The article gave me a nice background of this current issue in Texas, but what struck me the most was an inset image (left). Gary Bledsoe, the man in the image, is the President of the Texas NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), and continues to fight for the preservation of ethnic presence in American history, something he feels is being ignored in the new Texas law. Right now, individuals like Bledsoe are fighting "merely to keep the woefully inadequate mentions of African-American, Latino, and female contributions to society from being removed" from textbooks.
Bledsoe also argues that, "It appears that there is a desire to not have an honest discussion of America and its history of race... A desire not to address the issue of slavery directly to portray African-Americans as an afterthought."
Honestly, I don't really understand why Texas would try to "white wash" American history. We talked in class about how history is a construction and textbook-makers have the right to choose what to include and what to exclude, but I think this decision to "portray African-Americans as an afterthought" is simply an inaccurate portrayal of American history. Although it is not something to be proud of, slavery was an integral part of us becoming a nation. By not addressing it, I think that Texas is indirectly continuing (and promoting) this race-hierarchy. So if our nation really is one that promotes diversity, why would they do this? Is this an issue only in Texas? Is this an example of tokenism?
Honestly, I don't really understand why Texas would try to "white wash" American history. We talked in class about how history is a construction and textbook-makers have the right to choose what to include and what to exclude, but I think this decision to "portray African-Americans as an afterthought" is simply an inaccurate portrayal of American history. Although it is not something to be proud of, slavery was an integral part of us becoming a nation. By not addressing it, I think that Texas is indirectly continuing (and promoting) this race-hierarchy. So if our nation really is one that promotes diversity, why would they do this? Is this an issue only in Texas? Is this an example of tokenism?
1 comment:
Sophie, This is a very thoughtful post. I really like the way you contextualize the issues within the discourse of American Studies. What's most shocking to me is that legislators with no credentials as history scholars are over-riding the work of the scholarly consensus to advance their political aims.
Your blog did tail off a bit toward the end, but your ideas, as always, are strong here.
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