RACISM

How Can You Claim Not to See Race But Ban Black History?

Racially explicit censorship is not color-blind.

AI-generated image of a Black woman reading books near a window | created by author using CANVA

Color-blind racism is rooted in a lie that racial identity doesn't have any impact on Black people. The irony isn't lost on Black Americans that the same group of people who regularly claim that race does not, or should not matter, are actively targeting a group of people based on their racial identity. Make it make sense. No one suggests, for instance, that we should remove stories about Thomas Jefferson, America's third president, from the public sphere. However, if you want to learn about the young girl he enslaved and forced into motherhood, Sally Hemmings, you'll have to look outside the classroom. The irony is plain as coffee beans on snow. White history is painstakingly preserved in this country, while black history is being actively suppressed. If you can't see race, then how is it that you can identify Black historical narratives and remove them from the classroom?

If you were genuinely color-blind, then you wouldn't distinguish between white history and black history, and therefore, you wouldn't oppose the inclusion of black historical narratives. But the truth is white supremacy is the driving force behind these racially selective bans and removals. This idea has always been pervaisive in…