Oxford, Mississippi-based historian and author Alysia Steele is bringing overlooked stories to the forefront through a new Black Women's History class taught in partnership with the NAACP.

OXFORD, MI / ACCESS Newswire / February 5, 2026 / Alysia Steele, a photojournalist, oral historian, and author, is raising awareness about the importance of Black Women's History through a class she is currently teaching in collaboration with a local NAACP chapter in Tupelo, Mississippi. The course centers on labor, lived experience, and historical contributions that have often been excluded from traditional narratives.

Steele's work focuses on preserving stories before they disappear. Through teaching, she is extending that mission beyond books and archives and into direct community engagement.

"This class is a continuation of work I've been doing for decades," Steele said. "Black women have always labored, organized, created, and led. But their stories are often minimized or erased. Teaching this history is about honoring truth."

Why Black Women's History Matters Now

According to the National Women's History Alliance, fewer than 10 percent of U.S. history standards explicitly reference Black women. In many school systems, Black women are mentioned only in limited contexts, often without depth or primary sources.

Steele's class addresses those gaps. It focuses on everyday women, not just well-known figures. The curriculum draws on oral histories, archival photographs, and first-person narratives from scholars who have researched Black women leaders who were instrumental in advancing our understanding of women's activism.

"History is not just what happened," Steele said. "It's who gets remembered. When we leave Black women out, we distort the record."

The NAACP has long emphasized education as a core pillar of civil rights advocacy. Community-based learning programs like this one help extend that mission beyond policy and into public understanding.

From Oral History to the Classroom

Steele's approach is shaped by her background in journalism and oral history. She has spent years interviewing elders, documenting family stories, and preserving memories that were never written down.

Her first book, Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother's Wisdom, centered on elder Black church women in Mississippi. That work earned national recognition and a cultural preservation award.

"The women trusted me with their stories," Steele said. "That responsibility doesn't end with a book. It carries into how I teach and how I show up in community spaces."

The local NAACP class reflects that same ethic. Students engage with firsthand accounts and historical context, rather than summaries or secondhand interpretations. Steele curated the books to study and fosters class dialogue to process what students have learned.

Education as Advocacy

Steele does not frame the class as activism in the traditional sense. Instead, she sees education itself as a form of advocacy.

"I believe persistence pays off," she said. "Being transparent, doing the work, and listening closely are critically important. Having a dialogue to process what's been read helps empower students to share their interpretations of the history and engage in conversations comparing it with present-day challenges in learning Black history.

Research from the American Historical Association shows that inclusive history education improves critical thinking and civic engagement across age groups. Steele believes that understanding Black women's history strengthens people's understanding of American history as a whole.

"When people see how much labor and leadership Black women contributed, it changes perspective," she said. "It adds clarity. It places Black women where they should be, for without their contributions, labor, and fight for equality, much would not have been done in communities across the country. Black women were, and are, the backbone of uplifting communities and creating kinship."

What Individuals Can Do

Steele encourages people to engage with history beyond headlines and social media.

That includes listening to elders, reading primary sources, supporting local history programs, and questioning what stories are missing from standard narratives.

"It's easy to feel disconnected from history," Steele said. "But history lives in families, churches, neighborhoods, and communities. We just have to look at the primary sources differently - by looking at who is excluded and making sure we acknowledge the omission and change it and being more inclusive in who is remembered."

By participating in classes, discussions, and self-directed learning, individuals can help preserve stories that might otherwise be lost.

Looking Ahead

Teaching the NAACP class in Tupelo, Mississippi, is part of a larger body of work for Steele. She is currently under contract for her second book, Traces of Elaine: The Long-Forgotten Photographs of a Civil Rights Photographer, scheduled for publication in 2028. She is also co-authoring a book of oral histories from some of the last individuals to hand-pick cotton in Mississippi.

"I've worked too hard to become obsolete," Steele said. "Staying relevant means staying engaged and continuing to learn."

Through education, writing, and community collaboration, Steele continues to shape how history is recorded and understood.

To read the full interview, visit the website here.

About Alysia Steele
Alysia Steele is a photojournalist, oral historian, author, and educator 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. Steele is a Pulitzer Prize-winning contributor and has spent decades documenting underrepresented histories through images, interviews, and education.

Contact:

Info@alysiasteele.com

SOURCE: Alysia Steele