The Center for Sacramento History is casting a spotlight on a subject that has not been fully examined: how systemic racism has shaped our region.
“What You Didn’t Learn in School: A History of Racism and Discrimination in the Sacramento Region” is an ongoing video series conceived at the request of the Office of the City Manager in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020.
“These videos are our attempt to tell a more accurate and complete story,” says city historian Marcia Eymann. “We are not ‘revising’ history but bringing to light the stories of those who have been left out in order to engage in a conversation and exploration of the past to help us navigate a more equitable future.”
The center has so far released three films, “John Sutter: What We Didn’t Learn in School,” “The KKK in Sacramento: What We Didn’t Learn in School” and “Desegregating Sacramento: A Fight for Fair Housing, Part 1.” More videos are in the works, including a history of slavery in California and the story of women as builders of Sacramento during the Gold Rush. You can view the series at centerforsacramentohistory.org.
