Education
Run It Back offers accurate, well-sourced articles about various topics within black history, told through the lives of fascinating people and compelling places. The articles are written by author and journalist Victor Luckerson (that’s me). I have presented my research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and more than a dozen colleges across the United States. These pieces are generally brief (1,500 words or so) and are accessible enough to be used by students of all ages.
The articles below are organized by the state in which the stories take place. This is a growing archive so check back frequently for updates.
For any questions about sourcing or further reading, please contact me directly at vic.luckerson@gmail.com. Also, if you end up using any of my work for educational purposes, please let me know so I can track the impact this archive is having.
Oklahoma
The Story of Black Wall Street - This article chronicles the history of Tulsa's Greenwood district, from its origins as Native American land to its rebuilding after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
The Black Journey Out West - How two completely different groups of black Oklahomans came to be treated as one
Selfishness Is At the Bottom of Civilization - How black people gained--and lost--millions of acres of land out West
Black Gold - Oil, wealth, and deception flowed in tandem on the outskirts of Tulsa
The Women of Greenwood - Female entrepreneurs not only contributed to the prosperity of early Greenwood but preserved the history of it
Why Greenwood Flourished - A prosperous black middle class emerged in Tulsa for reasons that were both specific to Oklahoma and common throughout the U.S.
A Conspiracy in Plain Sight - Tulsa’s white leaders orchestrated a concerted effort to force black residents out of Greenwood. The only question is whether this plan was initiated before the massacre or afterwards.
Judge Lynch - Oklahoma's white power structure systematically condoned lynching, from the police to the press to the mobs themselves. It was Greenwood residents who upheld the rule of law
Pennsylvania
The First Black Voters - Black men could vote in many U.S. states after the American Revolution, but they soon battled a wave of disenfranchisement laws as the nation turned its back on equality
The Burning of Pennsylvania Hall - Abolitionists built a monument to liberty and free speech steps from Indepdence Hall in Philadelphia. Then a mob burned it the ground.
Truthtelling in a Time of Lies - William Still, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, gave fugitive slaves the space to tell their own authentic stories
Virginia
The Other Black Wall Streets - Greenwood was not the only prosperous black business district in the early 20th century--not by a longshot