Exploring Black history, its sources and who gets to tell it

Americans have celebrated Black History Month for 53 years. The tradition encourages schools, media and institutions to share Black history facts and uplift the stories of Black civil rights leaders and Black Americans who broke barriers in various fields. Yet many Americans admit that they were not exposed to Black history until adulthood — often, they learned Black history not from institutions, but from their families.

Historians report having to read between the lines when researching and interpreting news archives, art and literature on Black history — and that interpretation cannot always be taken at face value.