Meet the two women educators who taught a Black history marathon for 33 hours to break a world record 

by Dollita Okine, Face2FaceAfrica.com

Anita Lewis and Gwendolyn Ebron, two dedicated Black women educators, are making Black history of their own after completing an astounding 33-hour teaching marathon focused entirely on Black history.

The two longtime educators first crossed paths through “Urban Intellectuals”, an organization focused on educating people about Black history, according to 6ABC News.

Lewis, who lives in Friendswood, Texas, reached out to Ebron, a Philadelphia teacher and part of Urban Intellectuals, to discuss her next major project following her doctorate. They quickly decided to collaborate on a demanding new effort to emphasize the essential place of Black history in education.

“I realized she’s who I wanted as my partner for this journey,” Lewis told the Chestnut Hill Local. “I’m of the mindset it’s always more fun with a friend and it wasn’t something I wanted to do alone and have it all on my back.”

She decided to set her sights on breaking a specific world record: the Guinness World Record for the “Longest History Lesson.” The existing record stands at 26 hours and 34 minutes, a feat accomplished by Andrew Torget in Denton, Texas, back in 2018. Notably, Torget’s record-setting lesson was exclusively centered on the history of Texas.

“As an educator, I believe in employing the past — history, your experiences — to educate the present — today’s students, regardless of age — to empower the future,” Lewis recounted.

After joining forces, Ebron and Lewis dedicated several months to meticulously planning a continuous, 33-hour educational marathon focusing entirely on Black history. Despite the extensive duration, they both agreed that the time allotted was still insufficient to thoroughly cover the depth and breadth of the topic.

The two-day teaching marathon, an extraordinary feat of education, commenced on February 27 and concluded on February 28, 2026. The historic event was hosted at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, conveniently located on Cheltenham Avenue. The turnout was strong, with community members attending in person, and the reach was extended globally thanks to a live stream broadcast by Urban Intellectuals.

The educators’ efforts now proceed to the verification stage, where all collected evidence must be submitted to Guinness World Records for thorough review and confirmation. So, at this time, their remarkable 33-hour effort stands as a significant attempt at securing a new world record.

For Ebron and Lewis, the true reward was sparking students’ potential of all ages and encouraging them to share those lessons. More than just a test of endurance, their prolonged endeavor was a deeply personal dedication to inspiring a passion for history and nurturing self-assurance in the generations to come.

“This is more than a record attempt — it is a reclamation,” Ebron told the Chestnut Hill Local in a press release. “We are teaching the history that shaped the world, honoring the brilliance, resilience, and global impact of African people across millennia.”

Lewis agreed that cultural understanding and appreciation are vital, stating, “If there’s one thing you can’t take away, you can’t take away a person’s education.” She expressed concern about the lack of inclusive history education in schools.

 “When I look around in the schools and I see classrooms with lots of Black and brown students, and you’re telling them that their history doesn’t matter in America… to me, that is an error.” Lewis believes that denying students the “fullness and the richness of their heritage” is raising a generation “who are not taught” important aspects of history, which “leads to dysfunction that could jeopardize the future of our very society.”