nic
Registered: Jan 08, 2007
Posts: 1
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Reply with quote | #1 |
When I was young, race never really crossed my mind. That doesn't say much though, because my thought process was limited to Cross Color Jeans (my age is showing) and boys. I do remember crying uncontrollably, however, after having watched footage of the Jewish Holocaust in 10th grade. That was the first time I had heard of and seen such cruelty--not knowing anything about African enslavement; Chernobyl; the Middle Passage; Rwanda; the Japanese internment; Jasper, FL; Jim Crow and on and on and on. Was I young or just dumb? Don't answer that! But, seriously, are young people nowadays learning about race and racism sooner or later? What say you teens...
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nic |
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change
Registered: April 04, 2009
Posts: 2
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| April 04, 2009 at 06:05 PM |
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Reply with quote | #2 |
Actually I have been learning about racism in school since 4th grade. The first type of racism I learned about was between the Middle East and the U.S. This was because when the twin towers were struck we watched it on T.V in my class. I learned about the middle passage and slavery that year too, but we didn't go in depth until I was in the 7th grade. I am currently a junior in High school and I am taking Advanced Placement U.S History. We have had at least 3 chapters out of a 28 chapter book dedicated to racism. In addition to that our teacher, during black history month, made us do a 2 week simulation in which one week we had the roles of either slave owners, slaves, or poor whites and the next week we were segregated by tables and certain tables were treated a lot worst than others to the point that we had people crying. We have learned about the roles of African Americans in the civil war and there contribution to America. We have also learned about the dismal treatment of minorities in this country. From the illegal movement of Indians, the unfair treatment of the Chinese during the Gold rush, and the movement of the Japanese Americans to concentration camps during WWII. So things have changed a lot since you were in high school.... oh and just to mention my teacher is white and he knows more African American history than most of the African American people that I know of... in fact that's his favorite subject.
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all it takes is one mind at the right time to change the world |
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BlackGirl
Moderator
Registered: Nov 28, 2006
Posts: 4
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| April 06, 2009 at 11:21 AM |
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Reply with quote | #3 |
How fortunate for you to have been exposed to many of the egregious realities of history. Sadly, your experience is not common in today's public school system. I've known many students who've only been taught about slavery in brief, and who think that was the beginning of black history. Because you were blessed with such knowledge, it is part of your responsibility to be a vocal historical reference for the many others who have not been so lucky.
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