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American History Not Taught
What is it like to be left out of your own history? What is it like to be invisible but have evidence and proof that you exist? What is it like to see history on the pages of a book ,but know that you’re the asterisk at the bottom of the page? You’re the footnote with a small explanation of your presence and why you’re there in the back of the book.
That’s what its like to be black in the United States.
What is it like to open your history books for school and not see people who look like you represented there?
Going to school in Chicago definitely had its challenges, with there being little money in the system for books and other important tools for learning. However, I would often open the book and see plenty of white faces, working to change and make history. As a black child, the experience was quite different. I didn’t see people who looked like me often.
My history book would often highlight the accomplishments and contributions that blacks and other marginalized groups in small boxes in gray or blue on the side. They often dedicated three of four sentences to sum up what blacks or Latinos did to make a difference. As a child, this didn’t matter…
