Игра «Black Blocks» объединяет уроки финансовой грамотности и афроамериканской истории

David E. Rogers wanted to be a teacher. Instead, after a career that took him from Indiana to Oakland, California, and through jobs in social services, operations management, book writing, basketball coaching and health care, Rogers found another way to get a lesson in front of young people — by putting it in a game board. His creation, “Black Blocks,” is a board game that blends African American history with financial literacy, challenging players to buy property, manage money and answer questions about Black history along the way. Now, the game is available for purchase, giving families, schools and community organizations a new way to talk about both money and history around the same table. The idea started at home. Rogers, the founder and CEO of Black Blocks LLC, had a realization about his own children, now 19 and 20. “I realized that they had really no knowledge of Black history,” Rogers said. It made him think about the countless contributions of Black Americans that can become easy to overlook. He points to something as ordinary as a traffic light. “We don’t even think that a Black person created that,” he said. Rogers wanted to create something that would make those contributions harder to forget and make learning about them fun. That became “Black Blocks.” The name itself has multiple meanings. Rogers said the blocks represent neighborhoods, the squares on the board and, more broadly, the building blocks people use to move forward in life. “Everything is about building blocks,” he explained. “How do we build enough blocks to get to the next level, or next step?” That philosophy carries through the game. Players begin with $1,200 and make financial decisions as they move around the board. They buy and sell property, pay rent and encounter the kinds of financial gains and setbacks that can happen in everyday life. Then there are the cards. The Life Cards introduce players to situations that can happen to anyone, from unexpected expenses to financial windfalls. Fate Cards focus on Black history, challenging players with questions about inventors, leaders and other historical figures. Get a Fate Card question right and a player collects $100. Get it wrong, and they go back to the beginning. “I kind of mimic it to life,” Rogers said. “If you make a big mistake that you can’t answer, a lot of times we have to go all the way back to the beginning.” The board itself becomes a history lesson. Spaces feature landmarks and places connected to African American culture and history, including Black Wall Street, the Apollo Theater, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Sweet Auburn in Atlanta, the California African American Museum and Martha’s Vineyard. It features influential figures like Madam C.J. Walker, Booker T. Washington and Althea Gibson. The goal isn’t to make players experts after one game, Rogers knows a board game cannot contain the entirety of Black history or financial literacy. Instead, he wants to spark curiosity. “I want people to start thinking about things,” he said. “Maybe a 12-year-old player learns about a Black inventor and walks away wondering what else that person or other Black Americans created. “If we created this, what else did we create?” Rogers continued. “They’ll go, and they’ll look. They’ll probably go Google it, but as long as they’re learning.” Rogers also sees the game as a way to challenge the idea that Black history is separate from American history. “Black history is American history. Our history here is American history, and so it has to be told as well.” That is why Rogers says “Black Blocks” isn’t only for Black families. The game is designed for players ages 12 and older and is intended to introduce anyone to the history and financial lessons woven into the game. For Rogers, the project is also personal. He originally wanted to become a schoolteacher after growing up in South Bend, Indiana, and attending Purdue University and Bethel University for his MBA in finance and marketing. Although his career ultimately took him in a different direction, the desire to educate never disappeared. “I’m hoping that when I’m gone, I have a legacy of contributing something positive to the race,” he said. Now, he hopes the game can find its way into homes, classrooms, historically Black colleges and universities, and community organizations in addition to having families play it on their block. “I really hope that schools and different organizations see the value,” Rogers said. “If you can give it to the right hands of some kids, they can play, they can start understanding, and start changing lives.”