Our history is made up of stories, but there are stories from our past that have been silenced—sometimes for centuries. In order to fully understand our present, we must reckon with our past.

The National Geographic Virtual Field Trip: Revisiting History focused on difficult but critical moments in history, specifically the systemic racism against Black communities in the United States. Originally airing on June 9, 2021 at 1 p.m. ET, this program explored sunken slave ships in the Atlantic Ocean and uncovered the truth about a one hundred-year-old massacre; both shedding light on often-neglected parts of American history. A recording of the field trip is available on our YouTube channel. 

This Virtual Field Trip discusses the enslavement of Africans in the Americas and racially-based violence in the United States. Please discuss the appropriateness of participation in this field trip with students and their guardians. The content is recommended for ages 14 and up.

The field trip features: 

• Tara Roberts: Tara is a National Geographic Explorer, storyteller, and underwater archaeology advocate who searches for and documents slave trade shipwrecks. She is a member of Diving With a Purpose, which works to retrieve stories lost in the depths of the ocean.
• DeNeen L. Brown: DeNeen is a Washington Post reporter who has covered stories about the Black middle class, poverty, the homeless, arts, and gentrification. Featured in the National Geographic documentary, Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer, DeNeen is researching details from our past that lend insight into the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Learn more about the Tulsa Race Massacre with our StoryMap.

This Virtual Field Trip is hosted by Krista Strahan, and is presented in partnership with the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative.

Featured image: An archival image shows some of the destruction caused during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. (Library of Congress)