Across America, states are removing Black history from schools. Virginia is doing the opposite
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/educat ... story.html
Before this spring, Patricia O’Shea, a rising senior at Granby High School in Norfolk, hadn’t heard of Louis Latimer, a Black inventor who helped Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison.
Or Henry Brown, who climbed in a box and mailed himself from Virginia to Philadelphia to gain his freedom.
Or Sarah Garland Jones, the first female licensed to practice medicine in the commonwealth.
An elective class on African American history opened O’Shea’s eyes to these and many more Black Virginians who helped shape the state over the centuries. In previous history classes, she said, topics like slavery and Jim Crow laws were barely talked about – one unit at most.
But as other states across the country introduce legislation restricting educators from teaching about race, Virginia has gone in another direction. The state has started an initiative to incorporate more African American history into its public schools’ curriculum. More Black history is included in all history classes now, but students like O’Shea who want to explore it deeper have the option to with the new elective.
Across America, Republicans are removing Black history from schools. Virginia is doing the opposite.
- optimusprime
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Across America, Republicans are removing Black history from schools. Virginia is doing the opposite.
I’m happy to report that, despite the fact that Virginia elected a governor who wanted to root critical race theory from Virginia school curricula, he hasn’t succeeded so far.
My 13yo granddaughter attends school in a district where there are a lot of confederate flags and Let’s Go Brandon yard signs. I helped her study for her history test last night (1865 to present). She brought her binder, which was full of worksheets and text, and it was chock-full of things I was hoping they’d teach - Black Codes, Jim Crow, the evolution of civil rights amendments and legislation.
And she was all about it. Not only is she going to do fine on her test, but she was like, I can’t believe we ever had stuff like this in this country. I reminded her that there will always be racist jerks, and the more they crack down on racial jerkiness, the more it gets driven underground, but it’s still there, so she should pay attention to things like privilege.
My 13yo granddaughter attends school in a district where there are a lot of confederate flags and Let’s Go Brandon yard signs. I helped her study for her history test last night (1865 to present). She brought her binder, which was full of worksheets and text, and it was chock-full of things I was hoping they’d teach - Black Codes, Jim Crow, the evolution of civil rights amendments and legislation.
And she was all about it. Not only is she going to do fine on her test, but she was like, I can’t believe we ever had stuff like this in this country. I reminded her that there will always be racist jerks, and the more they crack down on racial jerkiness, the more it gets driven underground, but it’s still there, so she should pay attention to things like privilege.
"Hey! We left this England place because it was bogus, and if we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto, we'll just be bogus too!" -- Thomas Jefferson