Erasure in American Education
It is widely believed that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Our education system has seen to it that generations of students will forget America’s sordid past before they even get a chance to learn about it.
What we learn in school isn’t always the full story. History has been edited to favor the oppressors, and in doing so, several groups and their intricate histories have essentially been erased. The United States has what some would consider a controversial past. From the exploitation of slave labor to the genocide and relocation of Native Americans, the country has done some incredibly horrifying things to expand. This isn’t a brand new concept. Many countries have pillaged and killed their way towards becoming successful. The only difference is the way the American education system depicts these horrible histories. As the years go by, more and more of America’s unfortunate history is being whitewashed, all for the sake of making the country look better.
One example of this is how schools teach about the American belief of Manifest Destiny. It’s presented as an overwhelmingly positive and patriotic belief, one that helped expand the country. Students everywhere are taught about the settlers and their covered wagons, and all the hardship they went through. What those lessons fail to teach is that Manifest Destiny was essentially the belief that white Americans should have a right to the land, and people who believed this heavily advocated for the removal and relocation of Native Americans. The American education system pushes for a version of history that’s glossed over and romanticized, and it’s leading to the erasure of several communities and their history. That’s not the only marginalized group to practically be erased.
White-washing America’s History
America’s revisionist history often involves omitting key details in events where they may come across as the villain. As stated above, Manifest Destiny is something that’s taught as a victory — something the country “won.” If it were to be taught honestly, it would be depicted as a horrific act that was centered around white supremacy and nationalism. Native American history is something that is commonly glossed over and edited, if it’s even taught at all. Speaking from personal experience, I recall only ever learning about their history pre-colonization. We were taught about the Trail of Tears briefly, but it was presented as nothing more than an unfortunate choice the country made, rather than a calculated decision to invade indigenous land. We were never taught about deculturalization, or massacres committed by colonizers against Natives who simply wanted to leave their reservation. The education system has decided that these parts of history aren’t important enough to be taught, despite being the truth. The erasure of Native American history in education has created generations of adults who don’t know or care about the horrors their country has committed. Justin Krueger of the University of Texas sums it up well: “Presented through non-indigenous perspectives and understandings of the world, the examination of Native American stories typically read only as additions — and, often times, only as roadblocks — to the main ‘historical’ story of white settlers/society” (Krueger, 299).
American history has been taught through a primarily white lens, and it has only aided in discrimination against Native Americans. Students never get the chance to learn about Native Americans in a literary sense, because novels about the Native American experience generally aren’t taught. In fact, the only depiction of Native Americans seen by children are in movies, which often create stereotypes about their traditions. Disney in particular has a horrible track record when it comes to depicting Native Americans. The most infamous example is Peter Pan (1953) which depicts Natives with red skin and somewhat violent tendencies. There is even a song in the movie titled “What Makes The Red Man Red.” The movie essentially turned them into caricatures for the sake of entertainment. While an adult may be able to recognize this, a child will be more focused on the movie itself than the movie’s blatant racism.
A more recent example is Disney’s Lone Ranger (2013), where Johnny Depp plays Tonto, a fictional Native from the Comanche tribe. Depp’s portrayal was incredibly offensive. Time Magazine’s Lily Rothman writes, “Keene says that while many people have argued with her about why a fictional depiction in an action movie matters, she thinks the use of stereotypes in The Lone Ranger — Tonto’s communing with animals, his broken sentences, the hodge-podge of influences that went into his costume — will have a lasting legacy in American culture, compounding the very ideas that Depp has said he tried to reverse” (Rothman, para. 10). The depictions of these characters are incredibly important, especially since they are featured in movies made for children. These films are basically instilling this false idea of what Indigenous people are like.
Unfortunately, the erasure of history doesn’t stop there. Historical erasure even occurs in events that we are taught about, such as slavery. Slavery is by far one of the worst things to happen in this country’s history, and although it is taught, some of its true horrors and heroes are concealed. The violence committed by slave owners is often glossed over, if taught at all. Some literary novels, like Toni Morrison’s Beloved or Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, go in-depth on the horrors of slavery, but historically, that violence has been erased. There are also so many people erased when slavery is taught. Most schools will focus on a few key figures, such as Harriet Tubman or Frederick Douglass — people who devoted their lives to abolition and activism. Lisa Gilbert of Thomas Jefferson High writes, “While the stories of these individuals are important, the risk is that their exclusive use may inadvertently minimize the personhood of the many anonymous individuals whose stories (and sometimes names) were not recorded” (Gilbert, 226). In only teaching about these figures, we risk erasing the stories of people who couldn’t escape, and dooming them to anonymity simply because they weren’t able to free themselves.
