One hundred years ago, Carter G. Woodson intervened in the American historical imagination by insisting that Black life must be studied with rigor and curiosity, not simply James Baldwin’s “procession of illustrious individuals.” Negro History Week was never about celebration for its own sake. It was an intellectual counteroffensive against Black distortion and erasure.
Woodson’s Black intellectual legacy provides Black history educators’ pedagogical strength. It is within this Black historical lineage, that twenty years ago, Philadelphia became the nation’s first city to require African American History for high school graduation. The policy decision was not accidental. It emerged from grassroots organization the belief that civic life demands historical literacy.
These intersecting Black histories served as the inspiration for a group of Black educators to come together and make the Blackprint 20 summit possible. On February 7th, 2026, educators gathered on the shoulders of Philadelphia’s Black history educational leadership to contribute to the future of Black history education. Racialized contextualization of this event is necessary.
Just a few miles away, the memorial at the President’s House honoring the enslaved Africans forced to labor in George Washington’s household, was federally targeted for removal. Though a court has since ordered restoration, the episode was both a painful and instructive reminder on why grassroots organizations like the Blackprint 20 are needed.
We are witnessing the planned and coordinated anti-Black erasure of Black history from classrooms, museums, websites, and most visibly here on the streets of Philadelphia. The Blackprint 20 exists to remind us that as much as white supremacy strives to undermine all of our endeavors, it will fail, because Black history can still be preserved, protected, and created.
At the Blackprint 20, over forty presenters engaged with educators, scholars, youth, and community members in disciplined study and collective strategy. What distinguished the convening was not performance, it was seriousness and the recognition that teaching Black history is fundamental to understanding modern concepts of freedom. The lineage stretches further back than policy mandates.
In 1967, thousands of Black students in Philadelphia walked out of their schools demanding Black history courses, Black teachers, and more. They understood Woodson’s assertion – curriculum is tied to power. Narrative shapes consciousness and consciousness shapes action.
The critical consciousness of the Blackprint 20 was supported through intentional partnership with the Center for Black Educator Development (CBED). CBED utilizes Black pedagogy to rebuild the Black teacher pipeline. With a shared Black intellectual tradition this historic partnership reveals that movements endure when they build on trusted Black institutions.
Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History because he understood that ideas require structure. The 1967 student walkout succeeded due to the collective efforts of Philadelphians to directly confront curricula anti-Blackness. The Blackprint 20’s partnership with CBED indicates that there are many who maintain critical hope and will come together to discuss strategies on liberating children from white supremist structures.
The Blackprint 20 understands that commemoration alone is insufficient. Anniversaries can be marked while inequitable structures remain. Black History Month can be celebrated while classroom practices perpetuating anti-Black ideology exist. The question before us is whether we are prepared to defend and deepen Black intellectual traditions. If the Blackprint 20 is to matter beyond this moment, it must cast its imagination to a wider audience. This requires sustained curriculum development rooted in Africana Studies scholarship and professional learning that strengthens teacher content knowledge and pedagogical courage.
The preservation and removal of Black history from public memorials and classrooms remind us that memory and learning is political. In each instance, the question is who will define the narrative. The Blackprint 20 affirmed that there are many educators prepared to answer that question with seriousness and integrity. Even after the passing of the semiquincentennial the Blackprint 20’s time capsule will remain – a needed reminder that despite omni-present anti-Blackness, Black history education can be cultivated, imagined, and remembered.
The Blackprint 20 was not simply a gathering. It was an intervention rooted in lineage, creativity, and responsibility.
(Photo by Chris Stewart)
