Teaching Inquiry-Based United States History Through the Lens of Black Agency
History in Their Hands is a teacher guide to an inquiry-based US history curriculum that reimagines how we teach American history by centering the voices, actions, and resistance of Black Americans from 1619 to the present. Built around primary sources and compelling questions — How did enslaved people fight back? What did Reconstruction achieve? How does activism look different today than fifty years ago? — these lessons ask students to investigate, analyze, and argue rather than passively absorb.
Rather than presenting Black Americans as victims of white supremacy, this inquiry-based US history curriculum showcases the persistent agency and inexhaustible contributions of Black people throughout United States history.
The book is available in paperback and hardcover at all online retailers and wholesale through Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.
Chapter Resources
This website contains all the resources for every chapter of History in Their Hands for teachers to share with students.
Chapter 2 – The Middle Passage
Chapter 3 – Black Voices in Opposition to Slavery
Chapter 4 – Violent Resistance to Slavery 1619–1865
Chapter 6 – Reconstruction 1865–1877
Chapter 7 – Resistance and Activism in the Age of Jim Crow 1877–1954
Chapter 8 – Black Soldiers in Foreign and Domestic Wars
Chapter 9 – The Civil Rights Movement Outside the South
Chapter 10 – The Modern Civil Rights Movement 1945–1970s
Chapter 11 – The (Broken) Criminal Justice System
Chapter 12 – Black Activism in the 21st Century
Chapter 13 – The Struggle for Recognition
[See full Table of Contents and all documents]
About these online resources
All the resources found on this website connect to the book chapter documents and suggested lessons. When possible, they are reproduced here to make it easier to share with students. The images on this website are the highest resolution possible, and can be downloaded by right-clicking the image and choosing “Save As..” to save to your computer.
Classroom Mode
All pages have a “Classroom mode” button that will switch the current document to a projector-friendly mode. Use the “Back to website” button to return to the main website.
About the Book
United States history has always been shaped by the actions, resistance, and creativity of Black Americans — but most textbooks don’t teach it that way. History in Their Hands changes that. Written by an experienced high school history teacher, every lesson in this book has been developed and refined in a real classroom. Whether you’re building a new course from scratch, supplementing an existing curriculum, or looking for primary source lessons that actually engage students, this book gives you the tools to teach a more complete, honest, and compelling American history. [Learn more about the book →]