02/26/2026
Kumu Project Showcase: 100 Years of Black History
It was in February of 1926 that Dr. Carter G. Woodson launched a week for Black history. He saw and wrote about a history that supported a system of disenfranchisement for African Americans, and built his life around shifting the system through education and storytelling.
Woodson understood that systems are shaped by what people are taught to see as normal, writing, “When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions.” Yet one of his most-cited quotes is: “You must give your own story to the world.”
What stories are being told on the Kumu platform? For the past couple of years, to honor this month, we have showcased some really creative visualizations around Black culture. This year, we wanted to pull these together as well as some powerful systems projects coming from the Kumunity. Projects and Stories we highlight in this video:
• 100 Prominent Black artists in the history of African American art
• Abolition Project: Systems Mapping for Abolition
• Top Black History Month Playlists and Tracks
• Milwaukee Roots
• Linked Jazz
• Leaders in the Struggle for Civil Rights
• U.S. Civil Rights Movement
• Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Housing Market
• Black-Owned Businesses
• Celebrating Juneteenth by Supporting These Black-Owned Businesses
• Networks of Catholic Enslavement
🔗 Check the link in bio for access to these projects!
Here’s to the brilliance of Black leaders, past and present, and to the historians and storytellers whose guardianship shift systems toward freedom and truth.
