Educational System Failure

Garret Morgan.  Alice H. Parker.  Fred Begay.  Rebecca Lee Crumpler.  Guillermo González Camarena. Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink. Anthony Overton.  These names likely will not ring a bell in the minds of most Americans upon hearing them.  This is truly unfortunate because these are only a few of the numerous People of Color (POC) who have contributed greatly to shaping the course of the United States throughout the country’s history.  But don’t feel too badly if you do not know about these individuals.  I grew up never hearing about these brilliant individuals with the exception of Garret Morgan (thanks to Boogie Down Productions).  Most of us have not heard of them, but we do know of some of their contributions.  Most of this massive lack of knowledge can be traced directly to the failings of our educational system, particularly at the primary and secondary levels, when it comes to teaching American history.   

By making that declaration, I’m not passing judgment on each and every primary or secondary U.S. school.  I am fully aware that there are significant differences from state to state, district to district, school to school, and teacher to teacher.  This is more about the system as a whole.  To understand the nature of the current U.S. educational system which has persisted for centuries it is vital to understand the long history of white supremacy’s influence on the information conveyed in textbooks, particularly when it comes to history curriculum.  Well before the Declaration of Independence was signed, the prevailing thought was that to be a true American meant that one was of Anglo Saxon heritage and only of Anglo Saxon heritage[1].  Anything less than such was considered a subservient race that could never be considered fully human, much less a true American.  With that in mind, it is more easily understood how many of the contributions of non-White Americans could be rationalized as not significant enough to include in textbooks.  In turn, such actions allow the contributions that minorities have achieved for the advancement of their country to remain either undervalued or completely ignored by the White American masses, 75% of whom (according to a 2014 The Atlantic article) have strictly white social circles and rely primarily on popular stereotypes of other ethnic races to conveniently fill in the blanks[2].  This is particularly troubling to me as a Black man because I know that the stereotypes of minorities, particularly Black people, are false.  For instance, the stereotype that us Black people do not value education is ridiculous on its face when one realizes that there are 104 functioning Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), most of which are well over a century old[3]. Year after year these HBCUs are packed almost entirely with Black students.  On top of that, I am Morehouse Man (Atlanta, GA) and my wife graduated from Howard University (D.C.) so we know firsthand how much education is valued in the Black community. To be fair, many POC are also ignorant to most of the contributions of their own peoples.  

The detrimental effects of such historical misinformation is detrimental not only for us minorities who are still struggling for equality here in our home country but also foe White Americans who are also woefully under informed on just how much the minority races of this country have helped shape the U.S. over its roughly quarter-millennium of existence.  I, as an educated Black man, find it very frustrating witnessing POC having to prove that they deserve the same rights as White people.  I often notice double standards that many White people exhibit as a result of this ”true Americans vs. not really Americans” worldview.  For example, think of how many times numerous White people have chastized Black people, in general, for simply not complying with the authorities when a Black person is harrassed, brutalised, or murdered due to a confrontation with the police when really all that Black person was doing was asserting their Fourth Amendment right to protection against unreasonable search and seizure.  Also within that example, think of many of those same White people who likely have professed that it is their patriotic duty to defy authority when it comes to wearing a face mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.  This is just one instance of the double standard on display, but examples are infinite.  I bring this up to say that in order for their to be unity among the American populace if we are going to move forward into a significantly more just paradigm, part of the so-called Day of Reckoning must include recognizing and fully embracing the total historical value that all races have brought to our country.

Just to add to that conversation, below I’ve provide extremely brief synopsises of the contributions made by the names given at the beginning of this article.

Garret Morgan - Black male inventor of the gas mask and traffic signal[4]

Alice H. Parker - Black female inventor of the central heating furnace system for residences[5]

Fred Begay - Navajo male physicist who was a pioneer in studying and developing controlled thermonuclear fusion as a practically unlimited energy source as an alternative to fossil fuels[6]

Rebecca Lee Crumpler - Black female physician who became the first Black American woman in the United States to earn an M.D. degree in 1864, and the only Black American woman to graduate from the New England Female Medical College, which closed in 1873[7]

Guillermo González Camarena - Mexican male who invented the "Chromoscopic adapter for television equipment", an early color television transmission system[8]

Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink - Japanese American female who became the first Hawaiian woman elected to U.S. Congress and the first woman of color elected to the House, in 1965, where she served six consecutive terms[9]

Anthony Overton - Black male born into slavery who became the first Black American to own a vast business conglomerate[10]

Hopefully, as you go on to explore the great many accomplishments that POC have contributed to the advancement of not only the U.S. but also the world, keep in mind that it will take all of us from all backgrounds to push society to new, greater heights in human achievements.

CITATIONS

 [1] Mineo, Liz. ”How Textbooks Taught White Supremacy.” The Harvard Gazette, 24 Sept. 2020, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/09/harvard-historian-examines-how-textbooks-taught-white-supremacy/.

[2]  Jones, Robert P. ”Self-Segregation: Why It's So Hard for Whites to Understand Ferguson” The Atlantic, 21 Aug. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/08/self-segregation-why-its-hard-for-whites-to-understand-ferguson/378928/.

[3]  Stefon, Matt. ”Historically black colleges and universities” Brittanica, 30 Aug. 2011, https://www.britannica.com/topic/historically-black-colleges-and-universities

Augustyn, Adam. Editor (31 Jul. 2018)

Lotha, Gloria. Editor (1 Oct. 2019)

[4]  Perez, Pamela Rosario. ”14 Black Inventors You Probably Didn’t Know About.” Thinkgrowth.org, 26 Feb. 2017, thinkgrowth.org/14-black-inventors-you-probably-didnt-know-about-3c0702cc63d2.

[5]  Witter, Brad. ”10 Black Inventors Who Changed Your Life.” Biography, 28 Jan. 2021, www.biography.com/news/madam-cj-walker-black-inventors.

[6]  ”Fred Begay.” Physics Central, www.physicscentral.com/explore/people/begay.

[7]  “Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler.” Changing the Face of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_73.html.

[8]  Roterman, Natalie. ”Who Was Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena? Remembering Mexican Genius Behind Color TV.” Latin Times, 18 Apr. 2016, www.latintimes.com/who-was-guillermo-gonzalez-camarena-remembering-mexican-genius-behind-color-tv-380390.

[9]  Jarecke-Cheng, Kipp. ”16 Asian American Heroes Our Kids Need to Know About.” Red Tricycle, 18 Aug. 2020, redtri.com/asian-american-historical-figures/slide/10.

[10]  Staten, Candace. ”Anthony Overton (1865-1946).” BlackPast, 3 June 2014, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/overton-anthony-1865-1946/.