Scene + Read NYC

The things are don’t know about American slavery could fill an ocean. Perhaps we’re teaching slavery and the Civil War too early. What teacher can be expected to discuss rampant violence, rape, and human trafficking with children that may not even comprehend these concepts? Are our public schools blinded by white privilege? Are we fighting the significant number of people who think the Confederate flag still stands for “Southern Pride” rather than a culture of racism? Only a couple months ago, my wife overheard someone say that “the slaves wanted to be slaves.” I know this ignorance comes from ignorant upbringing. Showing children the harsh, unfiltered truth of travesties like American slavery is a good start to pushing away this ignorance. Schools spend more time studying Nazi Germany and Jewish concentration camps than on American slavery. Why? Because we’re embarrassed? We should be. It was a horrible time in our history and those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Think you know American slavery? Read Kindred or Beloved. Better yet, read a memoir of a black slave in the Antebellum South. Don’t let educational systems dictate the narrative of history.