Thursday, February 8, 2024

History And Pride

For the past couple of years I have been reading about the antebellum South, the Civil War, and the so-called Reconstruction era that followed. My reading has uncovered a number of things that I was either unaware of or knew only in a vague, general sense. 

History is a great teacher, but for many states, especially Florida, it is fraught with danger - the danger that Black students will learn, in depth, not only about the slavery that shackled them for over two centuries in North America, but also about the tremendous contributions they made to the economy, culture and society of the United States. 

My own theory is that much of the educational censorship people like Ron De Santis engage in is predicated on the fear of Black Pride. Learn about your history, learn that you are much more than the menial roles society has assigned you, and you become angry, empowered, and a threat to the status quo.  Racist white America has much to fear.

Given that this is Black History Month, the following gives us a brief window into something I, and I am sure many others, were unaware of.

Not all shackles are physical. Knowledge is power, as is pride, and hence for the racist gatekeepers, threats to be kept under wraps when it comes to Black America. 



6 comments:

  1. Sorry to interrupt the conversation but Biden just lost the next USA election..

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/08/biden-classified-documents-special-counsel

    This is what happens when really rich guys are the only contenders for political office!

    TB

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    1. I did read earlier about Biden's memory problems, TB, and it is definitely a problem for the Democrats. Unfortunately, for the MAGA crowd, Trump's recent confusion over Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi elicited no concern whatsoever.

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    2. Trump still thinks he's running against Obama.

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    3. For the MAGA crowd, Mound, if Trump says he is, he is.

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  2. Attacks on history are not uncommon.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/09/tucker-carlson-vladimir-putin-interview-analysis-russia-ukraine

    and.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/09/florida-schools-communism-history-bills-desantis.

    At my three score years and ten/fold I have been at the receiving end of history taught by bias and exclusion.
    Fortunately I have been able to see through it ( I think)
    The teaching of history has little importance in schools world wide!

    TB

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    1. Thanks for the links, TB. Anything coming out of Florida these days sounds like a cruel parody of education, but I guess De Santis knows his red-meat constituency, eh? As for Carlson, why anyone would take him seriously defies sanity. I guess his 'interview' of Putin was a bit of a bust, according to the article you provided here.

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