The Black List 1526 -2022: An Abridged History of Structural Racism in America

496 years. 100 historical facts. This brief museum of Black exploration connects the very first Angolans enslaved in America and the post-Civil War illusions of freedom to the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s and 60s, the War on Drugs, and all the way to the Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations. All of this while capturing the history before and after the Civil Rights Summer of 2020 following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others.

Because contrary to popular belief, history does not exist in a vacuum.

Racism and discrimination are no longer in need of its signature white hoods, water hoses, bombings, and "White's only" signs. Although still very much present, it has learned to disguise itself quite cleverly. A chameleon of sorts. Seamlessly shifting its colors among false political promises, hyperbolic media opinion, cultural misinterpretations, irrelevant distractions, and the sensationalized noise of too many who believe financial success equates to racial invincibility - or invisibility.

Meanwhile, our history is on the verge of extinction and fighting on contested grounds for its survival. Waging a war between its truth being exposed for the sake of societal progress or finding itself silenced and replaced by a fantasy of denial and colorblind debate.

History is all we have to learn the truth about ourselves. History is also all we have to ensure some actual progress is made and generational mistakes are no longer repeated. History is a lot closer than we think and Everything Is Connected.