Diamonds Hidden in the Depths: What Your Textbook Never Told You
Publication Date
2020
Start Date
22-8-2020 10:10 AM
End Date
22-8-2020 10:35 AM
Moderator
Natalie Hutson
Description
Marcus Garvey once said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” This is the reality for a person of color every single time they learn US History in their K-12 classrooms. I can personally attest to this. I remember distinctly one day sitting amongst friends, listening as they talked about their ancestry, tracing back generation, after generation, when the conversation finally shifted to me. In that moment, I knew it was coming, the daunting question I had so been dreading, and they asked me “How far back can you trace your ancestry?” All I could really say is “...only back to my great great grandma.” In school when I learned about my history, I learned about slavery, Martin Luther King Jr., and most recently former President Barak Obama. That’s it. It wasn’t until college where I began paying for my education that I was finally able to learn about my history. As children, the information we learn in our classes is what shapes us, our identity and our beliefs. As we stand presently in 2020, we can no long bear false witness to incomplete and false narratives, but rather rethink curriculum that is holistic and equitable for all students. This is why in my presentation I will uncover the impact of omitting people of color from our history education and argue that incorporating ethnic studies curricula in the K-12 public school system is an important step toward healing the harms caused by racial injustice.
Diamonds Hidden in the Depths: What Your Textbook Never Told You
Marcus Garvey once said, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” This is the reality for a person of color every single time they learn US History in their K-12 classrooms. I can personally attest to this. I remember distinctly one day sitting amongst friends, listening as they talked about their ancestry, tracing back generation, after generation, when the conversation finally shifted to me. In that moment, I knew it was coming, the daunting question I had so been dreading, and they asked me “How far back can you trace your ancestry?” All I could really say is “...only back to my great great grandma.” In school when I learned about my history, I learned about slavery, Martin Luther King Jr., and most recently former President Barak Obama. That’s it. It wasn’t until college where I began paying for my education that I was finally able to learn about my history. As children, the information we learn in our classes is what shapes us, our identity and our beliefs. As we stand presently in 2020, we can no long bear false witness to incomplete and false narratives, but rather rethink curriculum that is holistic and equitable for all students. This is why in my presentation I will uncover the impact of omitting people of color from our history education and argue that incorporating ethnic studies curricula in the K-12 public school system is an important step toward healing the harms caused by racial injustice.