Revisionist History: No Shades of Gray Here

 

I’m generally a “shades of gray” kind of guy. Very little is black or white for me, because, as Jimmy Buffett sings it, life is “simply complicated.” But not always and not everything.

For example, I’d prefer to be far less familiar with child and sexual abuse than I am. I’d prefer to know less, but about five decades in education, as well as some personal friendships, have made that impossible. What I don’t know, however, is anyone, ANYONE, who tries to defend child abuse, in any of its forms. No one says, “Well, it wasn’t that bad.” No one says child abuse was just “kind of” or “mostly” evil, or that it’s not so bad because it’s so common. What constitutes abuse may generate some gray area discussions, but once we’ve reached agreement that someone is/was the victim of abuse, no one, other than a defense lawyer, attempts to discount the life-long damage or minimize the evil. 

Or Nazis. There is no gray area with Nazis, even if they dress it up with a “Neo” prefix, or try to disguise it as “alt right.” Evil, pure evil. Indefensible.

Slavery is similar. The (peculiar) institution of chattel slavery in the United States was evil, pure black, no shades of gray. Its development, growth, spread, all are certainly subject to analysis and explanation – but not justification. It.Was.Evil.  It.Was.Wrong.  It.Was.Ugly.  And there is no excuse for it having hung on in this country as long as it did. Nor is there any excuse for the treasonous war that attempted to not only prolong it but expand its reach. It needs to be taught as such.

That many slaves endured, that some managed to develop the survival and other skills that allowed them to overcome such evil, to even achieve, changes nothing. Florida and other states are attempting to minimize the long and short term damage done to men and women who were seen as less than human, as less than equal persons, based solely on the color of their skin.

Don’t believe me? Think I’m over-reacting? See the annotated standards below from Florida’s state-mandated curriculum, referenced by cartoon art above:

Florida’s State Academic Standards; African American History   

• SS.912.AA.1.1 – Prior to any lesson on American slavery, Florida kids will learn about African slavery, Asian slavery, Muslim slavery, Native American slavery, Arabian slavery and more, just so we’re all clear that everybody ELSE was doin’ it, OKAY?! And it would be fair if we didn’t get our turn.
• SS.68.AA.2.3 — “Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” This one has gotten the most blowback. The FL Ed. Dept. then offered “proof” of their “slavery with benefits” theory, providing the names of 16 slaves who benefitted from mad job skills they picked up during their unpaid lifetime internships. Unfortunately, of these 16, 9 were not even slaves, 9 had their line of work misidentified (including 2 accomplished inventors identified as blacksmiths, a guy who founded a shipping company identified as a shoemaker, etc.), and at least one was born after emancipation. And one was the free white sister of George Washington.
• SS.5.AA.1 — Slavery shouldn’t be a big Debbie Downer buzzkill, so the standards look for slavery’s silver linings, such as how escaping slave catchers, dogs and guns taught slaves resilience.
• SS.912.AA.3.6 — “Instruction includes acts of violence perpetrated against AND BY African Americans but is not limited to 1906 Atlanta Race Riot, 1919 Washington, D.C. Race Riot, 1920 Ocoee Massacre, 1921 Tulsa Massacre and the 1923 Rosewood Massacre.”✬

Nothing justifies an evil institution; anything, or anyone, endeavoring to discount, minimize, or whitewash slavery is perpetuating that same evil, and must be opposed with every fiber of our being.

✬ Credit Kirk Anderson for the research and cartoon.