Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Spencer.
Amanda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
In 2021 my kids’ school district made national headlines after a small but vocal group of parents complained about diverse American history being taught in school. The conflict was sparked by a parent’s complaint about the book Ron’s Big Mission, about future NASA astronaut Ron McNair’s one-boy protest to be allowed a library card in a segregated library. They claimed that learning about topics like segregation might make their white children feel bad about themselves.
As a nurse and single homeschooling mom, I was already attending Black Lives Matter protests in support of an equitable future, and I wondered what else I could do to make a difference. I decided that if the very idea of teaching accurate American history was considered a “radical agenda,” then I would create a true radical “agenda” : aka a planner that taught American history throughout the pages.
I had no idea how to create a planner, so I watched a lot of YouTube videos and tried a lot of different things. I now create my planners using PowerPoint, and sell them through Lulu printing, which is a Certified B Corp company.
In order to honor the stories of the people I write about in the planner, I make sure the majority of the money I make from the sales of every planner goes to a non-profit organization to support social justice (the organizations change every year).
After I started selling the planners, I realized that teachers and homeschool parents needed a place to learn about diverse American history stories we didn’t learn in schools. I also wanted to create an easy-to-navigate list of age-appropriate diverse books to supplement their standard history curricula, and TheRadicalAgenda.com was born.
Today the website has over 100 articles about people and events in diverse American history, and I am always finding new books to help write more articles. With every article, I think about what I wish my mom had as she was homeschooling me and my brothers, and then I work to create that.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I first decided to write a planner, I had zero idea how to do so. It took a lot of google research and YouTube videos to learn how to create a planner. The first planners I published were through Amazon, but the profit margins were so low that I was only making around $1/planner. I did more research and found Lulu.com, a Certified B Corp company that shares my values of fair practices and environmental protection. The profit margins also were significantly higher, which meant I was able to lower the prices of the planners and donate more money at the same time.
A couple years ago, a post I made about the origins of the planner went viral on Threads, and it brought in so many orders I was able to donate almost $500 to the organization I had chosen that year, which was the highest amount I have donated yet in my business.
This year I am working on making sure Google knows my blog exists with quality information so more people can find me, and building systems so more people automatically learn about the planners. It’s a lot of work, and it’s hard to find the time with a full-time job and two kids, but it’s worth it! My goal is to build my blog into a full-time job where I can spend my time reading and writing to help educate about American history.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
When I was in college, I never thought writing about American history would be a possible career path for me. I knew I wanted to be a nurse since I was three years old, and I have been a nurse since 2010. In 2020, I realized that there was a lot of history I didn’t know, so I started learning. Once I learned, I knew I needed to do my part to help.
I believe firmly that education doesn’t create division, it creates perspective that can foster empathy and understanding. I think most people have made up their minds about history based only on what they were taught before, but once taught the rest of the story, people can change.
What sets me apart from other history bloggers is that I focus specifically on diverse American history. I do not attempt to create entire history curriculum that encompasses everything, though I do have resources to help kids comprehend and retain the information from the books they read. I built the More to Explore workbook to help kids place the stories in the context of the historical timeline, cultural background, and which other historical figures were involved. I created a primary workbook to use for any historical book, and have plans to create unit studies on various topics that tie several books together for specialized learning.
I am most proud of how I learn new things as I go. I have ideas and then I figure out how to make them happen instead of seeing my lack of knowledge as a barrier. I am also proud of my partnership with local independent bookstore, Left Bank Books, where I help collaborate with the children’s book buyer for the monthly children’s window display theme and book choices.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
The 2027 Radical Agenda planners launch on September 1! This year we will be supporting St. Louis non-profit EarthDance Organic Farm School, a teaching farm in Ferguson, Missouri, that teaches sustainable farming while helping the community with a pay-what-you-can farm stand. I have volunteered with them before and love their mission. Every person deserves access to fresh, healthy food, and I am excited to support their work this year with planner sales.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theradicalagenda.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theradicalagendaplanner/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radicalagendaplanner
