♪ this is "nightline." tonight, changing course in the classroom. >> we're asking for a mandatory african-american studies course at the high school level. >> students moved by social justice now demanding diverse histories be told and taught. >> it was difficult to see i wasn't represented. >> when pushing for progress meets public push back. plus fighting words. >> if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country any more. >> the ex-president's stunning defense. but how his impeachment trial prosecutors will try to use his own words and words of accused insurrectionists against him. >> there's [ bleep ]

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receive a chargepoint home flex charger or a $500 public charging credit. see your volvo retailer for details. ♪ thanks for joining us. with this country facing a racial reckoning, a group of young people inspired by social

justice and their diverse backgrounds hoping to change what's taught in history class by being the change themselves. here's abc's deborah roberts. >> i have some things from the social justice committee. >> reporter: for the average high schooler these days, life is about the latest tiktok and fitting in. >> want to look at college courses to go with our african-american studies course. >> reporter: for 18-year-old mcalea randall life is also about making a deference. >> what do you want to the reform in your educational experience. >> there's lack of education of african-american history throughout our school system. the most you learn about african-american history is during the month of february, which is -- >> black history month. >> yeah, black history month and it's limited to the civil rights movement and that's pretty much it. unfortunately. >> no justice!

no peace! >> reporter: as protests for social justice erupted year many students face their own racial reckoning in the classroom. >> it's the leader of the african-american leaders of the culture club. >> reporter: for her and her classmates in new jersey change begins with a course correction in history. >> what specifically are you and the group asking for in the curriculum? >> reporter: >> right now we're asking for a mandatory african-american studies course at the high school level. >> reporter: last summer, following the death of george floyd mcalea and members of the african-american culture club formed the social justice committee. >> i felt isolated and those feelings turned into action. >> : the students focused on education. >> what lead you to take this

kind of actist approach pid by the rising action across the nation, we just needed to push for what we wanted. >> i'm honored to stand with our students this afternoon. >> it was incredible what they were able to put together. they put this march together to stop the ignorance. >> reporter: the doctor who is a cherry hill native has been superintendent for six years. >> we have to be physically there for them and sometimes just standing alongside to make sure they have the opportunity to speak. i can lend my voice, figure and presence to that than it's certainly my responsible to do that. >> black lives matter! [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: for now, both high schools in cherry hill offer a african-american studies course as an elective, but the predominantly white school district may soon be the first in new jersey to make it a requirement. >> we have to teach it, we have to talk about it, history through the lens of white eyes

or white americans cannot continue to be the dominant and singular piece through which we teach. again, when we talk about folks of color it can't just be five or six individuals that children hear about from elementary school. through high school. it needs to be all our history. black history is our history. >> i absolutely thought about how could i help these students to bring what they're asking tuesday life. >> reporter: the director of curriculum recognizes the flaws in today's history courses. >> i think we have 20 move beyond courses that -- to move beyond courses that talk about how so many people of color were take friend their homes and countries and colonized and that we start to look not through a euro centric perspective but through a perspective that highlighted black and brown excellence. >> she's working with local professionals and universities as well as students to design the potential course.

>> what do students know about maya angelo and significance behind malcolm x and have the students tell us what they'd like to see us bring to this course. >> it would be huge for all students not only to have access but part of the requirements like other requirements, huge difference in how they see other people, how they see themselves, how they see their country. and that they have that sense of pride in us being so unique in that way. >> reporter: in fact, some lleg frustration, incomplete lessons in the high school classroom. >> what a was thinking -- >> reporter: this stanford university sophomore girls launched a campaign diverse tie our narrative in response to blac lives matter movement as well as their personal

experience in high school. >> it was difficult to see i wasn't represented in the classroom so it could be difficult for not just me asian-american but any person of color not seeing your people portrayed in a manner that reflects your rich, cultural history and portrays you in a multi dimensional way. >> we need to see -- >> reporter: they created the student-led campaign and organized with students to form new chapters in their districts. >> to add different perspectives to literature curriculum. >> reporter: their mission, one book by and about a person of color in each school. >> we have others branching off advocating for end of school to prison pipeline in their district or getting police officers off campus. it started with this one-book campaign that sprawled into a

large idea of racial justice and equity on a larger level. >> reporter: their campaign now reaching 800 school districts across the nation with more than 5,000 organizers participating, but with change often there's push-back. >> i think why there's backlash is a lot of people are uncomfortable when you try to change the status quo. >> reporter: backlash is something this utah school is familiar with, the predominantly white school not allowing you children to opt out of black history curriculum after coming under fire to give families the option to do so. the county director wrote on the school's facebook page yesterday saying, we regret after receiving requests an opt-out form was sent out concerning activities planned during this month of celebration. at this time no families are opting out of our planned activities and we have removed this option. the fight to diverse tie lessons

in the classroom has gone on for decades between 1965-1972 hundreds of thousands of black students a schools across the nation formed the black campus movement inspired by the black power movement, demanding black studies, progressive black university and for a diverse system of higher education. >> i think if we look throughout history it almost always comes from the young people, doesn't it, that in part because they are still very idealistic and determines. that's why we've seen throughout history young people lead these movements. >> reporter: back in cherry hill a hopeful outcome on the horizon, the vote to require the african-american course presented to the school board later this month. if passed, it could be mandatory for all cherry hill high school students as early as this fall. >> this work is not just about next year, it's really about

building our body of work and building a legacy for students. >> the only way society has grown in the last few thousand years is that communities come together and support one another. this is not an individual endeavor. >> i'm hoping for younger generations to have better experiences than us. >> our thanks to deborah. coming up, counting down to the start of an historic senate impeachment. ♪ ♪ (quiet piano music) ♪ ♪ comfort in the extreme. the lincoln family of luxury suvs.

