American Schools are Focusing on Diversity at History’s Expense

Intellectual Takeout

Today only 12 percent of the nation’s high school seniors are proficient in history. With numbers like that, perhaps we should be less concerned about diversity and more concerned about ensuring our students have a well-rounded knowledge of the men and women who made our country great.

"The 1619 Project. By now many of us have either viewed ads about, seen references to, or read directly from this initiative of The New York Times, which marks four centuries since slaves first came to America.

"It sounds like an admirable initiative, no? After all, it’s good to remember our history, especially the bad parts, so we can ensure we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

"But as many have pointed out, that isn’t The New York Times’ objective. Writing in the February issue of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, scholar Brion McClanahan sets about “Deconstructing the 1619 Project.” McClanahan uses the words of project director Jake Silverstein to describe the goal of the Times’ project:

"According to Silverstein, ‘The project was intended to address the marginalization of African-American history in the telling of our national story and examine the legacy of slavery in contemporary American life.’

"In McClanahan’s eyes, such a statement is misleading:

"This would imply that American pop culture has been devoid of material dedicated to race and slavery. Indeed, it assumes that Americans are not at all acquainted with the issue and that there has been a veritable conspiracy to keep black American history off the pages of American history textbooks and out of the popular imagination." 

"Is such a charge true? Has black history been marginalized in our nation’s schools? Drawing from an academic survey of high school students and adults, McClanahan calls such an assumption into question:" . . .

Annie Holmquist received a B.A. in Biblical Studies from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. She also brings 20+ years of experience as a music educator and a volunteer teacher – particularly with inner city children – to the table in her research and writing.