History by any other name

       I went to a pretty good high school in the America of the 1960s.  We had a small number of blacks in our school and to be honest there was some racial tension between them and the overwhelming white majority.   The Civil Rights bills of the 60s had desegregated lunch counters across the country, but as a child of white privilege I freely admit ignorance of racial turbulence aside from an occasional episode of intimidation.

     We all learned our glorious heritage during four years of history.   From the settlement of the Americas to the Revolution against the British, to the various wars fought in the name of freedom, our history was depicted as a series of triumphs over anti democratic forces.   As I recall, we paid comparatively little attention to the Civil War and none at all to emancipation and the history of the former slaves.

      My fellow students and to be honest, probably our teachers never heard of the Tulsa Massacre of up to 300 black Americans by their white neighbors on June 1, 1921.  My first introduction to this shameful history was the Sci-fi series, Watchmen.   Surprisingly, it didn't stun me as much as I later imagined it should have.   In the wake of the brutal response to the demand for Civil Rights in the 60s, the wanton murder of fellow citizens because of their skin color in the 1920s didn't seem so shocking.

     The point I am trying to make is there is much to celebrate in American history, but we must also acknowledge the darker moments.  Genocide practiced against native Americans, slavery and its shameful aftermath and the spread of the American Empire in the wake of two world wars  must be taught to future generations.  The soul of America demands it.