Teaching history through a lens of personhood would not only create a more realistic depiction of slavery, but it would bring a new, previously unseen perspective. Teaching from a lens of personhood provides a sense of identity to those whose names were stripped away, and provides justice for those who were assaulted and murdered by their owners. This means teaching about the intricacies of slavery — the living conditions, the abuse, their coping mechanisms, etc. These seemingly important details are often glossed over or not mentioned at all, and in doing so, it dilutes both the true horrors of slavery and the strength that the enslaved showed through it all. The New York Times’ 1619 project offers a new perspective on the history of slavery: the truth. Each essay in that series provides new insight to the true horrors of slavery. High schools should absolutely incorporate these essays into their history curriculum — it may upset some people, but the truth is ultimately more important.
Promotion of Heteronormativity and the Erasure of the LGBTQ+ Community
One aspect of erasure that doesn’t get discussed is the erasure of the LGBTQ+ community in a historical, literary, and medical sense. In fact, homosexuality is never even mentioned. There are many reasons for this, but many of them loop back to one overarching concept: heteronormativity. Heteronormativity is essentially the promotion of traditional gender roles and “traditional” marriage, and it pushes heterosexuality as the norm. This concept has led to a whole community and their history being erased. In fact, many schools in America have gone out of their way not to teach about LGBTQ+ history/issues. This led to the creation of “no promo homo” laws, which are laws effectively banning any education involving sexuality.
One example of such laws is written into the Alabama state code, which states, “An emphasis, in a factual manner and from a public health perspective, that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense under the laws of the state” (Alabama State Code § 16–40A-2(c)(8), Findlaw.com). Thankfully, a majority of schools aren’t this open about being homophobic. However, many schools hardly touch upon monumental historical events, such as the AIDS crisis, the Stonewall riots, and the decriminalization of homosexuality. All of these events have helped shape the LGBTQ+ community and to not teach about them is a disservice. Not teaching about the LGBTQ+ community also ostracizes students within that community, which could lead to self-hatred or even internalized homophobia.
Teaching students about the LGBTQ+ community, either through history or literature, would help so many students learn about the discrimination and harassment faced by queer people. There is also a chance to teach them the basics of intersectionality, particularly the intersection of sexuality and race, and how queer people of color are more likely to be attacked and demeaned, and erased from history. So many students learn about homosexuality from their parents, friends, or the Internet, and any one of those sources could cause them to learn homophobic rhetoric. Teaching about this community would give students an accurate viewpoint of what it is like, and hopefully, they would develop empathy for the community.
Doing so in a historical sense would definitely be the most helpful, but another way they can learn about this community is through literature. More teachers are starting to teach queer fiction in English classes, which is a fantastic and easy way for kids to learn about the community. Teaching queer fiction could also have incredible benefits for any LGBTQ+ students; it would let them know that they aren’t abnormal, and that there are other people just like them. Teaching these novels would also help get rid of the notion that the LGBTQ+ community is only focused on sex. One novel that does this well is Alex Sanchez’s So Hard To Say, a coming of age novel about a teenager going through a sexuality crisis, and how he struggles to accept himself. It is fantastic representation for LGBTQ+ youth who may be questioning themselves and their sexuality.
Dangers of Erasure
The erasure of these communities only serves to help the institution that’s erasing them. When children aren’t taught about these groups, it can cause them to form a lack of empathy for them. Then, as they grow older, that lack of empathy may eventually grow and develop into full blown hate for that community, which could then lead to them discriminating against individuals of that community. Not to mention, the normalization of erasure could eventually lead to other negative moments in American history being erased. This is especially evident in the way American schools teach about America’s involvement in times of war; for example, many of the atrocities America committed in Vietnam aren’t taught at all. More and more of our mistakes are conveniently being erased from history, and it causes many people to not hold the country accountable for its faults.
History is on its way to being completely censored, and it starts with the erasure of these marginalized groups. This is evident in the way we teach about historical events from other countries, as well, although I would argue it works in the opposite sense. The American education system focuses primarily on the faults of other countries — we are unfortunately far more comfortable chastising other countries for their histories than our own. It leads to the false idea that our country is the most “innocent” when it comes to human rights violations, which then leads to children being indoctrinated into a nationalistic point of view, which could then develop into full blown xenophobia.
