By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Delbert Richardson, an award-winning community scholar and second-generation storyteller, is reshaping how American history is taught. Through his nationally recognized traveling museum, The Unspoken Truths, Richardson provides a powerful, hands-on exploration of Black history, challenging traditional narratives and centering the contributions of Black and Brown communities.
During Black History Month, Richardson showcases his museum at many events throughout the region, offering a deeply immersive experience that encourages critical thinking and emotional connection. Using real artifacts and an Afrocentric perspective, Richardson engages K-12 students in discussions that go beyond textbooks, helping them understand history’s impact on identity and self-perception.
“As a storyteller, I always like to talk about the story behind the story. So, I teach American history through an Afrocentric lens, and that has allowed me to center primarily Black and brown people in the story of American history because I would like to see me and us in that history,” Richarson said. “One of my goals is helping primarily Black and brown boys and girls to learn how to respond and not react.”
Richardson incorporates epigenetics, the study of how trauma and environmental factors influence gene expression, to help young people recognize how historical injustices shape emotions and behaviors. His museum isn’t just about teaching history—it’s about changing mindsets.
“It is really talking about cell memory. So, in my cells is 300 years of trauma, and once I start to explain that to young people, then hopefully they start resonating why they have emotions about our history,” Richardson said. “The goal is how do we embrace those emotions in a way that we don’t do something bad. And in my museum, I intentionally leave things out because everything has energy, and you can touch every item to feel that energy and emotion.”
Richardson’s teaching approach is rooted in critical thinking and self-awareness, particularly for young people of color. He encourages them to pause and reflect before reacting to situations, recognizing the historical weight behind their emotions.
“If you identify as a person of color, we must learn to think before we respond, which is why I teach the unique pedagogy teaching style,” he said.
For generations, Black people have often been stereotyped as musicians, athletes, or subjects of negative media portrayals. Richardson is committed to expanding the narrative, showing Black youth that their opportunities are limitless when they understand their true history and potential.
“I want them to see other possibilities other than just basketball and a rap career. When you think about STEM, it is usually taught through a Euro subject paradigm, so I want to show two prime things to our people,” Richardson said. “I want to show Black and Brown children and young adults who they are. I want to challenge those narratives that we haven’t done but are almost cursed to. I share this museum in the way I see it, this is who I am, and this is what we are capable of accomplishing.”
His museum is structured into four sections:
• Mother Africa, which highlights the contributions of Africans in STEM fields.
• American Chattel Slavery, which explores the brutality and psychological impacts of slavery.
• The Jim Crow Era, which examines the racial caste system and segregation laws.
• Still We Rise, which showcases Black inventors and their innovations.
“There are all primary resources and all real artifacts. This probably came from the slave ship [pointing to rusted shackles],” Richardson said. “I did an 8,000-square-foot installation museum, and this is only a 3,200-square-foot room. So, just imagine what 8,000 square feet of just African artifacts would look and feel like.”
Richardson’s personal connection to history further fuels his mission. Born in 1954, the same year the Supreme Court ruled against school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education, he later realized how history had shaped his own identity.
“The museum is broken into four sections, which are really centered around identity. So, the museum is my story. I was born in 1954, when a landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education was passed. On my certificate, it says Negro of color, so I was raised with that title,” Richardson said.
“When I went to UW, that was the first time I learned that I can choose how I want to be seen. There were students calling themselves Black and in my neighborhood, we had fought because we had been socialized to think of Black as a bad term, and now I get it, now I can choose,” he said. “How prevalent is that today, when you think about people using binary and non-binary language? I don’t have to agree or like it, but I must respect and honor it. So, what I learned from UW is that my story didn’t start with enslavement.”
As a self-taught educator, Richardson believes a critical part of history has been overlooked for too long. His goal is to educate and empower Black youth, showing them what they are capable of achieving.
“It is self-actualization. [showing a Black invention] This is one of the original handhelds by this sister here, and eventually, it evolved into cell phone technology. It is one thing to create something, but you have to then draw it in a schematic way,” Richardson said. “So, I share with children that these are our superheroes that breathe creativity, that they can too. But it is going to require two things, for you to believe in yourself and put in the hard work for the development.”
“Slavery and the Jim Crow era is what was done to us, but it doesn’t define us,” he concluded.
