Dear White Suburban Districts, Stop Teaching White Supremacist Propaganda
By Calvin Eaton
May 11, 2021
This year amidst a continuing global pandemic that has killed over 500,000+ Americans and elucidated the racism and inequities that have long existed for non-white people within healthcare, the murder of more Black and brown people at the hands of the police, an insurrection at the nation’s capital by white supremacists, and countless acts of violence against Asian Americans, we’ve seen incidents of racist assignments and worksheets that have outright lied about the institution and legacy of chattel slavery in the United States and/or treated the topic without the care and nuance that it deserves.
These assignments most recently have been administered by white teachers in classrooms at all levels in predominantly white suburban schools and districts. Early in the year these assignments popped up in schools in Wisconsin, Vermont, and Mississippi but of course made their way to our neck of the woods in Webster and Pittsford brought to light by the due diligence of parents and families that have had enough. But let’s be clear, predominantly white public schools attempting to erase and whitewash the facts around slavery and the legacy of slavery in the United States is nothing new.
Yes, that’s right. Suburban districts like Pittsford that are highly ranked and praised for their high levels of education and standards are cavalierly teaching 2nd and 4th graders that slaves “chose to come to America to work” and “had a nice time.” Much of this type of rhetoric is longstanding in public education. Maybe not as blatant as the racist worksheet but in the way in which we continue to uphold Columbus Day without critique and celebrate Christmas as the de facto holiday that everyone celebrates. The implication is that european white is the standard. Anything else is othered and different.
These are schools that tout highly trained instructional coaches, and claim to have priorities in equity and inclusion yet have been called out for years for regularly and racistly teaching yet another generation of children that slavery was really no big deal and just a blimp on the radar for the U.S. “the greatest country in the world.”
Make no mistake, these lies are intentional acts of violence. The same violence that lead police officers to devalue the lives of Black men and women are educated by this system. A system that wishes to hide and lie about the truth of this country to pander to the fragility of white parents that feel that the truth is too much for their young children. These lies are blatant propaganda. For those of you that are “woke,” none of this should come as a surprise. For decades and really centuries we have seen white supremacy and whiteness uphold itself by erasing and attempting to erase the facts and truth about slavery, racism, and all of its horrors that continue to live in modern day. Individual white people condone and uphold these ideals whether implicitly or explicitly when they fail to speak out or against this propaganda in education. In 2021, claiming ignorance is not an excuse. Enough is enough.
Public education spaces and schools aren’t more segregated today than they were 60 years ago by mistake. The public education system here in Greater Rochester and everywhere is complicit in upholding the lie that whiteness is superior. Any interrogation of the facts of how the United States was built on the backs of Black and Indigenous people through genocide, rape, plunder, pillage and chattel slavery at the start is quickly dismissed. For those who claim to want to hold institutions accountable, it is imperative that you hold these districts, their leaders and their board members accountable. The only way to change the legacy and history of anti-black racism in this country is to face and teach the facts head on. So what are you doing to hold your school district accountable?
About Calvin Eaton
(he/his/him) Calvin Eaton is a disabled community educator, content creator, and social entrepreneur, whose area of expertise includes antiracism, equity, justice, eLearning design, and program development. In 2016 Mr. Eaton founded 540WMain, Inc. a virtual non-profit organization and antiracist education brand that promotes justice for all.