How To Combat Erasure
One way for educators to combat this erasure is simply to incorporate more diverse texts into their curriculum. For English teachers, this could be as simple as adding texts written by and about people who have experienced oppression. Within the past twenty years, so many amazing and realistic novels depicting the struggles of marginalized communities have been published, and teaching even one or two of those could help so many students learn about those experiences. English teachers with free reading time in their classes could provide diverse books and encourage students to read them on their own without the additional requirement of an assignment. By simply exposing students to these stories, teachers are helping students learn more about these communities.
Exposing students to diverse, contemporary literature could inspire them to continue taking English classes in college, where they can then go more in-depth in learning about specific facets of social justice. They have the opportunity to read theory and get a clear understanding of the roots of these causes and what they stand for. Adults can grasp these concepts a lot more easily than adolescents can, and they can use the knowledge they gain in college English courses to incite positive change, through writing and activism. History teachers could teach about articles like The 1619 Project, which would help bring in a whole new perspective. The creators of The 1619 project have also created other educational resources in the form of lesson plans, activities, and news stories to help teach children a more realistic history of America. One resource is the Pulitzer Center, which has articles and lesson plans for grade schools, and college programs for universities. The Center also provides grants, funds, and fellowships. Furthermore, programs like the Big Read Program introduce children to diverse, multicultural literature across a wide span of genres. Programs like this are essential in teaching people about diverse and often politically driven art.
These communities have fought too hard and too long to be swept away. Erasing them from history only serves to benefit the oppressive systems that we have tried so hard to break free from. Right now, America is teaching through an edited lens, one that has favored the straight and white majority. Teaching through a more intersectional, historically accurate lens would provide a new perspective that many students have never been able to learn about. There are associations that have worked to improve their publications, such as the Modern Language Association. The MLA has stated that they were going to publish projects from a wide variety of backgrounds. “Successful projects will engage with diverse perspectives, and volume editors are encouraged to reach out to a wide range of possible contributors at the prospectus stage in order to achieve this goal. The MLA book publications program expects editors to make active efforts to ensure diversity among the contributors to their volume” (Modern Language Association, para. 4).
This is a fantastic start, and ensures that diverse novels will be included in some schools’ curriculum. However, it is imperative that we continue to look at diverse perspectives when it comes to education, especially when it comes to elementary education. Teaching children about these groups plants the first seed of acceptance, and it’s important that we teach the truth about these groups. Literature helps provide a bridge between readers and these important social issues. Incorporating diverse literature not only helps students learn about these communities, it gives the members of these communities validation. They would be able to read and learn about their community, and they may even become inspired to continue fighting for change. The only way to incite real, positive change is to teach about our past in a completely unfiltered way — it’s the only way we can truly progress.
Works Cited
“Alabama Code Title 16. Education § 16–40A-2.” Findlaw, codes.findlaw.com/al/title-16-education/al-code-sect-16–40a-2.html
Gilbert, Lisa. “Resistance within Enslavement as a Case Study for Personhood in American History.” History Teacher, vol. 51, no. 2, Feb. 2018, pp. 221–246. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=128901713&site=ehost-live.
Krueger, Justin. “To Challenge the Settler Colonial Narrative of Native Americans in Social Studies Curriculum: A New Way Forward for Teachers.” History Teacher, vol. 52, no. 2, Feb. 2019, pp. 291–318. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=135299493&site=ehost-live.
Rothman, Lily. “Johnny Depp as Tonto: Is The Lone Ranger Racist?” Time, Time, 3 July 2013, entertainment.time.com/2013/07/03/johnny-depp-as-tonto-is-the-lone-ranger-racist/.
Sanchez, Alex. So Hard To Say. Simon Pulse, 2014.
“What We Value.” Modern Language Association, www.mla.org/Publications/MLA-Book-Publications/What-We-Value.
Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Random House Inc, 2018.
Image Works Cited
“National Endowment for the Arts Announces New Focus for NEA Big Read Program.” NEA, 13 July 2016, www.arts.gov/news/2016/national-endowment-arts-announces-new-focus-nea-big-read-program.
Sanchez, Alex. So Hard To Say. Simon Pulse, 2014.
Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Random House Inc, 2018.
