Writer and oral historian Alysia Steele is urging communities to take a more active role in preserving and teaching Black women’s history through her ongoing class offered in partnership with a local NAACP chapter.
Steele says the course is designed to address long-standing gaps in how history is taught and remembered.
“History is not just what happened,” Steele said. “It’s who gets remembered. When Black women are left out, the record is incomplete.”
Addressing the Historical Gap
Data from the National Women’s History Alliance shows that fewer than 10 percent of U.S. history standards explicitly reference Black women. Research from the American Historical Association further indicates that Black women are often mentioned only briefly in K–12 textbooks, with limited context about their labor and leadership.
At the same time, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Black women have consistently maintained one of the highest labor force participation rates among women nationwide. Their economic and civic contributions are measurable, yet frequently underrepresented.
“Black women have always contributed at every level,” Steele said. “But too often those contributions are treated as side notes instead of central stories.”
Education as Community Work
Steele’s teaching builds on years of oral history research. Her first book, Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom, documented the lives of elder Black church women through portraits and interviews. That project led to 96 speaking engagements and earned recognition for cultural preservation.
“The women trusted me with their stories,” Steele said. “That responsibility extends beyond publishing. It shows up in how we teach.”
The NAACP class focuses on primary sources, lived experiences, and open discussion. Rather than centering only nationally recognized figures, Steele highlights everyday women whose labor shaped families, churches, and local economies.
“History lives in neighborhoods,” she said. “If we don’t document it, we lose it.”
What Individuals Can Do
Steele emphasizes that preserving history is not limited to universities or museums.
“It starts at home,” she said.
She encourages people to record conversations with elders, read scholarship by Black women historians, and examine whose voices are missing from the narratives they learned growing up.
According to Pew Research Center data, more than 60 percent of Americans report feeling disconnected from formal history education after high school. Steele believes local, community-based learning can help close that gap.
“When we invest time in listening,” she said, “we strengthen our understanding of each other.”
Continuing the Work
Steele is also under contract for her second book, Traces of Elaine: The Long-Forgotten Photographs of a Civil Rights Photographer, scheduled for publication in January 2028. The book builds on her doctoral research in U.S. History, with a focus on Black women’s labor during the Civil Rights era.
“Staying engaged is how we stay relevant,” Steele said. “Learning never stops.”
Through writing, teaching, and oral history work, Steele continues advocating for a fuller, more accurate historical record — one that reflects the contributions of Black women across generations.
To read the full interview, visit the website here.
About Alysia Steele
Alysia Steele is a writer, oral historian, and author based in Oxford, Mississippi. She is the author of Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom and is under contract for Traces of Elaine: The Long-Forgotten Photographs of a Civil Rights Photographer. A Pulitzer Prize–winning newsroom contributor, Steele focuses on documenting and teaching underrepresented histories through research and community engagement.
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