“Because everyday is white kids’ day,” Kathy (age 6, White River Apache) in response to an older peer asking why there wasn’t a day to celebrate white kids
The other day in class I told my 8th graders that one of their culmination questions this term would be - How did slavery continue after the adoption of the 13th Amendment. My announcement did not go over well. After a bit of stammering, a student asked me how slavery could continue if it was illegal. I replied that some forms of slavery are visible and other forms of slavery take on new names. This washed over their heads a bit so I tried a metaphor that I thought might begin to ground their thinking. I asked them what the difference is between a spelling test and a spellabration? They acknowledged that both test spelling and that calling it a spellabration probably makes some students relax more. This, I told them, was not unlike forms of slavery, oppression, and racism in America. In US History, some folks changed the names of specific systems of power so other people would relax and go along with a program that marginalizes specific individuals and groups.
This term we have begun our History of Slavery and Oppression project. My students this year only understand racism and slavery in an abstract, theoretical concept. The project aims to move them into a deeper understanding of these tough concepts by stripping away the whitewashing found in most history textbooks. We began with the aspirational and lofty words found in the founding documents (“all men are created equal...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) and asked if those words ring true and if all citizens have had access to equality, or life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This marks the forth or fifth time I’ve run this project and it always opens some eyes (mine included). As my culmination question suggests, one of the underlying goals of this project is for students to begin to understand that slavery and oppression by any other name is just called everyday living for People of Color.
Students examine how Indigineous, Black, Latinx, and Asian Americans have experienced American history. Before I go much further I should mention that I don’t hold much back and I work to make sure I measure out the doses of reality for each class. Students (and grown ups) should feel uncomfortable studying this history - think of it as America - the good, the bad, and the ugly. We have to pull the curtain back and see America for all that she is and dismantle the myriad myths with US History. The traditional myths associated with teaching history can be lumped into a Great Men doing Great Deeds curricula. In addition, it is critical for the study of this history to look at how white supremacy shaped and transformed this country over time. Simplistic interpretations do no one any favors. Our history is complex, contradictory, and uncomfortable at times - we have to create curricula that helps students understand this. Since three year olds understand racism (see Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark doll experiment) then we as teachers can teach students at all grade levels about these ideas as well. Students are more capable than we often give them credit for, so my guess is that the problem (as usual) is the adults. Amongst the grown ups, I’m guessing that many feel anxious or uncomfortable teaching slavery and genocide in America. While others get upset and defensive when the heroes and myths they grew up with suddenly aren’t so heroic. Our country’s founding and path forward is complicated. Many issues have emerged from efforts to dismantle the various myths that have contributed to the American story. This project re-examines the American experience in hopes of creating a version of history that is more honest and accessible to more people.
The project isn’t perfect but it is a start. I’ve run it a few different ways and it always moves according to the needs of the students towards a culmination that fits with those needs. One year with a large and diverse class we had difficult and rewarding conversations that culminated with a student designed music/dance performance called The History of Light & Dark. Other years with less diverse groups we’ve focused on negotiating white guilt and white anger as well as supporting students of color who became frustrated and tired of the predictable range of responses from their white peers. I used to expect (and maybe hope) that my students of color would get pissed at their white peers ignorant of privilege who push meritocracy or color blindness. Mostly though these young women and men tend to look sad and tired as they, once again, have to deal with the subtle forms of white supremacy manifested by their peers. Over the years, many of these culminations have taken the form of Socratic Seminars. In these public conversations our big questions have included:
How has our country lived up to the lofty words in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution?.
Was the Civil War really about slavery?
How has slavery, racism, and oppression shaped our country?
Describe instances in which the political, justice, or economic systems marginalized specific racial or ethnic groups.
Deconstructing myths and expanding the focus of our study of history does cause anxiety and confusion. That’s ok. As teachers our job is to help students negotiate these feelings and the information involved. If we do not have these uncomfortable conversations we will continue to maintain inequities and fail to understand how past experiences shape current conversations around race, justice, and power in our everyday lives. To continue to perpetuate the myth of America only adds to the vacuous acceptance of the past and ever growing reach of “Ignorance is Strength”.