“In the early 1970s in Atlanta, I attended what had formerly been an all-white school but had become a black school after integration and white flight. Perhaps because of this, the teachers created a curriculum that included a focus on African American literature and history year-round, not just in February.” YearsSchoolLiteratureBlackWhiteFocusTeacherRoundsFlightAfrican AmericanIntegrationCurriculumFebruaryAtlantaAmerican Literature Author:Natasha Trethewey
“I used to come out here every Fourth of July as a child to picnic and to swim on the island, to tour the fort and wander through it. And all of that time, I never knew anything about the presence of black soldiers on the island. And so, for me, this was a way of trying to tell another history, a lost or a forgotten or a little-known history about these black soldiers who played an important part in American history.” Trethewey said. Coincidentally, she was born “exactly 100 years to the day that Mississippi celebrated the first Confederate Memorial Day, April 26, 1866.” WayTryingYearsFirstsChildrenLittlesSaidImportantUsedLostBlackBornKnownForgottenSoldierWanderIslandsSwimFourthAmerican HistoryMemorialAprilJulyMemorial DayMississippiPicnicsFortsConfederate Author:Natasha Trethewey