Unless WE Tell It . . . It Never Gets Told! focuses on the Black history and the Civil Rights History of Jacksonville, Florida, and examines racism in Jacksonville, Florida, the state of Florida, and America. The book consists of two sections, "Real Stories about Blacks in Jacksonville, Florida" and "Confronting Racism." It is Rodney L. Hurst Sr., civil rights activist, and author of the award-winning personal account of Jacksonville's 1960 sit-in demonstrations and Ax Handle Saturday, It was never about a hot dog and a Coke(R)! second book. Stories of the historical achievements of great Black Americans -including Blacks in Jacksonville, Florida-are woefully unknown, as are many stories about the Civil Rights Movement. Unless WE Tell It . . . It Never Gets Told! tells some of those stories while also focusing on racism. In the academic arena there is a saying, "If it is not written down, it did not happen," and Black history is seldom written on the pages of American history. Racism is also subject matter that does not make its way onto the pages of American history, and is often treated as a taboo subject or a four-letter word. Those who tire of hearing about racism should ask yourselves, what if you were Black and had to live through the daily vulgarity of racism? If you sit in a history classroom and only read about the contributions made by white Americans and white Europeans, then the "learning field" is never level. It is downright dishonest that American history as portrayed in history textbooks essentially makes the statement that Blacks made no salient contributions to this country. Blacks helped to develop this country before, during, and after slavery. You have to teach the truth without regard to what the textbooks proclaim.
