Racism

when I was in 5th grade I found a book of slaver narratives. Because i wasn't taught the truth about the terrors of slavery when being taught about the civil war I was astounded to read the narratives in which the truth was very different than when I read in my "history" book. The story that tore my heart apart was about twenty slave women who were all mothers of infants. they were to place their children into troughs, work down one row and back and then feed their infants. about half way down the cotton row it began to rain, then pour with monsoon qualities. In the face of this storm the women pleaded with overseer to go and get their babies. After a couple were whipped they all fell back in line with their slave duties. By the time they got back to the trough all of the babies had drown. after reading this I became as depressed as an empathetic ten year old can and thus distrusted everything I was taught out of a history book up until college. I was kicked out of every history class I attended for "being disruptive" when actually i was just calling out the lies my teachers were perpetuating in their instruction and with their texts. 

There are four traditional problematic ways in which history in the US is taught. 1. Omitted-information 2. Distortion 3. fabrication 4. the academic treatment  Within these there are sub categories which are; Historic disrespect, Interpretive absurdity, Interpretive blindness, scholarly  dismissal, and the impulse to cleanse history.

Basically we have taken out and put in information that will in turn show us (white folks) in a great and respectful light. we've created heros out of slave owners, given credit to those who do not deserve it, hidden our vast amount of wrong doings, completely "left out" huge parts of our past and blatantly lied to cover our asses which we are still doing very much to this day. 

When I learned about my great great grandfather fighting for the north in the civil war and being abolitionists I thought " Thank god. I am so proud". But not that have I learn the truth of the North I am a little more skeptical of my family's actual motivation for wanting to abolish slavery. They may have been a part of the christian movement who thought slavery was wrong but probably they were part of the poor white who did not want competition for work and just wanted Black people out of the country. Just because they hated the institution of slavery doesn't mean they were fighting for the rights of slaves. 

I feel like knowledge can be power but i think you can know a lot and still have no idea. I think it is knowing the truth that gives power. My power comes from when I am in the world and hear false statements about history, people of color, prominant people etc. I am better able to battle the racist comments I hear when I know more than the person making them. 

No you cannot say that american history is white history because you cannot have american history without the black experience. every single economic stride we have made in the last 600 years has been built on the backs of Black people and the strides we are making now are built on the backs of all brown people living in this country as well as abroad. Now we are exploiting children as well.