Jesse Williams Counters The Erasure of Black History In Schools With New ‘Homeschooled’ Gaming App
Written by djfrosty on March 17, 2023
Source: Variety / Getty / Jesse Williams
While white conservatives like Ron DeSantis are on a mission to whitewash and completely erase Black history from schools, Jesse Williams is countering their efforts in a unique, fun way.
Jesse Williams set Broadway ablaze with an eye-opening and thirst-inducing performance in Take Me Out as a gay professional baseball player. Now, he is returning to his activist roots with his latest project.
The Tony Award-nominated actor and conceptual artist Glenn Kaino linked up for Homeschooled, a brand-new gaming app for players of all ages that will teach and celebrate diversity in the United States through trivia.
Pop Culture will be the focus of the app, and it will feature categories like “Growing Up Black,” “Soul Brothas,” and “Divas.” There will also be multiple choice sections on sports, geography, and the internet and even a Grey’s Anatomy section with science-related questions, which is a nod to Williams’ role as Dr. Jackson Avery on ABC medical drama.
Each category has a time limit, and players can compete against family, friends, and celebrities.
Jesse Williams Says Its Time To Teach Ourselves
Per the Huffington Post, the father of two said, “You have to be more self-reliant if you want your history to be taught, because we have this war on nonwhite history in American schools. They’re not going to teach us about Black or brown or Asian history in school ― OK, how can we teach it to ourselves?”
Before getting into acting, Williams taught at a high school in Philadelphia. He said that the app is a product of the shift to homeschooling at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, plus the sudden pushback to diversity education in many conservative-led states.
On the app, he serves as the “dean of culture” and hopes to lure in other guest instructors.
“So much of my work is around serious social justice work, these things that really demand our sober attention,” he explained. “That’s of course a priority. But folks of color also like to game, have game nights and be spontaneous and be fun and be creative, and we’re often left out. We’re not included in those games and don’t see ourselves in them.
Homeschooled is available for download in the App Store and Googe Play by heading here.
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Photo: Variety / Getty