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♪ a mob of pro-trump

insurrectionists stormed the halls of congress last month and now the capitol will be site of another historic day tomorrow, the second impeachment trial of former president donald trump. it's been nearly three weeks since president trump boarded air one and left the white house for the last time. this week, the senate launches it's history-making second impeachment trial, accused of inciting an insurrection after his supporters violently stormed the capitol january 6th. >> we'll be having the trial in the very same chamber a violent stormed a month ago. >> despite six dead and more than a hundredinju precs on hese that day to show

trump bears unmistakable responsibility for the madness that unfolded. >> if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country any more. >> they're going to try and tell a story and it's not just going to be about january 6th. i think they're going to start from even before the election, when the president sort of warmed people up to the possibility of fraud, et cetera, and it increasingly becomes more aggressive as time goes on. >> in a brief file today, the former president's defense team says his talk was political speech, protected by the first amendment and of the over 10,000 words spoken mr. trump used the word fight a little more than a handful of time and calling the trial an act of political theater. a recent poll found a narrow majority of americans support convicting the former president and barring him from holding federal office again. trump has denied allegations through his lawyers and called the impeachment trial

unconstitutional. . 45 republican senators sided with mr. trump calling the style unconstitutional because he's no longer in office. senate voted to dismiss the trial but they lost. >> the notion this entire proceeding is unconstitutional is a long shot, it's not frivolouselous but in a court of law will be likely a losing argument. >> in recent weeks calling it counter productive like marco rubio. >> it's like throwing gas on a fire. >> the republican party is having an internal struggle in their party because they're look ago the 70 million plus people who voted for former president trump and they know in order to win back the house, in order to win back the senate they're going to need that base. >> yet there's a small but growing number of republican lawmakers who are arguing that their party needs to be done

with trump once and for all. like center ben sass on "meet the press". >> politics season about the weird worship of one dude. >> and liz cheney distancing herself. >> that person doesn't have a role as a leader of our party going forward. >> trump lawyers plan to argue when trump used the word fight in the speech on january 6th. >> if you don't fight like hell you don't have a country. >> he meant it figure ative. >> you can argue that others used language like fight like hell and what they meant is fight in the courts, fight in the political arena, et cetera, that fight doesn't necessarily mean violence and that's true. and that's why it's going to be so important for the house managers to present that that was just one piece of the story. and that you're sitting at the capitol and telling people that their election was stolen from

them and then using the words fight like hell. now it becomes a -- a much more potentially inflammatory comment than looking at it in a vacuum. >> prosecutors will be laying out their case to their colleagues in the senate who are serving as a jury many of whom who witnessed the events of january 6th firsthand. >> knock knock, we're here. >> i was reporting live outside the capitol on january 6th, watching, witnessing firsthand when violent mobs stormed the buildings from all sides. it was absolute chaos. >> in this video the mob is roaming the halls searching for party leaders. >> where the [ bleep ] are they? >> some on the video saturday say they . >> some are saying they were there on the president's order. >> we are listening to

>> few trump supporters told us they felt they were following the president's lead>>early 200 including the qanon shaman who's lawyer argues trump incited the violence. >> he walked down constitution avenue and entered the capitol he was there at the invitation and request of our president. >> of the 182 accused rioters facing federal charges for the their involvement at the capitol, abc identified more than a dozen who said they were doing what president trump wanted them to do. >> jenna ryan of texas said exactly that. >> i thought i was following my president. i thought i was following what we were called to do. >> how do president trump's lawyers get around the videos and statements of the rioters

impolitic -- impolitic indicating inspiring them. >> i think they're going to want to distance themselves as much as possible for those who committed violence. >> there's bitter division on the views of the impeachment but one thing they agree on. >> that's the need for a quick and speedy trial. democrats want to get it over with quickly so they can start moving forward with president biden's agenda. then you have republicans trying to focus on the future. both sides can only do that after they close this chapter. >> and coming up next, honoring a barrier-breaking chef by feeding america's front line workers. th my hiv treatment,... there's not more medicines in my pill. i talked to my doctor... and switched to... fewer medicines with dovato. prescription dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. with... just 2 medicines... in 1 pill,...

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♪ finally tonight, serving up tradition and a tribute. here's abc reporter. >> reporter: in thert of houston is lucilles. >> we named restaurant after her. she was a chef and pioneer who created the first instant hot roll and set up the first

culinary education in the country. her products were featured on american airlines for first-class passengers. she worked for martin luther king, ellenor roosevelt and -- he wanted to help. >> we served over 3,000 meals to first responders and health care workers. >> since then he launched 1913 nod to his grandmother's catering business it hoping to create food employment opportunities. >> if my grandmother could see what we're doing i'm sure 1450ed she'd be nothing but happy for us. >> our thanks to them and our friends at abc houston station

ktrk, as women as abc localish friends for first highlighting this story. that's "nightline." see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.