Opinion: Teaching Black History Critical for Public Schools

By Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” –Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, we kick off another Black History Month, a time intended to remind us of men and women who changed the world and their sacrifices, but who are at the same time in peril of being lost to history. 

The roots of this month began when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History designated the second week of February to be “Negro History Week” in the United States. Woodson, born in 1875 in Virginia earned his graduate degrees at the University of Chicago and was the second African American to obtain a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University, and is widely recognized as one of the first scholars to study African-American history. 

Woodson chose the second week in February because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on Feb. 12, and Frederick Douglass on Feb. 14, both of which dates black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century. 

Initially, it was meant to encourage the coordinated teaching of the history of American blacks in the nation’s public schools.

That goal remains mostly unrealized in public schools, many of which, have become political equity chips for those who would not only oppose teaching the history of black citizens in America, but are passing laws to limit what can be taught in regards to racial history in this general. 

They argue that reminders of past atrocities create racial tension. But whitewashing history, leaving a generation of students ignorant to such history, is far more destructive in the long haul. And added to that mix, allowing the inclusion of black men and women who helped shape this nation in public school history books is lost. 

Many of these history making men and women are still among us.

I had a few conversations with John M. Perkins, the civil rights activist, author and international speaker on issues of reconciliation, leadership, and community development a number of years ago about the issue. Perkins grew up in Mississippi in the 1930s and 40s, before moving to California after being warned he was in danger following the fatal shooting of his brother by a police officer.  

He returned to Mississippi in 1960, where he led economic boycotts against white-owned businesses, leading to his arrest and torture by white officers in jail. The experience led Perkins to find solutions for racial division and reconciliation, and effort that is still going strong after half a century.  

Now 92, Perkins, in his ministry has worked with a myriad of groups on reconciliation and forgiveness, including former KKK Grand Dragons. He still maintains that “them” is the “ugliest four-letter word in the English vocabulary.” 

He writes:

“It's a word that separates and divides. It's important that we know their names. It's really hard to dislike someone you pray for regularly. One of the most important things we can do to move the cause of reconciliation forward is to pray for the brothers and sisters who we have been separate from.” 

Perkins also believes that education is directly related to quality of life in America.

And that education cannot leave out painful periods of history, and as we remember this month especially, the treatment of black Americans since our nation’s beginnings.

An education that omits painful points in history, is not an education, it’s and indoctrination.

Even the parts of the Bible which address history do not leave out the most sordid actions and events, often led by those designated as being those chosen by God.

So why attempt to sanitize American history to appease a minority of uninformed elected officials who pander to the loudest, mostly white voices? 

The history of slavery and the legacy of lynchings (more than four thousand in the South between 1877 and 1950) need to be included in public school history curriculums, alongside the attempts to repair the damage - even those that largely failed at the time - such as the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, Plessy v. Ferguson and later Brown v. Board of Education (which found greater success in time), all important milestones that should be familiar to any educated person.  

And it’s not just distant history. 

Almost every day I come in contact with men and women in Anderson who not only remember but experienced profound racial discrimination here in our home county. Whites-Only water fountains were still in place downtown until at least 1970, and schools here were still largely separate by race more than a decade after the passage of Brown v. Board of Education decision.

They marveled at watching the progress of not only Dr. King, Malcolm X and other national civil rights leaders, who, though jailed, beaten, vilified, and the constant target of death threats, never gave up. Claudette Colvin, who set the stage for Rosa Parks, brought encouragement that change is possible.  

The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the subsequent Voting Rights Act and Fair Housing Act also helped move the needle a little, but, as history teaches those who listen, much is left to accomplish.

Ask your Black neighbors who remember, or whose parents remember growing up in the segregated South why those days should not be forgotten. 

My friend Hosea Williams, who Dr. King called “my wildman” for Williams’ skills as a protestor and organizer, often said the path to equality must be built “rock by rock.” More than a few rocks, bottles and other objects were tossed at (and connected with) Williams as he marched for equal rights, economic justice and compassion, and he used those rocks to build a foundation. Also, between 1970-1990 Williams fed thousands of low-income folks in Atlanta as part of his vision. 

But his idea that the path forward must be built rock by rock is best built on the foundation put down by black men and women who have and continue to make lasting contributions to society, and the fierce challenges and opposition they encounter.

Black History Month shines the light of liberty on the America we aspire to, as well as where we have failed to become who we wish to be as a nation. Remembering our past, especially in our public-school textbooks, does not inspire hate or division. Instead, it is a lesson for all in how we can learn from our mistakes and move toward a more perfect union, and not just in the month of February.