This year, we watched states enact laws that could ban or restrict the teaching of a truthful American history, and establish financial penalties for non-compliance. We watched mobs of white parents descend on school board meetings to decry so-called “critical race theory” and wage battles over what students are taught about the past, present, and future. These efforts to ban or restrict discussions about race and racism are part of a long American history of white backlash in response to demands for educational equity.
Denying history and banning discussions of systemic racism upholds white supremacy. Our students deserve and need more than a white-washed, sanitized, revised version of American history. We cannot progress further and build a better society for our children if we can’t talk about where we are coming from. Defending education that is historically accurate and inclusive of the experiences of Black Americans, Native Americans, Latinx Americans, Asian Americans, women, and other marginalized groups is the work we must all now do in the face of this coordinated backlash against an inclusive America.