The problem of the 20th-Century will be that of the color line.
W.E.B. DuBois
Not even my earning of two degrees in African-American Studies from THE Ohio State University prepared me for the recent battle over Critical Race Theory (CRT). Now, I do not want you to conclude that I am in the dark regarding what CRT is. I thoroughly understand the concept. However, I admit to not understanding what those opposing the teaching of Race, one of the foundational pillars of this nation, in this nation’s Social Studies and History classrooms. Although I realize that this will upset many Whites, racial matters must be thoroughly addressed within our educational institutions.
I was pleased to learn that I was not alone in my concerns about a segment of our population advocating for the distortion of Americans; in the public arena nonetheless. The President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten, has boldly stepped forward to address her intention to fight against the “culture warriors” attempting to sanction the teaching of a fallacious history under the guise of destroying CRT.
I applaud Weingarten for the following statement regarding the AFT commitment to protecting educators who occupy the front lines of this brewing battle.
Our union will defend any member who gets in trouble for teaching honest history. Teaching the truth is not radical or wrong. Distorting history and threatening educators for teaching the truth is what is truly radical and wrong.
As an educator with over two decades of experience teaching racial matters, I am bewildered by recent demands for American history to be discussed without the presence of W.E.B. DuBois’ color line. Despite opponents’ desperate attempt to deny both the presence and the centrality of Race as a cornerstone of this nation’s development, the historical record says otherwise.
If provided the opportunity, I would tell the self-proclaimed American Patriots issuing the aforementioned demands for the altering of an honest history into a false one that amounts to little more than the spreading of propaganda to explain historical racial inequities that their actions are Hitleresque.
There is not a single capable educator in the fields of Social Studies or History who can truthfully attest to discussing the founding and development of this nation without discussing Race. Put simply, the barring of any discussion of the haunting specter of Race in America’s development places educators in an impossible position. To understand this point, one needs to look no further than the rhetoric of aggrieved colonists seeking to free themselves from 18th Century British tyranny. Also called the Declaration of Independence to recognize the alluded to predicament.
Race was present when a roguish vagabond population of unruly colonists expressed their fervent desires with a Declaration of Independence. Ironically, the primary motivating factor behind their actions was “to not be the slaves of the British.” It would be Thomas Jefferson who best expressed those intentions with the following words.
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Those seeking to sanitize US History because they ludicrously believe that the failure to do so will begin psychologically fragile White children down a path that ends with them being damaged for life are seeking to limit what can be discussed in our nation’s classroom by qualified educators. In the world they seek to create, it is fine to discuss Jefferson’s reverberating words found in the above document while omitting that he stands as one of this nation’s foremost hypocrites. Consider for a moment that while Jefferson was penning such beautiful, liberating prose, he simultaneously refused to vacate his status as a slaveholder who produced children with Sally Hemings, one of his possessions. All American children need to understand that this particular Founding Father was “owned” stolen Africans on Monticello, his plantation in Virginia. Additional classroom discussions could delve into Jefferson’s never-ending refusal to free enslaved Africans in the 18th Century and its relationship to the 20th Century refusal of his White descendants to allow any of his colored prodigy to be buried in the Jefferson family cemetery.
As a descendant of stolen Africans, I agree that American History can disturb one’s soul. However, that does not remove the fact that this rugged past of triumphs and failures is a reflective portrait of who we are as a nation. This portrait possesses the power to explain to every generation how we arrived at this moment. We can not expect any reasonable progress on the racial frontier if we cannot be truthful about our past. Regardless of race/ethnicity, all children deserve the opportunity to subdue the racial division that has dogged this nation for far too long. Hopefully, those seeking to silence educators regarding racial matters will understand that they are dooming this nation to unceasing racial discord. A wise man named William Peppers once told me, “If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got.”
Aren’t Whites tired of the disturbing specter of racial animosity?
Time will tell, I guess.
Dr. James Thomas Jones III
©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021
#ManhoodRaceCulture
You are cordially invited to join MRCi (Manhood, Race, and Culture Interactive) tonight (July 8, 2021) @ 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST) for a much-needed discussion titled A Discussion of Critical Race Theory: Why Are White Conservatives Speaking About Something that They Nothing About
Tonight’s discussion will be part 2 of our focus on discussions of critical race theory.
Join us as we discuss this pressing matter.
The program begins tonight (Thursday, July 8) @ 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST). Click here to access the meeting or use the information listed below.
Meeting ID: 353 334 8869
Passcode: 1YF4BG