Education Week - February 2, 2022 - 21

Correcting the False Narratives
In Our Local History
By Chuck Yarborough
T
o understand the world, you must first
understand a place like Mississippi " is an
observation frequently attributed to William
Faulkner (although he might not have actually said
it). Despite the ambiguity of its origin, the remark
can offer a useful framework for considering the
recent fervor over how we teach American history,
particularly the historical experiences and perspectives of Black and
Indigenous people and other people of color.
As a veteran teacher whose time in a Mississippi classroom
is approaching the end of its third decade, I've witnessed how
much of my state has been shaped by common narratives-often
incomplete or incorrect-about our shared history.
These incomplete histories-typically celebrated by those
who benefit most from the status quo-not only prevent students
from confronting important elements of our state history but also
contribute to entrenched injustices in our society. Racial violence,
economic injustice, and the corrupt exercise of power have often
been absent from many of our history classrooms-not just those in
my state.
These partial narratives undermine our ability to live up to some
of our nation's founding ideals-most notably, the recognition of
equality. Mississippi students are then left to confront injustices
without the perspective, knowledge, and wisdom history can
offer. For instance, the Mississippi Plan, which was devised by
white Southern Democrats in 1875 to suppress the political power
of the state's majority Black population with the use of organized
violence, isn't included in the high school curriculum that the state
requires for graduation.
Some Mississippians have worked to uncover and share a
more complete understanding of our state's history and the
experiences of all who have called Mississippi home. In some
classrooms, that recognition has found expression through
primary-document research projects exploring local history. In
The Eighth of May Emancipation Celebration, a research and
performance project I developed for my students, high school
juniors and seniors explore how local Black experiences reflect
our regional and national history.
The students conduct primary-document research to explore
Black history in our community, develop critical-thinking skills,
and share their findings through public performance. When sharing
their research, students not only learn important history, but they
also develop their voices and recognize their potential for leadership
through steering relevant discussions of race, class, and democracy.
The benefits of exploring a more complete and accurate
understanding of our local past-particularly Black history-
while gaining insights applicable to our national past are obvious.
Students are empowered to contribute more fully to their local
community, and the community comes to understand itself better.
To critics of a more inclusive history curriculum, however,
uncovering and sharing a more complete picture of our racial
past somehow constitutes a biased rewriting of history that is
destructive to the core values of our state and nation. That position
puzzles history teachers like me who recognize the need to
accurately teach and understand our nation's history.
During our emancipation-celebration performances two years ago,
one of my students demonstrated the emotional weight of telling that
more complete history. Reciting a script created from student research
about Robert Gleed, a Black Reconstruction-era state senator who
was driven out of Mississippi by white violence, my student concluded:
" While my time on this Earth ended over a century ago, seeing all of
you here tells me I didn't struggle for nothing. "
Teachers and students who study history carefully can aspire
to the legacy left to us by Americans who have struggled in
the past. We can realize whose experiences and perspectives
have been devalued or purposefully distorted. We can see how
many Americans have had to struggle against racist resistance,
violence, and oppression to achieve full access to those truths
that are supposed to be " self-evident. " We also see Americans
who continue to struggle for a better future, in spite of the many
obstacles placed before them.
YARBOROUGH, who was named the 2019 Tachau Teacher of the
Year by the Organization of American Historians, teaches at the
Mississippi School for Mathematics & Science, a public residential
high school in Columbus, Miss.
These partial
narratives
undermine our
ability to live up to
some of our nation's
founding ideals-
most notably, the
recognition of
equality.
EDUCATION WEEK | February 2, 2022 | www.edweek.org/opinion | 21
Erin Robinson for Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/opinion
Education Week - February 2, 2022

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