Even though I had a very White washed history growing up attending Evangelical Christian schools from K4 until 12th grade, I do not think I should make history centered around the Black experience, but let me first explain before you write me off as Candace Owens.
A large part of my educational life involved my parents reteaching me when I got home from Christian school each day. History classes were always taught in a way where the contributions of Black people were left out and we were part of the “extras” in a story where White people were the main character. If slavery was discussed, it was told as a way to show how White people saved Black people from pagan Africa. Without my parents, I probably would have had little knowledge of how my ancestors contributed to human history, and neither would I have learned to stand up against racism.
Having this experience, one would think that I would grow up to be an educator who felt that the education of Black students should be African-centered. I have even heard other Black educators say that since history has been White-washed then we should focus on only teaching students Black history. We should teach Black history…and Japanese history and Arab history and Latino history and Italian history and Native history and HUMAN HISTORY. I do not think education should be taught in a way that makes Black people the main character on the world’s stage. If I do that, then I become guilty of the same inequity that I experienced in the history classes I attended when I was in school.
I wish we could keep our children out of the political strife and just teach them the truth. There doesn’t need to be a political or racial lens for them to look through. Just read the facts, teach the facts, make sure they understand the facts and they will see the good, the bad, and the ugly all in proper context. They will learn that the world does not revolve around them and they will learn the stories of other people. They will come to naturally see their unique place in human history, as well as other people. If we tell history truthfully, children will learn about the horrors of slavery, the aftershocks of slavery in Jim Crow, and the triumph of the Civil Rights Movement. They will see that there’s still work to be done and maybe if they are taught what is true about the American government, they will learn how to continue the work of progressing America to being a truly perfect union. Also, by giving them a humanistic education, they will also learn about how their human experiences connect with those in China, Japan, Mexico, or Ireland (the parallels between St. Patrick and enslaved Africans are quite interesting!).
Yet, I know this is only a dream. There is a competition going on. Everyone is fighting to have their narrative at the center, but no child’s education should be centered around a certain ethnic or cultural group. Humanity should be at the center, but not a human being. No one should be elevated but everyone should be equally valued as part of the larger tapestry of the human story. When we place humanity at the center of how children are educated, they learn so much more. Learning history only through the lens of a child’s ancestral experience limits their understanding of the world. We must make it a priority to cultivate citizens of the world, as Socrates says. This brings about compassion, heals the bitterness of historic trauma, and births hope in the next generation.
I refuse to educate children the way I was educated, instead, I hope that my students come to learn more about themselves, other people, and the world overall. Maybe in doing that, the children will grow up to care about all of humanity and not just those in humanity that look like them.
Dr. Anika T. Prather 