American History Revised

The Philadelphia School Board last month voted to make African and Black American history mandatory subjects for Philadelphia’s public school students. It is a move to further the understanding of Black American history. Critics say it will prove needlessly divisive and promote misunderstanding and resentment. They argue that it will decrease understanding of American history, which already is being diluted by the predominance of cafeteria courses in public schools. Such a curriculum has supplanted the teaching of courses that stress important
fundamentals.

There is indeed a place for acknowledging the experiences – good and bad – of Black Americans. There is no question about that. The question is whether a mandatory course for all public school students is the proper method.

Paul G. Vallas, Chief Executive of the Philadelphia School District, maintains that Philadelphia school children “cannot understand American history without understanding the Black American experience; I don’t care what anybody says.” Vallas contends that knowledge benefits all
races and that it would not be surprising to see this newly instituted policy hailed across the nation by multiculturalists as one worth emulating.

How well are American schoolchildren actually learning basic American history? The answer is not positive. Conservatives who criticize multiculturalism are not the only ones to take that position. Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), for one, devotes a section of his Senate office website to the importance of teaching American history. His website highlights the accomplishments of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln whose policies helped to shape our nation. Byrd admits, “Sadly, I fear that many of our nation’s school children may never fully
appreciate the lives and accomplishments of these two American giants of history. They have been robbed of that appreciation – robbed by a school system that no longer stresses a knowledge of American history.”

Too many American students are united by their knowledge of Snoop Doggy Dog [pictured] and Beavis and Butthead rather than by the most important events in our history. I do not exaggerate. This amnesia about our country’s past is evident in high schools and in colleges and universities.

The 2001 National Assessment of Educational Progress results for Grade 12 showed 57% of American high school students possessed a “below basic” knowledge of United States history. Only 11% of high school students had a proficient or advance level of knowledge in American history. Almost 70% of 12th graders could not identify the objectives of NATO and the
Warsaw Pact.

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni surveyed seniors graduating from prestigious American colleges and universities five years ago. The survey showed that over one-third of the graduating seniors did not know that the U.S. Constitution established the separations of powers in American Government. Only 22% of the seniors realized that the Gettysburg Address, one of the most important documents in our history, contains the phrase, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.” (The study showed higher recognition of Snoop Doggy Dog and Beavis and Butthead.)

The Philadelphia school system’s policy could be counterproductive, increasing animosity among students who are required to take the class. THE NEW YORK TIMES article about the policy quoted critics who worried that it would “further polarize the city by focusing attention on just
one race and not dealing with other racial and ethnic groups like Mexicans, Chinese or Poles.” Their concern should be the opposite. American history should not include hyphenated subgroups.

Even more troubling is what Diane Ravitch, a distinguished scholar of secondary education, identified as a troubling trend in how American schools teach history. The schools portray “an adversary culture that emphasizes the nation’s warts and diminishes its genuine accomplishments. There is no literary canon. There are no common readings, no agreed upon lists of books, poems and stories from which students and parents might be taught a common culture and be reminded of what it means to be an American.”

This common culture – meaning the principles that have guided our nation since its founding rather than current celebrities — that we should share cannot be underestimated. The history of our common culture is what unites us, not divides us. When ethnic and racial identities take
precedence over our common Americanism it results in strife, lack of unity and misunderstandings. Therefore, the history of Black America should not be ignored by the history textbooks. The history of Black America and the path taken by our country are inseparable.

Having undergone blood transfusions, I personally benefited from Dr. Charles Drew’s pioneering work on blood plasma processing and transfusion therapy. Any history of the development of blood transfusions could not ignore his accomplishments. Nor could any history
of American popular music dismiss the talent of Louis Armstrong.

When we study American history and American politics and government in high school we study history affecting all our people. American politics and government is the most important aspect of that history because it explains how the United States of America was established. It is an
expansive history of diverse eras in America, such as the Revolutionary War, the Gilded Age, the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Era. Sadly, most students do not grasp the most basic and important facts that unite us.

Do all students understand the importance of the concepts of the U.S. Constitution? Declaration of Independence? Bill of Rights? Emancipation Proclamation? It would be wrong to suggest that high school textbooks covering the abolitionist movement not mention Frederick Douglass or
those covering civil rights ignore Dr. Martin Luther King. Like it or not – the importance of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison and Lincoln – were very important in shaping our nation. Their contributions must be emphasized because all Americans have benefited from their work and thinking.

There is indeed a place for recognizing the contributions of blacks in American history as there is any other American regardless of their ethnic group or race who made a contribution important to American history. It is for that reason that I certainly can sympathize with the
sentiment expressed by Christopher Davis, one of the students interviewed by THE NEW YORK TIMES who complained, “In American society, we’re known as gangsters, drug dealers and killers. People don’t know all about our heritage, what we stood for, our accomplishments as a
culture.”

That’s a complaint worth addressing to artists such as Snoop Doggy Dogg who helps to define the gangsta rap culture in his acting and music. Mr. Dog chooses to present a negative view of Black Americans. He could strive to put forth a positive message about the best and most important elements of the history and culture of Black Americans and consider creative ways to make his work appealing to all of his fellow Americans. If Snoop Doggy Dogg isn’t willing to do so, hopefully some others intend to do just that.

Paul M. Weyrich is chairman of the Free Congress Foundation.