On Monday, February 2, 2026, historian Jarvis Givens joins Rethinking Schools executive director Cierra Kaler-Jones and editor Jesse Hagopian to discuss his latest book, I’ll Make Me a World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month, as part of the Zinn Education Project's Teach the Black Freedom Struggle series. Drawing on archival research, personal stories involving family and students, and especially the wisdom of Black educators, Givens recovers the legacy of Carter G. Woodson and many others who envisioned Black history as a liberatory force — knowledge that shapes who we are, how we resist, and what we dream. Givens will also talk about the Black Teacher Archive and another new book, American Grammar: Race, Education, and the Building of a Nation.

Jarvis Givens is a professor of education and faculty affiliate in the department of African & African American studies at Harvard University. As an interdisciplinary scholar, he specializes in 19th and 20th century African American history, history of education, and theories of race and power in education. Givens is the author of Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching, American Grammar: Race, Education, and the Building of a Nation, and I’ll Make Me a World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month.

This virtual event is free and open to the public. Held during Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action (February 2—6, 2026), this event uplifts the national demand to mandate Black history and ethnic studies in K-12 curriculum.