Textbooks Failed People of Color AND White Population Too

I recently did a little informal poll on Facebook, and asked how many people age 40 or older remember being taught about Juneteenth, or the slaughter of the black residents of Tulsa 98 years ago, or that Mississippi still included a confederate flag on THEIR STATE Flag. I asked if anyone knew that many of our military bases were named after confederate leaders or military, and if anyone realized how many statues across the nation there were of confederate leaders. How textbooks "omitted" details like Juneteenth--or Tulsa, is simply mind-numbing.

What I learned, ( and truth be told wasn't surprised to learn ) is that not one person over 40 had learned anything of these events or situations. One younger woman indicated she had learned about many of this at college when she took a black studies course, but no one else in a fairly representative sampling had ever learned these things--until the past month or so.

It might be useful for people of color, and for the white population, to understand that we were ALL taught a "version" of U.S. History that was NOT accurate--was very incomplete in the omission of almost any real background about populations of color, and was a version that was written, and re-written--and re-presented--year after year after year--probably for 40 or 50 years. White people like me learned very little about populations of color--of the terrible injustices done to populations from the Native Americans ( who--in some reading somewhere --I believe I read probably migrated to North America via Asia before the land mass of Asia was broken away from what is now Alaska --by climate change and seismic activity --a change of the earth's crust ) who suffered, and still suffer from American genocide to the terrors experienced by blacks captured, made prisoners ( now we call it human trafficking ) and sold as slaves. We weren't told much about Harriet Tubman or that the Underground Railroad was actually an effort to get to freedom--in Canada--not the northern states. Harriet Tubman was merely mentioned--not highlighted as the brave, heroic black woman she apparently was.

Unless you've recently read Bryan Stevenson's recent book "Just Mercy" --you'd have come to believe that all is now well with our criminal just system as regards to justice for people of color.

We were never taught about the often uneasy attitudes of military leaders toward people of color through WWI and WWII. Unless former Vice President and U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey as a personal hero, as he was to me, you wouldn't have learned about how Humphrey confronted a very angry southern Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Strom Thurmond about race in an impassioned speech to the national Democratic Party convention in the 1950's, missed learning about just how overtly racist the Democratic Party was until the 1960's--although it took into the 60's to make any substantive progress in Civil Rights. Even then, it was pressure on Kennedy and Johnson and other leaders by the movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King and other clergy, primarily black clergy but also clergy and others living, and in some cases dying for, their lives for God, that led to change.

The list of "historical omissions" is way, way too long to list here. But, whites had NO OPPORTUNITY to learn about the history of people of color in school, at least through high school, where many of us never went beyond in terms of formal learning. Women are barely mentioned, and there have been so many truly important females that played key roles in U.S. History! The LGBTQ community is hardly ever mentioned either.

We were taught that Columbus was a terrific guy and great explorer, neglecting to be told that other explorers ( and to be fair--some of the discoveries of artifacts have come since my days in high school--Framingham North High School, Class of 1971 --had not happened at that point--but some had ) had already "found" ( for the Europeans ) North America. Much has been learned about Columbus and the Vikings who probably beat him here by decades--and the Templars who probably preceded the Vikings. And, of course, we never learned about just where -or when --North America's first inhabitants arrived here.

Andrew Jackson was pictured as a war hero, with no mention of his genocide of native Americans except for a brief paragraph or two--with no explanation offered about what constitutes a genocide---after all--he just made them move, right?

All our founders--and most our presidents, as is the case in every country by the way---had positive elements to their lives--and in many case--many deep and serious flaws that have made me uneasy about making most any of them personal heroes. Maybe John Adams, who I have always respected--and Ben Franklin --but most had good and bad qualities. It's surprising that we became independent--and have survived as a nation for this long.

And while I never was interested in statues of "leaders" or personalities--and wouldn't want a dime invested in any of them--it's easy for me to say it's ok to get rid of most of them, replace them with fountains or flower beds.

This wasn't the fault of teachers. They had to use the textbooks, and to be very fair, had used, and been taught from, essentially the same textbooks or information in those textbooks.

So, was this an "historical omission" on the part of well meaning but uninformed historians or textbook authors? Or--was there a perceived interest on the part of government and other influential white leaders to omit that information? Would many white people have been more vocal through the years in demanding changes that would have honestly benefited people of color more--but also would have benefited those of us who are white in living in peace and concert with all the residents of the country? I can't help believing that more of the political leaders I supported before becoming cynical -- and feeling that there was little hope for change--might have been elected. From Hubert Humphrey to Senator George McGovern --who might have won if he felt that he could have asked Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm ( the other prominent anti-Vietnam War candidate and a terrific black congresswoman from New York if memory serves ) to run as his Vice-Presidential candidate as some of his long time supporters like me were clamoring for, to Walter Mondale. More people of color would vote!!! More people of color would run for office! But, I cannot help but to believe that the omission of so much was a deliberate --and up to now--effective strategy by a select group in power to maintain power.

One of the key elements in bringing people together now and for the future is to spotlight these and other events in the media. For the future to hold any promise, every school committee and teaching staff needs to review every text book, and I'd suggest including very easy to follow videos like those I've learned so much from on the History Channel and America's Heroes Channels.

But schools, from this point forward, have to develop curriculum that "breaks the pattern of omission." This would give children and young adults --white as well as people of color--a chance to really learn--and make better choices--develop better attitudes.

"Race" as God's Lesson and Test?

God made us all, in a variety of skin colors, sexual orientations, and in so many ways, very different from each other.

Since I was a child, I'd hear people say that God loves variety. At many junctures, I'd wonder why, if so many people say and write those words, why don't they live as though they believe those words. Why have race and sexual orientations ( a matter of genetics ) create so much distrust, hate, and violence--from people who consider themselves "followers of God" as well as non-believers?

