JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It's a new Black History Curriculum for students, created by students.
In 2022 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law called "the STOP Woke Act", which prohibits classroom instruction that could lead students to feel uncomfortable about historical events because of their race.
A group of students in Jacksonville created their own black history curriculum to enhance education for students outside of the classroom.
It all started with a trip to Montgomery, Alabama.
"There's so much that's not talked about regularly that people miss out on and that children miss out on," said high school Junior Zuri Randolph.
In 2022, Randolph and a group of high school students from Jacksonville joined 904ward on a trip to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. 904ward is a Jacksonville-based organization with a mission to end racism and create equity.
The lessons they learned on that trip led four of those students to create a Black History Curriculum of topics they felt would be important for middle school students to learn.
"It's more recent history," said Randolph, "a lot of the black history that's taught comes from over 100 years ago."
This black history covers far more recent topics and was completely guided by the students who worked on the curriculum.
"The students decided what was going to be in the curriculum," said 904ward Director of Equity ReGina Newkirk Rucci, "the students researched the curriculum, wrote the curriculum and designed the curriculum."
"We decided to go from the 1980s up until 2020," said Randolph. "The one thing we have that others don't is the newer perspective on Black history."
Topics cover athletes like Florence Griffith Joyner as well as Colin Kaepernick, but also Rodney King and what Randolph refers to as, not the LA riots from 1992, but rather the LA rebellion.
"I was very aware of my word choice," said Randolph. "After doing so much research on the situation this was more of a rebellion and an act of I'm going against what you're doing to me rather than I'm just doing stuff just because."
The curriculum covers more than a dozen topics over more than 80 pages and is available for teachers across the country to buy for their students. Newkirk Rucci saw this curriculum take shape over the past two years.
"I don't think proud can encompass my feelings," said Newkirk Rucci. "I'm actually in awe, astounded that these students went on a trip and said, 'Hey, we should have actually been learning this information in middle school.'"
904ward published the curriculum, but the students did the work and will take home proceeds from the sale of the curriculum as payment for their work. A link to the Black History Curriculum can be found here.