The Trump administration’s crusade against anything that even smells of modernity with respect to race relations, LGBTQ issues, the engagement with undocumented immigrants, all of it, has gotten so out of hand that we now are looking at whether our public schools, presumably mostly junior and senior high schools, can even teach Black History. Given the fact that they often teach “American” history without mentioning anything about history from a black perspective, it would seem extremely reasonable to want to teach “everyone’s” history. But it may just be a bit too “diverse” to teach Black History, at least for this administration.
Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Education, gave the game away during her confirmation hearing, likely knowing that the issues surrounding race relations in America are up on the chopping block with respect to an administration willing to walk itself back in history. Certainly, it would rather take itself back into the past than appear to care about minorities and the treatment of the marginalized in this country.
Senator Chris Murphy led the questioning off by introducing facts from West Point and the impact of an Executive Order pulling all funding for racially based groups or education. The Senator said:
Murphy: “West Point has closed down all ethnic clubs, so the Society of Black Engineers no longer can meet because they believe that to be in compliance with this order, they cannot have groups structured around ethnic or racial affiliations. Would schools, would public schools be in violation of this order?”
McMahon: “Well, I certainly today don’t want to address hypothetical situations. I would like, once I’m confirmed, to get in and assess these programs, look at what has been covered.”
Murphy: “That’s pretty chilling. What about educational programming centered around specific ethnic and racial experiences?”
No kidding that’s chilling. She wants to “get in” and start assessing programs – probably most of which have worked well enough such that they’re still in existence to be chopped back. Again, this administration hates even the appearance of caring about diversity or different arrays of experience. Murphy then got to the crux of the issue:
Murphy: “If you’re running an African-American history class, could you perhaps be in violation of this executive order?”
McMahon: “I’m not quite certain, and I’d like to look into it further and get back to you on that.”
The non-answer is the answer and Murphy knew it, shooting back:
Murphy: “There’s a possibility, you’re saying, that public schools that run African-American history classes, right – could lose federal funding if they continue to teach African-American history?”
McMahon then denied that she was doing just as Murphy asked but then noted that she was, in fact, doing exactly as he asked – looking to review the matter as to whether it falls under the order. We are “this” close to not being able to teach Black History classes in America. As she states:
McMahon: “No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that I would like to take a look at these programs and fully understand the breadth of the executive order and get back to you on that.”
And Murphy knows exactly what this means. She would be very open to shutting down Black History classes:
Murphy: “I think you’re gonna have a lot of educators and a lot of principals and administrators scrambling right now.”
Very much so. One might wonder whether schools are allowed to teach Native American history, oral traditions, Women’s history, all those things that go into, you know – “history”?
Awful.
God Bless:Â I can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter X at @JasonMiciak and now also on Bluesky
WAIT! Next thing you know she’s going to ban FOLK SONGS.
Hmm, haven’t we seen this all before?
“The Times They Are A Changing” … still…
I’m a white southern man from the earliest English colony…educated at the first state university, raised by true Christians who never TOLERATED LYING. I have black children and a common law black wife of two decades…phuck all you goddamn racists that voted for this shit. PHUCK ALL OF YOU!!!!!! You think you want to come to battle…then look me up you assholes. I’ll be happy to reeducate you racists morons. Warning: I will not tolerate your racism or your worship of this fat nazi pig. So come on boys and try and back your cowardly shit up. Armchair warrior????? I don’t own an armchair and the charge is made by cowards who divulge NOTHING, even their last name and location. I’ve done BOTH! So bring it on and take your goddamn medicine. I’m in the mood for a revolution. Starting with your sorry asses. One dead solider at a time.
Wait a minute. Didn’t any of the Democrats ask her why she wants the position, given the fact that Herr Drumpf has pledged to ABOLISH the whole Department of Education? I mean, if I were a Senator at the hearings that would be the very FIRST question I would have for this incompetent moron.
“Mr McMahon–oh, excuse me–Madame McMahon, but why should we bother holding this hearing on your confirmation since Mr Trump has pledge to abolish the very Department you’ve been nominated to head? How long do you believe you’ll have this job? The entire 4 years of Mr Trump’s White House occupation? The 2 years until the mid-terms? A year? Six months? A week after your confirmation? How long do you actually expect to have this particular job? And why do you think Mr Trump would vow to abolish the Department of Education but turn around and put your name before the Senate to head up the agency? I realize I’ve put forth a number of questions but they are related and I will now allow you a chance to answer.”
Then sit there watching the rhymes-with-witch try to come up with an answer that doesn’t result in an incoherent babble (then again, that wouldn’t really differ from her usual speech).
Strictly speaking, there shouldn’t be a need for Black.or Women’s History classes quit we taught history honestly. We should be teaching the facts about the way we treated Native Americans and that slavery began not long after Jamestown. We should teach the facts about slavery from.the triangle trade and the slave ships to slave narratives to debunk the notion that plantation n owners treated their slaves kindly. We should discuss the role of women and the rights we didn’t have including the fact that in 1970 a woman couldn’t get a loan or a credit card without a husband or father cop signing for it.
If we value actually. taught factual history,, we wouldn’t need special classes. I went to catholic schools. I had American history in elementary,and junior and senior high. We got factual.history. We learned about the horrors of slavery and the treatment of Native Americans-&and immigrants.