Category: Unit 2

So let me copy and paste a quote I found interesting, “It is not really anegre revolution” that is upsetting the country. What is upsetting the country is a sense of its own identity. If, for example, one managed to
change the curriculum in all the schools so that Negroes learned more about themselves and their real contributions to this culture, you would be liberating not only Negroes, you’d be liberating white people who know nothing about their own history. And the reason is that if you are compelled to lie about one aspect of anybody’s history, you must lie about it all. If you have to lie about my real role here, if you have to pretend that I hoed all that cotton just because I loved you, then you have done something to yourself. You are mad” So basically what I’ve gathered from this one quote is the idea of how schools teach history and such. The basic thing that’s done is that schools would have a specific perspective when teaching kids. Like for example have your preschool or middle school teachers ever tell you that Christphor Columbus was a hero. Most people aren’t aware, but Christphor Columbus was not a hero based on the actions he performed. Why would the United States do this? Beats me. But I could give an educated guess to why they might do this. So, from the last history lesson of my 12th-grade experience, I’ve learned that America has done a lot of things they aren’t proud of. However, they have some sort of God complex or some sort of higher complex than normal countries. They are pushed to being the greatest country in the world so it would be possible that they would benefit from this idea being a reality so it would make sense to make sure to make certain stories be told differently. With this they also have done some twisted stuff like making statues of these murderers to spread fear to other countries and cultures. They are basically saying “Stay away from the ‘land of the free’ and you won’t lose almost everything for the sake of your own culture”. The school systems are changed so that the truth won’t get out. However, that changes once people further their education. Different people teach different things so obviously the only way you wouldn’t know about this would be that you are a sheep to the government which don’t be offended 50% of Americans are.

I think James Baldwin is saying to teachers, they should teach their students that they should not place limitations on themselves even though the country they live in does not accept them or  see them as equal or human, America in this case. Baldwin stated in this presentation, “The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not.  To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity”. 

I believe Baldwin’s statement “the world is larger” means these students are not limited to America, there is a whole world out there for them to explore and they should be curious and go outside their comfort zone to find out what the world has to offer them. I think as Black boys/girls traveling to places outside of America may offer them a different experience, that the humiliation of racisms, segregation Blacks face in America may not be the same in a different part of the world but the only way these Black students would find out is if they traveled outside of America. I think Baldwin was stressing the point that as educators it was their responsibility to teach Negro children to be curious and to emphasize to Negro children there is more out there for them to explore.

I think I have the necessity to learn more about how to be a responsible adult, I feel it is my obligation to myself and my parents to learn more about the ways responsible adults live their lives. How you choose the right career for you, how can I as an adult choose a profession I will be happy to do in the long-term that will maintain my lifestyle, paying rent, utilities, food etc. I wish schools taught more about how to open and manage a checking account or savings account; how to create a budget. I wish my school taught me why having a good credit history is important and how to use credit wisely. I wish my school gave some classes on ways to NOT have tons of student debt! These are the topics I wish I had learned more about in school. These are the topics that will be really important to know when I start my professional life and I have to be responsible for myself and my money. I called this out in my educational narrative, and I will re-state it here! The public education system in America does not fully prepare students for real life. 

I really like this essay, it was real! Dealing with a very real topic. Black and Brown children not being taught their history and the important contributions Negros have made to the American society. It’s a relevant topic for today because we see in the news how politicians are banning books, canceling curriculum and firing teachers that teach Black and Brown history.