Black History

They had been BEGGING me to go here for months. Justus and Titus are both very interested in black history. They devour historical fiction books, nonfiction chapter books, kids' storybooks...anything they can get their hands on about black history. They ask to watch documentaries and movies about anything to do with Jackie Robinson or Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I don't know what causes kids to grab hold of certain subjects or topics, and I know many things lose their novelty almost as quickly as the curiosity peaks...but this has been an interest for well over a year now. When I mentioned months ago that there was an African American Museum in Dallas, they made it their goal to pester me for a field trip until I found a good day. We finally made it.


This museum is FREE, and we even parked right in front of it for FREE. There was literally only one other group there. Of two people. So maybe it's not the most popular thing in Dallas, but we enjoyed it thoroughly (the lack of a crowd certainly added to my enjoyment ;) )


The museum has different exhibits, most of which contains artwork created by (mostly) untrained black artists. Mixed media, acrylic, photography, colored pencils, steel and wood sculptures. 



 The artwork is full of messages and history. Some of the stories are more obvious than others, but by taking what we already knew of black history and piecing it together with what we read throughout the museum, we were able to see it all as a way of telling the same story. 


We read about the Emancipation Proclamation, lynching, Juneteenth, Freedman Town (even after the slaves were freed in and around this area, they were all segregated to this town they dared to call "Freedman.") 






(yes, even Michael Jackson was there)

 The stories and messages intertwined throughout the artwork and video interviews and newspaper clippings were sobering to see for sure, but mixed with the walls and walls of men and women dedicated to ending racism, we see that the story isn't over. 

From oppression of blacks to violence among the black community...


to the first black president of the United States...


our nation is full of history. 

A lot of good and a lot of bad...but history that we can learn from nonetheless. It's a privilege to be learning alongside my kids. I'm glad they pestered me into this :)

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