In every history class that I have
ever taken that includes aspects of American history, slavery has been a topic
of discussion. The textbooks speak about the immoral act of the enslavement of millions
of Africans. Some talk about “exceptional” slaves and African Americans such as
Harriet Tubman, Fredrick Douglas, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. We hear a lot
about how horrible slavery was and how brutally these people were treated.
Teachers show films about slavery and those poor souls that worked on the
plantations and even films about life after slavery. Despite all this, however,
slavery is always portrayed as a black and white concept and not much more than
that.
If someone were to ask for a description
of slavery from the average American chances are they would say something along
the lines of, Africans were kidnapped and shipped to America on a big boat
where they all formed a community. When they arrived in America they were sold
to evil plantation owners who forced them to work in the field day in and day
out. They would live in horrible conditions and they would essentially be
treated like animals. Eventually, after the Civil War they would all gain their
freedom, although they would continue to be oppressed for years to come. While
all of these statements are true, slavery wasn’t necessarily as linear as that.
It is upsetting to think, after learning about slavery in depth after the past
few weeks, that certain parts of African American history have been so greatly
left out. Slavery in general isn’t as linear as history textbooks makes it
seem. It’s almost unjust that certain things aren’t taught. It may be a case to
case problem, and there may be some people that get the full story, but I believe
that with a deeper understanding of the history of slavery, that people may
have different opinions on the matter. As Dread Scott eluded to in his lecture,
The United States of America is a country with its roots grounded in slavery.
Our founding document literally has slavery written into it. Without the
thorough understanding that the institution of slavery has many moving parts to
it how can we as a country even comprehend slavery.
Over the past few weeks I have
learned more about slavery than I have in the past 12 years of my life. Although
it may sound like common sense, I was surprised to find out that all Africans
weren’t just kidnapped from their homes, but rather some were sold by members
of other tribes. It also never resonated with me that while on the slave ships,
they rarely spoke the same language and there may not have been as much
comradery as I was lead to believe. Fundamental ideas such as these were never
taught to me, and while reading more and more about slavery and race in general
I become more and more enraged by the lack of thorough African American history
that is being taught in the American school system. How are we to fully grasp
these concepts without knowing the full story?
Schools today definitely fail to adequately discuss African American history in the classroom. As a black student, I find it disappointing that I did not learn much about my own history in grade school. I found it compelling to hear so many of the details that are left out when teachers address African American history. If the "United States of America is a country with its roots grounded in slavery" the school system should definitely emphasize the impact slavery and African importation had on this country.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is infuriating how successfully, for lack of a better word, the U.S. school system has glossed over the institution so integral to our very nation. To me, it in part explains - though does not justify - the general white ignorance that is widespread across the U.S. It explains, at least in part, how whites can look someone in the eye and truly declare, "slavery is over, we have a black president; racism barely exists anymore." Without understanding in-depth the history of the meticulous, systemic enslavement, oppression, and commodification of Africans and African-Americans, I suppose it shouldn't be terribly shocking that so many white Americans don't see the modern-day effects, links, and "weights" of slavery. Yet, it still is, because of how impactful this ignorance is. I wonder how different our nation might look in 50 years if we began to teach the truth of slavery and its making of a nation - as early as we teach our students about our beloved Founding Fathers and hard-fought independence.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely in that schools only talk about slavery at a very surface level. My schools never dug further into the idea of slavery other than that it existed and effected the lives of the colonists and Africans. I never learned about slavery playing a fundamental role in economics, slavery in Africa, or the role slavery played in defining the Antebellum South. Like Olivia, I was unaware of the slavery in Africa and the attempts by Europeans to split tribes and languages up on ships. These facts are never discussed in school but rather are only touched on. How can we study African American history in high-schools without knowing these details to start? Why hasn't this become a part of the required curriculum as it is a huge part of America's history?
ReplyDeleteI definitely did not learn much about slavery during my years in grade school. I am a teacher assistant at a middle school nearby and somehow we got on the topic of slavery. Their idea of it was just as you had explained in your post. It was also what I believed it to be before coming to college. Schools teach students the bare minimum about slavery. It is brushed over and students learn more about the "abolitionist" Abraham Lincoln than slavery. The things we discuss in our class still surprise me and I feel like they are very important to know. Slavery is not as simple concept to grasp, even though it is taught that way. It is not something that should be ignored or forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThis was extremely interesting for me to read because I am an education major. I have been learning a lot about how America's standard curriculum is predominately devoted to teaching K-12 students about white, European history and social studies. As a result, African American culture is majorly marginalized. I would argue that you were generous when you articulated how the average American would describe slavery. As a result of the exclusion of African American history and life from our schools, I would argue that the average American would not even know all the details you mentioned. It is unfortunate, but a majority of our country is truly ignorant about African American culture, and this perpetuates the racism and racial issues that continue to affect our society today.
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