Summary:
- Florida's Board of Education is attempting to edit history by teaching middle schoolers a distorted version of slavery, downplaying its horrors.
- The state's Black History curriculum will now suggest that slaves personally benefited from their enslavement, a narrative criticized for whitewashing the true nature of slavery.
- Crafting a narrative that credits captors for the resilience and contributions of Black Americans in spite of slavery is deemed sickening and misleading.
- The attempt to conceal the truth about slavery through education is unlikely to succeed, as the pursuit of knowledge will eventually reveal the reality.
In times when I find myself shaking my head at the things Texas does, I am often reminded, hey, at least we're not Florida. You see, no matter what problematic things Texas seems to do, Florida always finds a way to one-up us.
This week, Florida's Board of Education decided to try to conceal the horrors of slavery by editing history. That state will now teach middle schoolers that slaves, people who were kidnapped from their homeland or born into oppression, treated as subhuman, casually and carelessly sold into a life of horror and forced labor and forced birth beaten and discarded, learned skills that they, quote, personally benefited from as part of their enslavement. This will be part of the state's Black History curriculum. So an opportunity to teach children the truth and focus on the rich history of African Americans in our country will be contorted into lies.
Learning to comply with orders in an effort to avoid being ripped away from what little family you have left or killed is not beneficial. It's survival. Crafting a narrative that aims to give captors credit for the resilience and brilliance of Black Americans' immense contributions to this country in spite of them being slaves is sickening. And here's the thing, it won't work. You can ban the books and teach the kids lies, but sooner or later, they will learn the truth, not just about the history, but also about the men who tried to keep it from them. So, okay, Florida.
Despite the controversies and disagreements over history curriculums, it is essential to remember the importance of truth and accuracy in educating the next generation. History should be taught with transparency, acknowledging both the triumphs and the dark chapters, so that we may learn from the past and strive for a better future.