For years the debate over reforming grade school and college-level curriculum to teach students more accurate U.S. history has long simmered in schools and universities across the country. For most of the nation’s existence, U.S. history has been told through a narrow and exclusionary lens that has distorted the historical record and has routinely been used to whitewash events and historical figures alike while conversely excluding others. In recent months, discussions of colonization and occupation on a broader international level have only increased. Especially following growing nationwide outrage over the U.S. involvement in the Israeli-Hamas War. A one-sided, occupation the U.S. government has supported both financially and militarily where Isarael has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in the Gaza strip.
As discussions around colonization and empire only grow on a more global level, a handful of innovative historians and educators have forged ahead by publishing bold, new texts that seek to remove the veil of mythology that has long been draped over the brutal history of both the U.S. and its allies. Among this new wave of progressive texts is the Radical History Club, an independent publication based in San Diego, California, that produces a series of illustrated decolonized history zines detailing long-neglected areas of social history, focusing on the experiences of BIPOC, women, and other marginalized communities. Founded in 2019, Radical History Club is the brainchild of graphic designer Stacey Uy, who has researched, written, and illustrated the series across several volumes. Uy’s mission for Radical History Club has been to decolonize the reader’s perspective of U.S. history. To unsettle capitalist, colonizer perspectives of U.S. history, and refocus our understanding of the U.S. narrative through the lens of oppressed and marginalized communities.
In our latest episode of Step Off! Radio, Stacey Uy returns to discuss her role as the founder, researcher, writer, and illustrator of the Radical History Club, the history of the series itself, and what drove her to create it. Likewise, we also discuss the importance of curating a curriculum for students that not only challenges false narratives but centers communities that have traditionally been marginalized and ignored in U.S. history books. With that said, we hope that you all enjoy our discussion with Stacey Uy of the Radical History Club.
Featured below is our full interview with Stacey Uy available through our official SoundCloud page. You can listen and subscribe to Step Off! Radio on your preferred podcast streaming service by visiting our Podcast page. You can follow Sham Blak on Instagram and their webpage Please make sure to rate and review the show!
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