We need to start talking more about whatās at stake if conservatives succeed in their attempts at historical erasure, like with the AP course in Arkansas.
www.msnbc.com
Sanders suggests course on Black history spreads āhateā against U.S.
We need to start talking more about whatās at stake if conservatives succeed in their attempts at historical erasure, like with the AP course in Arkansas.
Aug. 18, 2023, 4:09 PM EDT
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested Thursday that her administration took action against a course on African American history to prevent students from being taught hatred of America.
Last week, the Arkansas Department of Education
gave two daysā notice that the Advanced Placement course on African American studies would no longer be accepted for credit. The Sanders administration also said Arkansas wonāt cover the $90 cost of the courseās final exam, as it does for every other AP course.
As I wrote previously, these actions show how states can set up disincentives for students without technically banning a course, even though the result of both tactics ā barriers to learning about Black history ā is effectively the same.
When a Fox News host asked Sanders on Thursday whether her administration had done away with the course, Sanders slyly said no. Then she went on a rant.
āWeāve got to get back to the basics of teaching math, of teaching reading, writing and American history,ā Sanders said. āAnd we cannot perpetuate a lie to our students and push this propaganda leftist agenda teaching our kids to hate America and hate one another.ā
Sanders didnāt clarify what so-called lie she was talking about. Or how the AP course teaches students to hate America or one another.
But I have a few notes.
First, pay attention to how Sanders seems to make a distinction between
American history and African American history, as though the latter isnāt legitimately part of the former. This line of attack is like a bat signal for bigots.
Second, the AP course on European history
will still be eligible for credit. If Sanders doesnāt like children learning about anti-American views, someone should tell her that European history is replete with them. Remember the American Revolution?
And finally, I think we need to start talking more about whatās at stake if conservatives succeed in their attempts at historical erasure. I donāt think their efforts are about trolling or meanness alone.
Getting people to forget the bigoted sins of the past can make it easier to re-create those sins in the present.
And Arkansas is a prime example. The state has been a leader in whitewashing lessons about the Black American experience. At the same time,
itās at the forefront of a nationwide resurgence in child labor, which disproportionately affects nonwhite children and has historically been used as a substitute for chattel slavery.
Iāve been reading work from historians on the topic of child labor, and
I highly recommend this great Vox podcast featuring Beth English. Itās important context when thinking about Arkansasā assault on African American studies.
Erasing and hiding Black history means subjecting Black folks to second-class citizenship. And not just in the classroom.
