Teaching black history is broken. If you look at public school history books grades six through twelve, you will not see most of the exceptional accomplishments of blacks throughout American history. Yet, history textbooks are the dominant educational tool that shapes students’ views. As a result, students miss some of the greatest inspirational stories ever told when American history books are inadequately represented and devoid of black history. Black history is a real story of perseverance and resilience.
When people are ignorant of history, they are more likely to believe distorted narratives. Robert L. Woodson has made his life’s work to correct the distorted narrative that blacks are hapless victims of the cultural past. In an open letter to the National School Boards Association and Local School Boards, he writes: “The prevailing narrative of racial grievance has been corrupting the instruction of American history and the humanities for many decades but has accelerated dangerously over the past year. The most damaging effects of such instruction fall on lower-income minority children, who are implicitly told that they are helpless victims with no power or agency to shape their own futures.”
He goes on to write, “1776 Unites initiative stands in unqualified opposition to any curricula that depict America as irredeemably racist; teach that the legacies of slavery, racial segregation, and other appalling crimes are insurmountable; or fail to provide examples from the history of black achievement against the odds. We ask that your schools instead adopt curricula that, rather than completely reject our founding values, instead embrace the ideas of family, faith, and entrepreneurship that have enabled all Americans – including black Americans – throughout history to move from persecution to prosperity and will continue to do so for generations to come.”
Yocum African American History Association (YAAHA) stands with all the organizations and leaders who resist the Critical Race Theory (CRT) being taught in our schools. We need to liberate our children from the false narratives about black history. Help YAAHA Change Perspectives About Black History in America. Share the gift of education through your donation to bring more videos and materials to our children to teach the real story of perseverance and resilience.
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