01 / BEFORE THE FAMILIAR BEGINNING
Our story reaches further.
Explore Black presence in America before 1619, the date so often treated as the beginning of our story.
A fuller starting point
OUR HISTORY. IN OUR HOMES.
They gave us a chapter. We deserve the whole story.
For many of us, the lessons were brief. A handful of names. The same familiar dates. Our history holds so much more.
Read it. Feel it. Pass it on.
THE UN-WHITEWASHED STORY OF AMERICA
A place on our shelves. A voice in our homes.
A place on our shelves. A voice in our homes.Our history. Our voices.
Read with pride.
Pass it on with purpose.
WHY UNHIDDEN HISTORY EXISTS
That “why didn’t I know this?” feeling.
There is a feeling that comes with discovering a piece of our history for the first time. Anger that we did not learn it sooner. Pride in what our people accomplished. And a need to keep reading.
Unhidden History exists for that moment and for everything we do with what we learn next.
Our stories belong in our homes.
A BOOK TO OPEN. AGAIN AND AGAIN.
History you’ll want to keep reading.
Sharp storytelling. Unapologetic humor. A book that gives us plenty to think about and talk about.
A voice that feels familiar
Conversational writing makes room for laughter, reflection, and difficult truths.
More to notice on the page
Illustrations, sidebars, and chapter quizzes give us more ways to engage.
KNOW IT. KEEP IT. PASS IT ON.
Let’s give our children more than we were given.
Imagine the conversations we can have when we know more of our own story. The questions we can answer. The names we can introduce. The pages we can return to together.
Read it for yourself. Pass it on with pride.