I'm developing a list of open source resources that students can use to research African American History in Maryland. An early version of the list is included in the African American OER blog post here. I have gradually started incorporating primary sources from Rockville and Germantown--the campuses where I teach--into our lab days.
Today, the Office of Equity and Inclusion at Montgomery College hosted a program called Black History in Our Backyard for their Let’s Talk! series (see: text from flyer at bottom of page). Dr. Bernard Demczuk gave the group an overview of the Critical Race Theory Timeline. Dr. Sharita Jacobs Thompson gave a thoughtful overview of the history of African Americans in Montgomery County, MD, through biographies. It was a pretty remarkable presentation.


The speakers, Dr. Sharita Jacobs Thompson and Dr. Bernard Demczuk, are acclaimed authors and historians who will discuss and illuminate over four hundred years of Montgomery County, Maryland’s rich and significant Black history and culture.
Dr. Sharita Jacobs Thompson is an Assistant Professor in the Social Sciences Department at Prince George’s Community College and an Adjunct Professor at the University of the District of Columbia. She provides training to police departments through a course titled The History of Policing in African American Communities, which includes a facilitated tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).
Dr. Bernard Demczuk is a 40-year+ DC resident living in the Shaw community. He is active in community, corporate, academic, labor and government relations. He is currently an African American Cultural Historian at the University of District Columbia, the NMAAHC, the DC Police Academy and Ben’s Chili Bowl. He is also the Chairman of Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation. He lectures widely on Black history and culture, labor history, community relations, and governmental policy.
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