Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
There are Confederate monuments all over the South. Here in Atlanta, we have an entire theme park, Stone Mountain, that is a monument to the Confederacy, complete with Confederate leaders’ likenesses carved into the side of the mountain, and a laser show on the 4th of July that praises their bravery.
So many people in the South grow up seeing these monuments and learning in school that the Civil War was about “the economy” and “states’ rights.” The teachers and books omit the glaringly obvious: that the Southern economy was dependent on the low-cost, forced labor of people who had been enslaved, and that the only “right” the states cared about was keeping it that way. These facts are plain to see in the literature of the period, but the truth is not taught.
Removing monuments that support this blindered view of history is an important part of our nation coming to terms with itself. It is only when we see what we are, everything that we are, that we can truly work to make ourselves better.
Day 11 of #BlackHistoryYouDidntLearnInSchool - Ruby Bridges
I recognize that some of y’all learned about Ruby Bridges in school, so did I. But in school, I didn’t realize how difficult and harsh the conditions were for Ruby Bridges. I wasn’t taught that there were crowds each day threatening her, that her family was ostracized and lost their land and jobs, that she received death threats while in school. Some of the black history we learn in school is downplayed. The fact that Ruby Bridges attended an all-white school is radical and important. I want people to know that. We went over it in history class as if it was nothing and that to me is inexcusable. That is how much of my education about black history in school has gone and I’m not for that.
I talked about this with my students today. My students were SHOCKED that she received death threats, but they were SO WILLING to talk about it - to think about how they would feel. It was an amazing conversation today with my first graders. It wasn’t that difficult to take the time. Thank god my mentor was gone so that I could! :)
