US Educators Re-examine How Black History Is Taught in Schools

 

For years, Americans talked little about the killing¹ of hundreds of people in Tulsa, Oklahoma, nearly a century ago. When they did talk about the violent incident they called it the Tulsa race riot.

The incident happened over a period of 16 hours, from May 31 to June 1, 1921. It took place in a part of Tulsa where Black Americans operated successful businesses. Mobs of white people attacked Black locals and businesses in an area known as "Black Wall Street."

An estimated 300 people died. Hundreds more were injured, and thousands were left homeless. Black Wall Street was destroyed.

Under new rules developed by teachers, Oklahoma students are urged to consider the differences between calling the incident a "riot" and a "massacre²" -- the violent killing of many people. Yet Oklahoma's state laws use the word riot when describing the violence.

The state's new education guidelines are taking effect as a national discussion on racial injustice³ brings attention to how Black history is taught in schools.

There is no national set of rules on how to teach Black history in the United States. A small number of states have laws requiring that the subject be taught in public schools. Each state sets its own education requirements. History classes often make note of slavery, the rise of Jim Crow laws and the civil rights movement.

Some experts and educators say Black history lessons spend too much time telling about violence and suffering, instead of the systemic parts of racism⁴ and white supremacy⁵. But others say past unrest and injustices⁶ are not explained enough.

In Texas, the Board of Education recently approved a class on African American studies for high school students. A University of Texas professor involved in developing the course, Kevin Cokley, said his college students say they were taught a sanitized version of Black history in high school.

"Most of my students indicate they did not learn the specifics of slavery that I provide them in my course," said Cokley. "Oftentimes they are shocked and angered to find they were not taught the information I am sharing with them."

Oklahoma schools have been required to teach about the 1921 Tulsa massacre since 2002.

The massacre largely was not discussed in Oklahoma until a group was formed in 1997 to investigate the violence. The group is led by Kevin Matthews, a state senator from Tulsa and a member of the Democratic Party. Matthews said the new teaching rules have not faced opposition⁷. But he noted⁸ that some people have said they would rather leave the massacre in the past.

"Older people called me and said, ‘Why do you want to bring this back up, this dirty secret?'" he said.

Matthews said his grandmother was a young girl in Tulsa during the massacre, but she never told him about the violence. He learned about it as an adult from his grandmother's brother.

"It was like a movie," Matthews said. "I couldn't believe it happened here."

LaGarrett King is director of the Carter Center for K-12 Black History Education at the University of Missouri. He says he believes there is too much attention being placed on violence in Black history lessons.

King provided training last year for 300 educators who are interested in teaching Black history. He expects an online training program this summer to have more attendees than usual. That, he says, makes him hopeful.

But he notes that history still needs to be presented differently. For example, he said, the country as a whole does not recognize "Juneteenth" as a holiday. June 19 marks the day in 1865 that the last enslaved black Americans learned they had been freed.

"White people don't acknowledge Juneteenth, but yet we're supposed to be a country that believes in freedom," King said. "We have been taught July 4, 1776, is the real Independence Day, but it's not. The vast majority of black people were still enslaved."

Lawrence Paska is executive director of the National Council for the Social Studies. He said schools should be preparing to help students work through questions about discrimination, protests and racial violence when they return three months from now.

"Do we have a curriculum that is responsive to the needs and experiences of the students we have now?" Paska said. "That is an important question schools need to be asking."

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

Jim Crow - n. the former practice of segregating⁹, or separating, black people in the U.S.

lesson - n. an activity that you do in order to learn something

white supremacy - n. the belief that the white race is better than all other races and should have control over all other races

sanitize - v. to make (something) more pleasant and acceptable by taking things that are unpleasant or offensive out of it

specific - adj. special or particular

indicate - v. to show (something)

acknowledge - v. to say that you accept or do not deny the truth or existence of (something

vast - adj. very great in size, amount, or extent

curriculum - n. the classes that are taught by a school, college, etc.

responsive - adj. reacting in a desired or positive way

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

3 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

4 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

5 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

6 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 segregating   

（使）分开( segregate的现在分词 )； 分离； 隔离； 隔离并区别对待（不同种族、宗教或性别的人）

参考例句：

• The government has just repealed the law segregating the public facilities. 这个政府已经撤销了分离公共设施的法律。
• Siblings and dizygotic twins share only 50% of their segregating genes. 同卵双生双胞胎和双卵双生双胞胎分享仅50%的基因。