Distorted Histories: Understand the Whiteness Curriculum Presented at Public Sites

• In Event: (Non)Learning Racial Literacy in and Outside of the History Classroom

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the origins, implementation, and impact of the curriculum that is presented at historic sites and monuments, in particular Confederate sites and buildings, parks, and public spaces named after Confederate generals and soldiers. It is our responsibility as educators, as public intellectuals, as citizens of democracy, to understand the power that the curriculum of public spaces has on our national story. Those public sites create an historical narrative that tells the story of our nation and its peoples (Baron, 2012; Gallas & Perry, 2015; Marcus, Stoddard &Woodward, 2017; Rose, 2016; Segall, 2014; Woods, 1995). Just as with distorted historical narratives presented in the classroom and in textbooks (Hawkman, 2018; Lee, 2017; Santiago, 2017; Sehgal, 2016; Woodson, 2015; 2017), if the story presented at historic sites perpetuates a White supremacist narrative and eliminates and omits the contributions of all other peoples, educators have a responsibility to challenge that narrative and present a more accurate and inclusive story.
The current movement to remove Confederate statues and monuments has also now extended to buildings and parks named after the Confederacy as well (Bradham, 2018; Briedgood, Bloch, McMarthy, & Stack, 2017; Holland, 2017; Rockeymoore, 2017; Selk, 2017; Thomsen, 2015). The past three years have seen a national conversation surrounding these public sites and the historical legitimacy of leaving them intact. Parents, students, and local community members are challenging the notion that these public spaces that convey our nation’s history should be places where Confederate generals are celebrated and commemorated. Historical understanding can be increased through the use of questioning accepted narratives. This is crucial if students are to trouble White supremacist narratives they encounter. To do so, they will be challenging the narratives that are taught through these spaces and against the accepted versions of events, in some cases. Curriculum is ideological in nature and therefore laden with unquestioned suppositions about how the world works however, this does not have to be the case (author, 2016, 2018, 2019). By deconstructing these spaces and their artifacts, and treating them as curriculum, educators can teach students to view them more critically and to understand the need for their dismantling and replacement with heroes that will move America to embrace a more holistic national story. We can challenge the narrative. We can write a different story, a more complete story. This is true of statues, monuments, and other historic sites and public spaces, but it is also true of the names on school buildings, parks, and other places where people gather and share common space and historical narratives are passed on.

Author

• Karen L.B. Burgard, Texas A&M University - San Antonio