MasterClass: Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love

In this introduction to Part II of a three-part class, seven preeminent Black scholars continue their journey through the history you thought you knew, considering white supremacy and Black love from the turn of the century to the present day.

Jelani Cobb continues a discussion of extraordinary Black voices established in Part I, John McWhorter explores the roots of his own “heterodox” thinking, and Cornel West examines revolutionary Christianity and seminal, divergent Black thinkers.

Sherrilyn Ifill unpacks the shameful history of lynching in America, exploring how forces of law and order were often deployed to terrorize Black citizens, such as George Armwood, whose murderers were never prosecuted or held responsible.

John McWhorter explains how our grandfathers accomplished amazing feats despite systemic racism. Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, “The Black Metropolis,” is one example of a thriving Black community built from Black love and resourcefulness.

Nikole Hannah-Jones demonstrates how the legacy of slavery and forces of white supremacy have continued to impact the quality of healthcare received by all citizens well into the 21st century.

Nikole Hannah-Jones discusses how municipalities and the federal government responded to the influx of Black families during the Great Migration. Black citizens were denied the leg up that white citizens received, from the G.I. Bill to redlining.

Sherrilyn Ifill shares the legacy of Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court Justice. Discover how he created a strategy for tearing down racial apartheid through equal access to education, the key to Black citizenship.

Sherrilyn Ifill and Nikole Hannah-Jones deconstruct the Supreme Court case that may be the most consequential of the last century—Brown v. Board of Education—and the story you haven’t heard about the highest calling of education: democracy.

Nikole Hannah-Jones lays out the North’s version of racial apartheid: housing segregation. After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and urban uprisings in 100 cities, the federal government passes the mostly unenforceable Fair Housing Act.

Jelani Cobb digs deeper into the most important government study you’ve never heard of, the Kerner Commission Report. Why do its findings matter? Why were they ignored? And what can we learn from the report now, more than a half-century later?

Angela Davis reflects on how she came to be an icon of civil rights activism and Black feminism, and the joy she found in supporting the Black Liberation movement and its efforts to amplify power, love, joy, and community for all Black people.

Jelani Cobb explores the aftermath of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: While it enfranchised millions of African Americans, a backlash followed. Learn about dog-whistle politics, the Southern Strategy, and other efforts to undermine civil rights.

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw explains intersectionality, the term she coined for the intersection of gender, race, and culture. The case study of DeGraffenreid v. General Motors illustrates missed opportunities to equally protect Black women.

As counsel to Anita Hill at the Clarence Thomas Senate Judiciary Hearings, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw witnessed one of the most significant cultural events of the late 20th century, an example of intersectionality that she deconstructs for you.

Jelani Cobb and Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw explore how urban uprisings almost always stem from failed police interactions. They also cover the origins of qualified immunity, the dangers of driving while Black, and the “Say Her Name” movement.

Angela Davis shares how her experience in jail impacted her and examines how America’s criminal justice system is shaped by the forces of white supremacy, from the origins of the death penalty to the prison-industrial complex.

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw breaks down critical race theory’s origin, from Harvard Law School and the pioneering work of legal scholar Derrick Bell to today. Learn how it offers a lens to identify opportunities for change in law and society.

John McWhorter discusses the terms racism, prejudice, and white supremacy, and how their meaning has shifted over time. He also offers his own assessment of the three waves of the anti-racism movement and their influence and legacy.

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw explores the myth of colorblindness and debunks the idea that America became a “post-racial” society with the election of its first Black president.

Cornel West uses the election of the first Black president to examine what he believes is one of the highest embodiments of Black love: Black people speaking critical truths to Black people.