Black history taught in US schools is often watered-down, riddled with inaccuracies and stripped of its context and rich, full-bodied historical figures.
Equipped with the real story of Rosa Parks, professor David Ikard highlights how making the realities of race more benign and digestible harms us all -- and emphasizes the power and importance of historical accuracy.
A devoted father and passionate scholar-activist, David Ikard is Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University and has been featured on CSPAN, Left of Black and The Feminist Wire. His essays have appeared in numerous journals, including African American Review, African and Black Diaspora Journal, Palimpsest, MELUS, CLA and Obsidian II.
Ikard is also the author/coauthor of four books: Breaking the Silence: Toward a Black Male Feminist Criticism, Nation of Cowards: Black Activism in Barack Obama’s Post-Racial America (co-authored with Martell Teasley), Blinded by the Whites: Why Race Still Matters in the Twenty-First Century, Lovable Racists, Magical Negroes and White Messiahs.
Chance upon Ikard on campus and you’ll likely to see him holding court with his students -- fielding questions about everything from the racial politics in college athletics and professional sports to black feminism and popular culture -- noting that many of the most significant civil rights advancements were due in large part to the activism of college students just like them.
Credit: David Ikard
David Ikard explains why the whitewashing of
black history should be a major concern for us
all, even self-identified white liberals.
A Los Angeles based blog that covers the many complexities and multi-faceted, non-monolithic aspects of the Black American community.
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