Healing
History
Karlos K. Hill
writer ⁄ speaker ⁄ scholar
“WE DO NOT HAVE TO BE DIVIDED
BY A PAINFUL PAST. WE CAN HEAL
FROM IT TOGETHER.”
KARLOS K. HILL is a writer, speaker and community-engaged scholar who brings a deeper perspective to historical racism. Dr. Hill works with students, leaders and communities to understand our collective past and heal in relation to our most traumatic histories.
“WHAT IS HEALING HISTORY?”
Regardless of race, background, or our perceived connection to traumatic histories – we all share a collective past.
Activating our relationship to divisive histories through felt stories and compassion can be a catalyst to reconciliation, repair and change.
Let’s work together.
campuses, organizations & speaker series
delving into the deeper stories of racism & racial violence - from the Black experience in America, to the Holocaust in Europe & how we can heal those traumatic histories
journalists, filmmakers, podcasts & radio
sharing historical perspectives into events & stories from our collective past, from lynching, to police violence & incarceration to changemakers & civil rights activism
LEARN MORE about Karlos K. Hill’s speaking, workshop & expert topics here.
“The students learned a lot and were impressed by your knowledge, passion, and commitment. I appreciate you taking time for us and giving us an insightful perspective on the Tulsa Race Massacre.”
- Southwestern Oklahoma State University
As seen on:
Karlos K. Hill has been a featured expert for CNN, Time, and USA Today - as well as the Vox documentary short "Juneteenth" and the Netflix documentary, "Devil at The Crossroads."
“You don’t have to
be a scholar to seek
out a deeper historical
perspective.”
“When we can step back & say this is what history means & why I should care - then history can educate, empower & uplift us.”
Karlos K. Hill is an author and community-engaged scholar,
Dr. Karlos K. Hill is Advisor to the President for Community Engagement and Regents’ Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He is also a proud affiliate faculty within the OU History Department and the Schusterman Center for Judaic and Israel Studies.
Writing and Teaching
Dr. Hill is the author or editor of four books: Beyond The Rope: The Impact of Lynching on Black Culture and Memory, The Murder of Emmett Till: A Graphic History, The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre: A Photographic History, and Clara Lupers’ Behold the Walls: Commeorative Edition. His book on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre won the 2022 Lynn McIntoch Award for Excellence, the 2022 Joan Kerr Patterson Book Award from the Western Historical Association, and 2022 Choice Outstanding Academic Title from the American Library Association.
Community Engagement
Dr. Hill founded the Tulsa Race Massacre Oklahoma Teacher’s Institute to support teaching the history of the race massacre to thousands of middle school and high school students. He also serves on the boards of the Clara Luper Legacy Committee, the Board of Scholars for Facing History and Ourselves, and Widen the Circle.
As Seen On
He currently is a weekly guest and featured contributor to the Areva Martin in Real Time radio show based in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Hill writes a series for World Literature Today and the The Nation magazine featuring the stories and work of community activists organizing for justice in Black communities.
“We all have a relationship
to the past
and to the
Black past.”
Speaking
Campuses and organizations
across America are tasked not only with educating people through speaking, events and initiatives – but inspiring a deeper change in their systems and communities.
Journalists, filmmakers, and storytellers
are seeking historical perspective to more clearly illuminate what is significant about the story they have to tell – on topics from race in America, to police brutality, to reconciliation and repair.
LEARN HOW KARLOS K. HILL CAN SPEAK at your next event or lecture series, be a guest on your show, or contribute to your story – with a historical perspective that powerfully connects the past to current events today.
Speaking Topics
THE 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE: Lessons and Legacies
In 1921, Tulsa’s Greenwood District “Black Wall Street” was one of the most affluent black communities in America. However, on May 31 and June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked Greenwood and as a result nearly every significant structure within the community was destroyed and as many of three hundred people were killed. Nearly one hundred years later, the race massacre continues to reverberate. Dr. Hill’s presentation will discuss the history of the race massacre, the lessons the history offers, and the current-day legacies that must be confronted.
The Importance of Black History Month/Juneteenth Commemorations
Historically, mainstream American history excluded black Americans’ contributions to U.S. society and typically demeaned black Americans as racial inferior. Only since the civil rights movement have African Americans and other racial minorities gained much deserved recognition. Black History Month and Juneteenth are important American institutions (regardless of the criticisms that have been launched against it) because it attempts to repair the accumulated damage that racism and historical amnesia have wreaked on American culture and society. In Dr. Hill’s presentations on Black History Month and Juneteenth, Dr. Hill argues that remembering Black people contributions as well as the sacrifices are more critical than ever to assessing the work that remains to be done.
Healing History: Four Dialogues
Theory of Change: “I believe people and communities can use history to heal if affected communities are willing to engage in healing conversations about the past.” Dr. Karlos K. Hill
Workshop Description: Healing history as a presentation and/or workshop is designed to help individuals and communities understand their affective relationship to the past and why it matters. Healing history is premised on the idea that when people decide to understand and care about their relationship to the past—healing occurs. By creating healing relationships with the past through dialoguing with each other, we develop new and more empowering understandings together. In other words, we heal through history.
OTHER PRESENTATION TOPICS: Dr. Karlos K. Hill is open and very interested in working with groups to develop customized speaking engagements to fit specific interests and/or goals. Make a proposal!
“Felt
histories
are where compassion lives and how we feel our personal relationship with the past.”
“we should not just know about, but
care about
our collective
history.”
As Seen On
Karlos K. Hill has been a featured expert for CNN, Time, and USA Today – as well as the Vox documentary short “Juneteenth” and the Netflix documentary, “Devil at The Crossroads.”
Selected Print
Selected Video
“This is how to
bear witness,
TO DARE TO CARE. BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO CARE CHANGE THE WORLD.”
Public Writings
“My purpose is to share – as far and as wide as possible – what difficult racial histories have to teach us, and how the implications of these events still impact us today. This knowledge can, and should, be more accessible to everyone.
We can have hard conversations about race and racism. We can challenge what is still unjust. We can challenge ourselves to grow. And we can make our own impact.”