Audio

W.E.B. Du Bois Reflects on the Purpose of History

In 1935, W. E. B. Du Bois published an influential book titled Black Reconstruction in America. This audio excerpt, from a chapter titled “The Propaganda of History,” questions the ways in which Reconstruction was being studied and taught at the time.

Last Updated: April 21, 2022

Audio

Language

English — US

Subject

History

Racism

In 1935, W. E. B. Du Bois published an influential book titled Black Reconstruction in America. This audio excerpt, from a chapter titled “The Propaganda of History,” questions the ways in which Reconstruction was being studied and taught at the time.

Lesson

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John Ortiz, Mexican-American student leader at James A. Garfield High School, addressing assembled students during a walkout.

Lesson

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Dolores Huerta and others hold up "Huelga" signs as part of the grape strike.

Lesson

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National President of Black Lawyers for Justice, carries a picture of Michael Brown as he leads demonstrators on a march.

Lesson

Students explore how identity impacts our responses to other people and events by examining a cartoon and analyzing an opinion poll from a week after Ferguson.

Lesson

Students examine how identity and biases can impact how individuals interpret images and experience the challenge of selecting images to represent news events, particularly connected to sensitive issues.

People hold hands in prayer in the parking lot of convenience store that was looted and burned after Michael Brown was shot by police in Ferguson, Mo.

Lesson

Students consider how US history books, films, and other works of popular culture have misrepresented the history of the Reconstruction era.

A portrait of W.E.B. Du Bois, head-and-shoulders, facing slightly right.

Lesson

Students examine how freed people in the United States sought to define freedom after Emancipation.

A black and white image of African American schoolchildren in Liberty County, circa 1890.

Lesson

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