Kemari Thomas
Opinions Reporter
The teachings of African-American history have restrictions in 18 U.S. states, and three U.S. states have banned AP African-American history as of 2024. African American history is vital to U.S. history and understanding how America was built.
Teachers at CMHS back the study of African-American history. Photo courtesy of thehill.com
African-American studies teacher Mr. O’Connor says that American history cannot be fully taught or understood without African-American history.
“How can we grapple with the past if we avoid the truth? Knowledge is not the enemy. We shouldn't be afraid to have tough conversations; it's the only way to improve as a society,” Mr. O’Connor said.
Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas’ Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Georgia's Brian Kemp reason that the teaching of subjects such as civil rights, racism, and slavery being banned is because it could negatively affect small children and the belief that African-American history is “lacking in academic value.” Further, they believe this is to push the movement to what they refer to as “Wokism” and “Critical Race Theory.”
“African Americans can definitely be taught straightforwardly in high school, and there are ways to teach it to small children without being harsh or lying. I think all educators try to be truthful with students despite restrictions,” O’Connor said.
States such as Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico tend to water down the truth of U.S. history and make things seem like they weren't that bad, even though they were. A way of integrating African-American history but not fully or in a truthful manner. Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, and South Dakota have passed laws banning teaching Critical Race Theory outright in public colleges, according to Harvard University.
Some people believe African-American history should be integrated into standard U.S. history. Mrs. Godbout said that she absolutely believes African American history should be offered in schools.
“African American history should, ideally, be taught as part of a comprehensive history of the United States rather than being a separate entity. However, the way US history has historically been taught is only in the context of slavery and the Civil Rights movement. It is impossible to understand American history without understanding that the country was built upon the stolen labor of black of people, but in an effort to create patriotism and reinforce the idea of American exceptionalism, that history has been whitewashed to make it more palatable to white America. This upholds white supremacy as the underlying foundation of American society and politics,” Literacy Coach Mrs. Godbout said.
There is high value in understanding African-American history, but according to Lawyers Defending American Democracy, African-American history is whitewashed in many schools by limiting what educators are permitted to teach about race, American history, and any teachings that cause students—by implication, Caucasian students—to feel “personal responsibility, guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress.
“I don't believe that the argument that white students might ‘feel bad’ is either accurate or enough of a reason not to teach it. As a white person who has done a lot of work to dismantle my own bias and actively reject white supremacy culture in my own actions, I know that what I, as an individual white person, am responsible for is not the system itself (I didn't make it) but the way in which I uphold or reject it. In other words, it's not about me or any other individual white person. It's about how the system we inhabit marginalizes black, Indigenous, and other people of color. Therefore, I don't need to ‘feel bad’ unless I make a conscious choice to either ignore or perpetuate that system,” said Mrs. Godbout.
“Maya Angelou once said, ‘When you know better, do better.’ How can white students know better if they are never taught the accurate history of our nation or the critical thinking skills necessary to interrogate their own beliefs or the impact of those historical events through the lens of black people?” Godbout said.
Comentarios