Twenty or more years ago, I began to believe that God created different skin colors and sexual orientations and other "differences" as lessons--or maybe tests.

Too many "Christians" or "people of God" have gone around stating that they are "people of God"--then lived lives of prejudice and hate and/or fear.

To "speak" love, tolerance, respect, kindness" --is NOT enough--and I don't believe it's enough for God. We are called to "act" love, tolerance, respect, and kindness. In fact, we're called to "be" love, tolerance, respect, and kindness. This week I caught an online message from a pastor ( on Facebook--I couldn't even tell you what church / parish or the priest's name--just came up on my feed in time to listen to his message ) about how our words are meaningless if actions don't follow. The priest also shared a very interesting thought about how "everything is the end times." Reminding us all that our words and actions need to be aligned, and we never know if today is our last day here.

I'd suggest that "race" and "sexual orientations" are lessons that God is asking--perhaps strongly asking --us all to recognize. Our attitudes AND actions to anyone who is "not like us" in some ways --mark us as truly following God --or not.

In both the Old and New Testaments, it seems clear that what is important to God is what is in our hearts--what is in our souls--and what do we do with our hearts and souls in relationship with God ( Love God with all your heart ) and others ( treat others as you would want to be treated )---and how we do, or don't follow the precepts set out in the Bible determines our relationship with God through eternity.

If what is important to God is our own--and our neighbors' -hearts and souls and not the color of their / our skin or their sexual preference --then shouldn't that be our focus too? If our words are hollow, by not "living lives" that honor God in this way and others, are our own souls not hollow?

We're called to love--as in respect, tolerate, care for, and be kind to every single person as we journey through this stage of life eternal--and be in relationship with others only on the basis of what is in their hearts, what is in their souls--how do they reflect God in their lives and relationship with us. Some will be "hearts and souls" we choose to spend more time with, enjoy their company, maybe learn from. Other we might only want to pray for and not spend so much time around--but we're still asked by God to respect, tolerate, and be kind to those we might not choose to "hang around" with.

If we state that we are followers of God--no matter what denomination or faith base we might be inclined to have ---then prejudice and hate--distrust ( for no other reason ) and violence are opposite from being a follower of God. I believe that God is trying to show us all what is truly essential--what is truly important--and that -as the New Testament speaks to, is invisible to the eye. We're all called to live lives where our actions reflect our words, and reflect God's calling us to truly follow the pathway God lays out.

Summer Television?

The end of the "spring television season" was dreary enough as so many programs faced daunting challenges, including the two series I watch on network TV most often, The Voice and American Idol. Both of those programs did what they could to help participants ( which they accomplished quite well I thought ) and generate viewer enthusiasm. I'm not privy to the ratings, the real numbers of texts and calls and votes, so I'm not sure how "the excitement meter" measured. Both were odd to watch at times --without an audience and without in-person mentoring, but they did the best they could. On The Voice, I got very tired, very quickly, of being shown how much 3 of the coaches were drinking, and on one of the nights, I was / am convinced that perhaps 2 of them, and not the one you would think of, had quite enough thank you! Then again, I have an aversion to drinking alcohol anyway, and it's a real turn-off.

Watching a full season without in-person live performances would not interest me, it was simply a bit difficult to not follow the participants I liked to the very end.

I did notice advertisements for a new program--=-and I guess viewers watch celebrities watch television programs!? Really? I thought programs like the Bachelor and Bachelorette insulted the intelligence of Americans everywhere--and my guilty pleasure, pro wrestling, isn't exactly rocket science. But watching people watch television? Really? Oh my!

Most of what I watch beyond that is Hallmark, both the Movies and Mysteries Channel and the Hallmark Channel. I especially enjoy the mysteries, and am grateful for Hallmark re-running Christmas movies-one on Thursday evening and one on Friday evening. I'm more than a little concerned about how many new Christmas movies Hallmark and Lifetime will be able to produce during the summer, as my understanding is many would ordinarily be in production right now.

Beyond Hallmark, it's The Food Network ( although I am so done with most of the competitions -the exceptions being the Baking Championships--because of Duff Goldman and his co-hosts ----and the Childrens' Baking Championship because of Duff Goldman and fellow host Valerie Bertinelli. ) and History Channel; American Heroes Channel and a few other educational / history - focused channels and programs I've found, and repeats of some of my favorite programs such as Mayberry, Carol Burnett, and NCIS --along with some movies.

The dearth of sports has been interesting. I'm a long time pro wrestling fan, so having 4 nights of pro wrestling--3 different promotions--has given me a "sport" to watch some evenings. I'm beyond ticked at both the billionaire owners and the millionaire players--the greed is so obvious and the tone-deafness about how "at risk" some of the players have complained about ( please go to a grocery store, or a healthcare facility, or a police / fire station, and talk to them about being "at-risk" for covid 19 -- at a insignificant amount of money compared to what every pro baseball player is making! So--at this point--although baseball has been my life-long favorite sport--the hell with them all! I won't watch you even if you play.

It's going to be difficult to play any sport this summer or fall--even if the intentions are good.

The great news? I still love to read! I have about 40 mysteries in my bookcase I've yet to read, and a number of other books to re-read. I'm never bored.

So, I'm able to be selective with what television I watch, which is minimal anyway. I have too many other good options--don't you? I walk 3 miles per day, take care of our beautiful great-niece a couple days most weeks, have yard work to do, friends to talk with on the telephone, neighbors to chat with in-person, some work that I do for Jamn Promotions, a little blogging, and my reading. Good thing, because from what I see, the summer season is filled with a few new game shows, and people watching people watch television--punctuated only by a seemingly endless amount of bad news.

What are you doing this summer?