VOA慢速英语--应该如何教授美国的种族奴隶历史

How Should the History of Race, Slavery Be Taught in America?

How history should be taught in American schools is a subject forcefully argued by many different American groups.

One example of the ongoing² dispute was an effort by the administration of former President Donald Trump³. It sought to influence the way American history, including slavery and race, are discussed in public schools and universities.

In November of 2020, Trump ordered the Department of Education to establish a group called the 1776 Commission. Its stated job was to "better enable rising generations to understand the history and principles of the founding of the United States in 1776."

However, critics said the group told a one-sided story about the men who helped establish the United States — known as the Founding Fathers. They argued the commission told schools to reduce the importance of slavery when telling the story of the early days of the country. The commission released its report on January 18. The Trump administration hoped it would provide guidance about history teaching in the country.

But, critics said it insulted many ideas of education. David Blight⁴ is a Civil War historian at Yale University. He called the document produced by Trump's commission "a piece of right-wing propaganda."

The 1619 Project

Observers noted⁵ that the report seemed to be an answer to The 1619 Project. It is a series of stories published in 2019 in the New York Times newspaper. The stories are about the influence of slavery on the British colonies that would become the United States.

The New York Times collection was released during the 400th anniversary of the year historians believe slaves were first brought to the area that would become the United States.

The stories talked about how African slaves provided free labor⁶ in some colonies. The writers argued that slaves made the agricultural economy one of the most productive in the world. They said that slavery began hundreds of years of racism⁷ and poor conditions from which Black people have yet to fully¹ recover.

The 1619 Project won the Pulitzer Prize and resulted in a podcast. The New York Times said it looks at how slavery started "nearly everything that has truly made America exceptional."

President Joe Biden cancelled the 1776 Commission with an executive order on the first day of his presidency⁸, January 20. However, state leaders who supported the commission still want to influence how public school teachers and public universities discuss the effects of slavery and racism.

What should teachers teach?

In the state of Georgia a lawmaker asked the leader of the state's university system to investigate how teachers talk about "white privilege." White privilege is a term used to describe the advantages that come just from being white in American society.

The term appeared a lot in the summer of 2020 after protests over racial equity⁹ took place following the death of George Floyd. He was a Black man who died while being restrained by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Lawmakers in Georgia asked the state university system to survey its professors on the issue of white privilege. English professor Matthew Boedy teaches at the University of North Georgia. He saw the survey. He said it is designed to intimidate¹⁰ professors and called it "an attack on higher education."

The debate is not only in Georgia. States including Arkansas and Iowa are dealing¹¹ with the same issues. Representative from Arkansas Mark Lowery called slavery "a dark stain" on U.S. history. But said, the New York Times series reduced the importance of Founding Fathers like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who were slave owners.

Nikole Hannah-Jones is a reporter for the New York Times and creator of the project. She said the New York Times series is not supposed to replace what schools traditionally teach. It is supposed to ask people to think about what came from slavery.

Some high school teachers are using the educational plans that go with the New York Times project to provide their students with a new understanding of slavery. Jonathan Rogers is an English teacher in Iowa. He said The 1619 Project is valuable. It helped his students think about "different sources or alternative storytelling," he said.

One proposal in Oklahoma calls for teachers to lose their jobs if they teach "divisive" issues. In South Dakota, the governor proposed adding almost $1 million to the state's budget to make sure schools teach that the U.S. is "the most unique nation in the history of the world."

Tate Reeves is governor of Mississippi. He proposed $3 million to fight against what he called revisionist history, or the changing of traditional historic accounts. He said teachers around the U.S. have placed attention on what he called "America's shortcomings over the exceptional achievements of this country."

Arkansas's governor Asa Hutchinson said what is taught in schools is something that should be dealt with by parents, not by the state.

Words in This Story

principle –n. a moral rule or belief that helps people know what is right and wrong, and that influences their actions

founding –n. the time when something is established or created for the future

exceptional –adj. unusually good : much better than average

advantages – n. something (such as a good position or condition) that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others

survey- v. to ask (many people) a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

intimidate- v. to make (someone) afraid

stain –n. something that causes people to have less respect for someone

alternative –adj. not usual or traditional

unique –adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else

achievement –n. something that has been done or achieved through effort : a result of hard work

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 blight   

n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残

参考例句：

• The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
• There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。

5 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。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 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。

8 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

9 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

10 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。