I think most people can agree that education is key when it comes to most things, so we ought to educate all our college students about the history of black people in America.

I started this petition because I believe that we should make African American history a college requirement; you can’t graduate unless you take it.

Most colleges and universities have a history department, and many also have African American history departments. The intellectual resources are already there, so it’s up to the univerisities to prioritize these departments and faculty members.

For those institutions without a specific African American History department, it is incumbent upon them—as institutions of higher learning—to invest in black scholars and black history  an integral part of American history. 

It seems that we do our students a disservice by not showing them the history of the black experience in this country, and the leaders of these institutions have a responsibility to current students and future ones to provide them with a more complete education.  

I’m challenging alumni and current students to reach out to your universities and demand action.