Nationwide — Melanated Neurons™, an innovative monthly identity-affirming STEAM and culture subscription box+ for Black children ages 7–12, officially launches as a bold response to the rising erasure, miseducation, banning of books, closing of African American museums, and racial hostility Black children experience in classrooms across the nation.
Founded by Dr. Angeline Dean, a cultural gap architect, scholar, and community transformation leader, Melanated Neurons™ was birthed from a personal and painful moment. After her 7-year-old great nephew was called “N*gger,” “BLACK,” and “Black monkey” at school, and while she herself was navigating white-injected oppression (commonly known as internalized racism-Matzimoyo) inside graduate school, Dr. Dean saw the urgent need for identity-affirming, place-based learning education that tells the truth, protects Black childhood, and nurtures Black genius.
Across the country, Black families are driving a historic shift in education. Homeschooling and micro-schooling among Black households have grown at record rates as parents seek culturally grounded, truth-based alternatives to schools that increasingly censor race, history, and identity. National data shows homeschooling has risen more than 40% among non-white families, while the subscription-learning industry is projected to surpass $25 billion by 2030.
Melanated Neurons™ emerges at the intersection of both movements, meeting the growing demand for educational tools that affirm, empower, and restore cultural memory.
What’s Inside Each Box: Every month, children meet a different Black innovator, artist, scientist, mathematician, astronaut, engineer, agriculturalist, or inventor through:
• A hands-on STEAM+ history and/or geography project
• A cultural learning activity
• An identity-affirming lesson
• Truth-based storytelling grounded in melanin, brilliance, and ancestral knowledge
• Vocabulary and discussion prompts that help families talk about systems, bias, and Black history openly
Melanated Neurons™ is not a craft box; it is a liberation learning experience delivered directly to families, homeschools, microschools, youth ministries, and community programs. Before launching, Dr. Dean conducted a month-long pilot with children ages 7–12 in Southern New Jersey.
Participants:
• Walked a 75-acre Black-owned farm and learned from elders while gleaning enslaved artifacts
• Explored Black Wall Street economics with a Black banker
• Visited their first Black-owned bookstore (Ida’s)
• Studied neurons, nature, and melanin outdoors, which produced a lesson on colorism
• Attended Harlem’s Children’s Festival, witnessing Black youth entrepreneurs and local political leaders. The outcomes were powerful: children stood taller, spoke prouder, and began to see themselves as creators, innovators, and leaders.
Melanated Neurons™ is designed for:
• Families seeking identity-affirming education
• Black homeschool networks
• Cultural community organizations
• Faith-based programs
• Educators wanting supplemental truth-based STEAM content
• Sponsors and donors who want to seed liberatory learning in their communities
Bulk and institutional sponsorships allow schools, churches, and youth programs to provide boxes to children at scale, expanding access and impact. Learn more here
“Black children deserve learning that frees them, not learning that distorts them. Melanated Neurons™ restores what schools remove: truth, brilliance, and cultural memory,” says Dr. Angeline Dean, Founder.
For media inquiries, interviews, or speaking engagements, please contact ang1dean@yahoo.com