Why I Despised My History Classes in Elementary School
a three-minute lesson from Dr. Santo D. Marabella, The Practical Prof®
The simple answer then was — they were boring, had to memorize dates, and they were boring. But, now, there is a more complex answer.
And it starts with the statue thing. I know it seems off-topic, but follow me and I promise to make sense!
Unless you’ve been in a quarantine coma, you know there is an increasingly volatile movement to remove statues of Confederate soldiers throughout the country. And, it’s not just statues that are being targeted. Lauded institutions like Princeton have removed Woodrow Wilson’s name from their School of Public and International Affairs, as did Monmouth University with one of its buildings; building names with racist backgrounds, like Bibb Graves, a former AL governor who was a KKK member, will be removed at Alabama State; and, UC Berkley has de-named Boalt Hall in their Law School (John Boalt was an attorney instrumental in legitimizing anti-Chinese racism).
There are two reasons to erect statues/monuments: to honor people and events that we’re proud of, or to memorialize history that should never be repeated. And, as for buildings being named for people, we know that has to do with the beaucoup bucks they’ve donated — an entirely different story for another time.
Currently, there is a movement in my town to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus. The statue was erected in 1925. Like the Confederate Soldiers and the other hate mongers mentioned above, Columbus fits into neither category. We were ignorant in 1925. I was ignorant until about 30 years ago. Leaving the statue in place, knowing what we know now, is complicit to Columbus’ behavior. The statue of Columbus that would fit my second category (memorialize history we don’t want to repeat) would have to be one depicting Columbus raping women or brutalizing slaves — and we know that ain’t gonna happen!
As an Italian, I am particularly horrified and embarrassed by my ignorance about Columbus’ behavior, thanks to history class in grade school (and high school.) And, it’s not just the history of Columbus that has me in such an existential tizzy.
When I think about the first time I learned about black people, it was about them being slaves, sub-humans in chains. The only other time was a mention of George Washington Carver, the agricultural scientist, and a few paragraphs about MLK.
No wonder I never liked history in school — it was full of half-truths, omissions and lies!
So, now, I am taking responsibility to change that. That’s why I’ve created BlackStory, a video series on YouTube that presents the history we were never taught about black Americans. In the first episode, I spoke with six black males about their experience of racism and their thoughts on white privilege. Here’s a link to that episode:
One of my guests in this episode asked white people of privilege to look more at the why, not just the what. For example, why are black folks so angry, should drive our inquiries more than just what angry black folks are doing. I’m finding out that things make much more sense, the more I know the truth that black people and other minorities have lived and are living today.
What are you doing to re-learn your history?
