is a brilliant scholar. Glad @Yale is doing this."
Chloe is a News Writer for Townandcountrymag.com, where she covers royal news, from the latest additions to Meghan Markle’s staff to Queen Elizabeth’s monochrome fashions; she also writes about culture, often dissecting TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Killing Eve.
