We cannot embellish our past

While February is a great time to celebrate Black history and achievements, it is important to remember that Black history is American history and should be thoroughly integrated into our educational system.

Many curricula require a U.S. history course, with a mainly white-centric focus that typically glosses over Black history. This is harmful in that it privileges a white perspective that often incorrectly places white Americans as heroes.

Many legislators are going through extreme lengths to continue centering this perspective by banning what they believe to be critical race theory in public schools. Critical race theory analyzes how racism has and continues to impact policies, legal systems and other institutions, and is currently not included in K-12 education. Many believe that any hint at racism in education is related to critical race theory.

Since January 2021, 37 states have taken action toward prohibiting critical race theory in education. With such broad interpretations of what constitutes critical race theory, many teachers are worried that race-related materials and discussions of the past and present will be severely limited.

Black history and voices are also being silenced through book banning. There have already been a number of books that have been banned from curricula, the majority of them written by Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) writers.

For example, George M. Johnson’s autobiography, “All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir Manifesto” detailed their experience as a Black queer person. Despite the several important and relevant topics that were addressed in their book, it has been challenged and removed from libraries in over eight states.

In Tennessee, a group of parents have even challenged Ruby Bridges’ autobiography, the first Black student to integrate into an all-white school. The parents felt that the book portrayed all white people as oppressors.

Ignoring the reality of racism in our curriculum not only disregards the atrocities white people committed but also ignores and discredits Black achievements.

Outside the confines of slavery and the civil rights movement, Black Americans are not mentioned appropriately in history classes. Black communities exist beyond these periods of history and have made so many contributions to society; they are not agent-less people whose history consists
solely of suffering.

Focusing primarily on a white-centered history and spending so little time on Black history, a vital part of our country, is another way that white supremacy is still being upheld. To teach history in a way that makes white students more comfortable, while ignoring the important contributions Black Americans have made to U.S. society, only furthers our white-centric ideals.

Embellishing the past and miseducating students is just as harmful as leaving out key movements and actors.

It is a disservice to not fully educate students about the reality of America’s past. It is full of complexities and brutality. Even though these subjects can be sensitive and difficult to understand, we cannot ignore our reality.

In order to move forward, we must understand our past. Learning and understanding our full history will allow us to recognize and stop the racial injustices of the present. Education is the first step for us as a country to learn, grow and stop our ugly history from repeating itself.

The Hawk welcomes Letters to the Editor, typically no more than 300 words. They can be emailed to [email protected].