Talking History with the Gen Z Historian
Preserving History to Protect The Future
Efforts to diminish Black contributions throughout history have persisted, making it more important than ever for us to uplift and honor Black stories.
That's where historians like Kahlil Greene come in — by teaching the public about key historical events and movements that have shaped who we are today.
Known as the "Gen Z Historian," Greene, 25, has built a name for himself by combining rigorous historical insight with a modern, relatable approach that resonates with audiences of all ages.
A native of Germantown, Maryland, he made history in 2019 when he became Yale University's first Black student body president. Since posting his first video on TikTok in 2021, his work uncovering "hidden history" has continued, and he's earned two Emmy nominations for working as a correspondent on Nickelodeon's "Nick News," a spot on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list, and a Peabody Award.
The NAACP recently spoke with Greene about the importance of uplifting history in the current political climate and his perspective as a young Black historian. This interview has been edited for length.
NAACP: The first video you posted on TikTok explored the whitewashing of Dr. King's legacy on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. What is your response to the ongoing attempts right now to whitewash and erase Black history by the current administration? And why do you think understanding history is particularly important in today's political climate?
Kahlil Greene: For me, history was always a way for me to better understand my own identity and the world around me, and one of the reasons I got started with this work of uncovering hidden history is because growing up, I just saw a lot of inequities in my community specifically around schooling and education and then also as I was growing up there were as we all know the heightened cases of police violence and I just always wanted to like have a better understanding of why these things happened so that's where history was able to provide some answers. And right now, as we see there's increasing polarization, increasing issues, societal issues whether it be climate change or people's distrust of institutions, I think at this time right now history is one of the best ways that people can diagnose why these issues are growing and then also find solutions moving forward.
NAACP: As a young historian, what do you want today's youth to know about the importance of learning about our history?
KG: History is very accessible, and it can be as fun as you want to make it. I know for me, when I was in high school, actually, some people might not believe, but I avoided history class because I took one and I got a terrible grade in it. I took an AP history course, and I also did terribly, and it's because at the time, I was learning history that didn't really in my opinion matter to me and it was kind of being forced to me, but I really ignited the passion in college where I was actually able to take electives. I made my journey into history my sort of choose-your-own-adventure-style journey, and I think that's something I would impart on young people: that you don't have to just go through a bunch of boring names and dates that you don't want to remember, but you can think about topics, think about stories, think about people, think about cultures that you're interested in and choose to follow the history of those topics on your own.
NAACP: Are there any specific historical events or moments in history that you feel are often overlooked but are critical to understanding current societal issues?
KG: One often overlooked period is the time immediately following the Civil Rights Movement. After the major victories of that era, there was a strong conservative backlash across the country. This historical response to progress on racial equality closely mirrors the current backlash we see today, such as the "stop woke" movement, which opposes modern efforts to address racial injustice. That same post-Civil Rights period also gave rise to political and economic shifts that enabled the concentration of wealth and power among billionaires, deepening today's inequality. The legacy of leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. did not eliminate racism. Instead, their progress was quickly met with efforts to undermine and reverse the changes they fought for.
NAACP: How do you go about balancing making history accessible and engaging while maintaining its academic and factual integrity?
KG: In my mind, I really differentiate between the content and the style. For the style, I'll appropriate the style of storytelling from the most non-academic sources, like conspiracy theorists, just people who just talk off the dome, and pseudo-historians because they have a really interesting way of grabbing attention, but then the content of it itself will be highly-researched, academic, quality content so I just look on the Internet, look toward the creators that are able to grab people's attention no matter what they're saying and then I just sort of use that as template for me to just plug and play with real information, so people are as engaged as they would be listening to some story about aliens but actually learning information that's as helpful or as valuable as any lesson you'd learn in school.
NAACP: From your perspective, what role do young historians play in redefining how history is taught and shared in the 21st century?
KG: History is an argument. It's a conversation. With every new generation, there's different life experiences, different personal experiences that are going to inform how someone approaches their critical reasoning when they're looking at primary source documents or they're reading someone's journal and trying to understand and put themselves in that person's position to then better understand how a series of events occurred. On top of everyone's personal perspectives being different, there also is growing information, there's growing ways of accessing information whether it be the Internet or even now artificial intelligence or just opening up archives that have happened recently and that really adds value to getting a better understanding of history. All these things that happen with each new generation add to the richness of the story that we're able to tell about the past.
NAACP: What's next for Kahlil Greene? Do you have anything exciting coming up that you'd like to share?
KG: My big thing that's ongoing is my newsletter. I started this Substack newsletter a few months ago. It's already been ranked with the #1 rising history newsletter on the platform. Thousands of subscribers, tens of thousands, if not 100s of thousands of views already. It's my way of owning my audience. With platforms like TikTok and Instagram being super volatile it's now more important than ever for creators, especially Black creators to have a direct connection with their audience by way of having their emails or their phone numbers, whatever that may be, so Substack allows me to own my audience because it's a direct subscription to me and my work. It's also longer-form and well-thought-out content, stuff that I've researched. So I always try to plug my newsletter, because I think that's the best way to support me as a creator moving forward with everything that's been going on.
For more words of wisdom and "hidden history" lessons from the Gen-Z historian, sign up for his newsletter "History Can't Hide" on Substack.