We've all heard of Christopher Columbus and I'm sure many of us had to learn that he "discovered" America (which is obviously a lie). But have you heard about Rudy Bridges Hall, did you learn about the Six Grandfathers, the stolen land we got from Native Americans and Mexicans, the forced sterilization of Native American women, Black wall street and the many black massacres in the us, colorism and it's relation to slavery, Juneteenth, Black queens and royalty, Sitting bull, Indigenous boarding schools, Thomas Garrett, coolie slave trade, Claudette Colvin?
Unfortunately, not a lot of people know our true history. The lies, gloss overs, and cover ups in textbooks are erasing the true facts of this nation. Recently, a lot of places have started to erase more important history lessons from history books and lessons.
If we can learn about war, we can learn about the genocide Indigenous people had to go through, the cultural erasure they faced, the environments they're in now, the strength they have to keep fighting for their rights. If a black student can be punished for their natural hair and skin color, we can learn about things like the tignon law, Lewis Latimer, Dr Mildred Jefferson and Rudy Bridges Hall. If a Chinese student has to see Asian people being beat on the street we can talk about the coolie trade. We were all created equal but we all won't be treated equal and this is why topics of race should be taught in schools.
Not teaching and not learning is one of the many reasons why so much racism and hate, ignorance and xenophobia is present in the world. Racist parents and grandparents pass down their beliefs or kids never learn from their parents/ guardian and instead rely on stereotypes or false knowledge, lies they read in textbooks and online and in life.
If we don't teach about our true history we will fail our country, the next generations to come and our families.
The fact that people can be racist to Latino people in a state that originally was part of Mexico is one example. The fact that people in the south are still just as racist as they were back when slavery was still here and that confederate flags and the kkk are still here is another example.
American history is far more than just slavery and war. So many stolen ideas and land from Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Indigenous people yet so many people of color face xenophobia. Did you know about Japanese Americans forced into internment camps or the coolie trade where Chinese and Indian laborers were tricked onto transport ships and turned into slaves? Do people even know that there are over 500 Native American tribes and about Juneteenth?
Racist bigots say stuff like "go back to where you came from," to people that originate on this stolen land or people that were literally stolen and bought to this land. I can't wrap my head around the irony that people whose ancestors fought and lost their land are villainized. The normalization of xenophobia and blatant racism will never earn the badge of patriotism and that's a fact. The hate and shame that people face for stuff like wearing a hijab after 9/11 or having black skin after a black person committed a crime or being Asian during this pandemic or being Mexican American after a crime happens in Mexico is absolutely ridiculous.
Why is it that so many idiots think that every person that doesn't speak English or that has an accent or darker skin doesn't belong here? Why is it that immigrants get so much hate while rapists, colonizers, slave owners, and killers are praised? Why is that "That was years ago, get over it," is used as an excuse for something like slavery but yet we still talk about war veterans and traditions and "Independence" day because "history repeats itself".
So many movies have that token person of color in the background but what about our big part in history books? American history started before America was even called America yet some kids still believe that all Native people are gone or in the tepees or that having Native American people as mascots is okay.
Is it really too much to ask that kids be taught about the true history of the place they live? About the things their ancestors went through that has a great impact on their future? Our ancestors fought for us whether through slavery, in wars against colonization, against the government for voting rights or gay rights, and so much more. People of color in America deserve so much more. We are not the "side piece" of history in America. We belong here and we have a great list of achievements that should not be lied about or ignored. We will not conform to cultural erasure and theft anymore. Together we will rise and educate ourselves and next generations.
In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate. --Toni Morrison
