Who teaches Black students that all of who they are matters? The Kamili Approach, an African-centered and holistic educational framework, emerged from a year-long study with urban youth of African descent. Particular focus is paid to the ancestral self and what occurs for a group of students when educators explicitly include Africans as subject in the development of humanity and history. Findings reveal that students were clearly aware of and felt hurt by the exclusion of their ancestral legacy and history in school curricular programs and text. In addition, the study demonstrates the power and importance of teaching youth of African descent their ancestral contribution to history and the modern world.