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Pass the Mic: Teaching the truth about African American history and culture

Terri Freeman, (top) president of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, talks about the importance of accuracy when teaching and learning about, African American history and culture. She's joined by (lower L) Lady Brion, executive director of the Pennsylvania Ave. Black Arts and Entertainment District, and (lower R) Dr. Edwin T. Johnson, chairman of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture. Photos: Freeman/Aisha Butler Photography; Johnson/Kristina D. Allen, Brion/provided.
Terri Freeman, (Top) president of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture talks about the importance of accuracy when teaching and learning about, African American history and culture. She's joined by (Bottom L) Lady Brion, executive director of the Pennsylvania Ave. Black Arts and Entertainment District, and (Bottom R) Dr. Edwin T. Johnson, chairman of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture. Photos: Freeman/Aisha Butler Photography; Johnson/Kristina D. Allen, Brion/provided.

Why has teaching African American history become politicized -- and what must be done to make sure the true stories are told?

Today we 'Pass the Mic' to Terri Freeman, head of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. She asks Dr. Edwin T. Johnson Chairman of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and historian and archivist at Morgan State University, about the role cultural institutions play in correcting the rampant inaccuracies about African American history.

Then spoken word artist Lady Brion recounts West Baltimore's Pennsylvania Avenue famous past and offers an update on the Pennsylvania Avenue Black Arts and Entertainment District, for which she is executive director.

Links: Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, Pennsylvania Avenue, Black Arts and Entertainment District ,Banneker-Douglass Museum, National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'