John,

Across the country, Black history is under attack — from parents trying to remove classroom lessons about Rosa Parks and Malcolm X to schools banning books about Black people.

That’s why Color Of Change teamed up with the National Education Association for the latest episode of the Black History Now Live series. It features a powerful conversation between Valerie Bolling, an award-winning educator and author targeted by far-right groups for her work, and Jade Magnus Ogunnaike, Color Of Change’s vice president of corporate campaigns, programs and research.

In case you missed the premiere Monday night, you can stream it now on Color Of Change’s Facebook page ([link removed]) and YouTube channel ([link removed]).

Bolling talks about what’s at stake when books are banned and school curricula are devoid of Black narratives. Banning books, Bolling says, “is really an injustice because it erases children. It erases their families. It deprives them of the opportunity to see themselves in books and it also deprives their peers of the opportunity to learn about people who are different from themselves.”

She also discusses her own experience in the crosshairs of the far-right and her stand to protect truth in education.

During the program, Color Of Change presented Bolling with the 2023 Black History Now Award, the Elizabeth Duncan Koontz Award for Racial and Social Justice in Education. Koontz made history as the first African American president of the NEA.


This episode in the Black History Now Live series shines a light on the critical need to protect Black history in education.

You also can stream the first four episodes in the series. They include Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson talking with law professor and scholar Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, co-founder of the African American Policy Forum, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Howard University Professor Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story.” Also Dr. Brandi Waters and Steve Bumbaugh of The College Board in conversation with Ogunnaike about the importance of creating and preserving a historically accurate and inclusive curriculum for students everywhere. And Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka, a clinical psychologist and founder of PsychoHairapy, a practice linking Black women’s hair and mental health, talking with COC’s Chief Communications Officer Amity Paye about how we can protect Black hair in the classroom, in the the C-suite and in the halls of power.

Amplifying these voices is crucial, especially in today’s climate amid the attacks on Black history. Spread the word.


Until Justice Is Real,

The Color Of Change Team


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