The erasure of Black history isn’t just something that happened in the past. It’s happening right now.
If something happened but it wasn’t recorded, does it count as history?
For example, the law says that July 4th, 1776 is Independence Day because the Declaration of Independence was signed on that day in 1776. This is not true. In fact, it was voted for by the Continental Congress on July 2nd, 1776, and signing began on August 2nd, 1776. And of course, it only meant independence for white, property-owning men. Yet America continues to promote a false narrative today that is etched as truth, as history, and in the minds of people everywhere.
But if America is so used to false narratives, what about the real story? There are historical events, fictions, and perspectives that tell the story of the history and development of Black Americans. And we know all too well that their truths have been largely erased from public memory and documents, and only the work of the most dedicated historians, journalists, and advocates has unearthed the details of our lives in this country and abroad.
But we also want to believe that it was part of a particularly horrific past, and yet here we are, in this day and age, with everything we can record and store digitally, and yet there are still people who try to erase the truth, real-world events and creations, as if they never existed.
Paramount Global removes key Black cultural content
On June 24, Variety reported that Paramount Global had removed all content from the MTV News and CMT websites, quickly erasing countless hours of video content and news and entertainment articles. Two days later, Deadline reported that Paramount Global had also completely wiped Comedy Central’s video archives.
This purge comes just months after Vice did the same. In February, Fortune reported that Vice Media’s website had been shut down amid massive layoffs. The media industry is facing serious downsizing and financial problems, with cuts coming at publications like theGrio, The Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated and Okayplayer. But the removal of the website’s content was unexpected and frightening. With a board vote and the click of a button, all of this history documenting black life and culture has been rendered completely invisible to the public.
Roots drummer Amir “Questlove” Thompson won the 2022 Academy Award for best documentary feature for “Summer of Soul,” his documentary of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which featured stunning performances from Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder and Mahalia Jackson, among others. The footage of the festival had been sealed for more than 50 years.
Despite the tens of thousands of people in attendance and a full production crew filming in full gear, many who saw the film had no idea the festival took place. It was as if, without the film, the festival never happened.
The same can be said about the acclaimed documentary, Mr. Soul!, and the groundbreaking PBS show, Soul!, which became the template for so many of the black talk and variety shows that followed. Without the documentary, who would have known that the show would have been the inspiration for so many of the black variety and talk shows we know today, from Soul Train to 106 & Park? And it’s not just digital media that’s under attack.
Ban on Black Books
In 2013, the Los Angeles Times reported that Ralph Ellison’s legendary novel, The Invisible Man, was banned from school libraries in Asheboro, North Carolina. One of the school committee members who approved the ban cited “a lack of literary merit” as one of the reasons. How can white people decide whether a book that depicts the experiences of black people living in America is valuable to future black students?
In 2023, a Florida district banned several books by black authors that tell black stories, including Fred T. Joseph’s The Black Friend, George Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue, and Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb, as a way to subvert the negativity of critical race theory. In Pickens County, South Carolina, books such as Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kenji have been banned in schools, according to the NAACP.
Books like Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye have been banned for years.
Paramount Global’s removal of archives from MTV News, Comedy Central, and others follows a pattern of erasure as a way to slow down the national discussion necessary to foster the true understanding and healing necessary to move race relations forward in a positive way. While there are certainly financial reasons for these websites being taken down, it is no coincidence that the decision by white executives that aspects of Black culture are not important enough to be preserved is a dangerous form of historical revisionism and steady, prolonged gaslighting on a grand scale.
For decades, traditional media has failed to adequately represent or even cover Black voices and experiences. But in recent years, many have made a concerted effort to create more inclusive and diverse media platforms that include articles, videos, and other content that reflect the reality and richness of Black life. When these resources are deleted or lost due to website closures, it’s not just information that is lost; it’s important pieces of culture and social history.
Educational institutions, activists, and community organizations frequently use these media resources to provide context, information, and advocacy tools. Articles and videos hosted on media websites are often used in curricula, research, and community education programs to highlight issues that affect Black communities and support efforts to promote equality and justice.
When this content is removed, educators and advocates are denied access to a rich repository of knowledge. This hinders their ability to effectively educate and advocate for change. The lack of these resources creates gaps in our collective understanding of racial issues, making it harder for society to recognize and address persistent systemic problems.
We must be the guardians of our culture.
Fortunately, on July 2, the Internet Archive was able to restore most of MTV News’ content through its WayBackMachine online archive, according to Variety. But will that be enough? Going forward, creators will need to seriously consider other ways to preserve important digital articles and video content. Sites like YouTube.com, Medium, and Substack are good places to store content in case such a shutdown happens again. It’s up to creators, not companies, to decide what’s worth preserving, but companies don’t seem to care.
Beyond the issue of digital archiving, the issue of book bans remains unresolved. While the NAACP is suing to overturn book bans, other prominent members of the community are taking action of their own. Noname, a well-known Chicago rapper, started her own online literary community, the Noname Book Club, to share and provide Black books by Black authors to those who want or need them. In 2021, she and the club launched a brick-and-mortar store, the Radical Hood Library, in Los Angeles, which hosts book readings and film screenings and provides books to incarcerated people.
I hope her efforts will be one of countless North Stars that will guide us to a place where we can secure our own voices and experiences forever, so that our histories do not become myths.
