I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 971 

To direct the Director of the National Museum of African American History 

and Culture to conduct a study on Black history education efforts in 

public elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2023 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia, Mr. CARSON, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, and Mr. CARTER of Louisiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on House Administration 

A BILL 

To direct the Director of the National Museum of African 

American History and Culture to conduct a study on 

Black history education efforts in public elementary and 

secondary schools, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Black History Matters 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON BLACK HISTORY EDU2 CATION. 

3 (a) STUDY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the period described 

5 in paragraph (2), the Director of the National Mu6 seum of African American History and Culture (re7 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Director’’) shall conduct 

8 a study on Black history education efforts in public 

9 elementary and secondary schools. 

10 (2) PERIOD.—The Director shall, with respect 

11 to the study required under paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) begin such study not later than 180 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act; and 

15 (B) complete such study not later than 3 

16 years after the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act. 

18 (b) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the study under sub19 section (a), the Director shall— 

20 (1) identify States and local educational agen21 cies that require Black history education as part of 

22 the curriculum taught in public elementary and sec23 ondary schools; 

24 (2) identify States and local educational agen25 cies that do not require Black history education as 


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1 part of the curriculum taught in public elementary 

2 and secondary schools; 

3 (3) assess the quality of Black history edu4 cation provided by public elementary and secondary 

5 schools, including through the qualitative and quan6 titative analysis of such indicators as— 

7 (A) in-class discussion; 

8 (B) educational activities conducted out9 side the classroom, including homework assign10 ments; and 

11 (C) project based learning; 

12 (4) assess the types and quality of instructional 

13 materials used to teach students about Black his14 tory; 

15 (5) examine the duration and comprehensive16 ness of any Black history-related courses or lessons 

17 provided by public elementary and secondary 

18 schools; and 

19 (6) analyze the approaches used by such schools 

20 to assess students’ knowledge of Black history, in21 cluding the use of traditional and nontraditional as22 sessments. 

23 (c) REPORT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the completion of 

25 the study under subsection (a), the Director shall 


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1 prepare and submit to Congress a report on the re2 sults of the study. 

3 (2) DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTAL.—The report 

4 required under paragraph (1) shall be submitted not 

5 later than 180 days after the completion of the 

6 study under subsection (a)(2)(B). 

7 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

8 (1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

9 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

10 school’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those 

11 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec12 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

13 (2) BLACK HISTORY.—The term ‘‘Black his14 tory’’ means the study and stories of Black life in 

15 the United States and around the world, with a spe16 cific focus on the triumphs and struggles (including 

17 political, social, and cultural achievements) of Afri18 can Americans throughout the United States. 

19 (3) BLACK HISTORY EDUCATION.—The term 

20 ‘‘Black history education’’ means educational activi21 ties that are specifically intended— 

22 (A) to improve students’ awareness and 

23 understanding of the history of people of Afri24 can descent, especially as it relates to United 

25 States history; 


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1 (B) to educate students on the lessons of 

2 chattel slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws, 

3 and the Civil Rights movement as a means to 

4 raise awareness about the importance of pre5 venting genocide, hate, and bigotry against any 

6 group of people; and 

7 (C) to study the history of racism, its deep 

8 historical roots, the use of discrimination and 

9 propaganda that target the Black people, and 

10 the evolving nature of white supremacy over 

11 time. 

12 (4) PROJECT BASED LEARNING.—The term 

13 ‘‘project based learning’’ means a teaching method 

14 through which students learn by actively engaging in 

15 real-world and personally meaningful projects. 

Æ 


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