On my way into church yesterday I heard yet another story about a community arguing over the impact of books on children. A group of white parents had worked to get a particular book of fiction removed from the school library because, they said, it promoted Critical Race Theory. While a book of fiction, it was based on the life of the author, and it was filled with stories of how, as a young African American boy, he had been treated in ways that were racist. With the exception of one story, everything in the book actually happened to him. In spite of that, parents were furious that their children would be taught that “being white was bad.” This made me think about my own experience growing up, and the lessons I was taught about the Holocaust.
My memory – and to my classmates, please correct me if I am wrong – was that there was a steady stream of education about the Holocaust and the evils of fascism. Family members of classmates would visit us and talk about their experiences, making the experience very real. We even did a reset of the Nuremberg Trials in high school; it was eye-opening and, I am sure, triggering to a lot of my friends. Through all of this, I never felt guilty (even though I have a German last name). I never felt blamed or inferior. I never became antisemitic. I learned about human evil and weakness; I learned that the Nazis were bad and that the German people allowed them to take power. I learned the simple lesson that CRT tries to teach – never again.
A recent meme has been reminding us of the George Santayana quote, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it”, and added to it is, “Those who refuse to teach history want it to be forgotten.” What I am seeing is the second part coming to fruition. More and more states are removing or, literally, white-washing statements about the history of slavery in public schools. A textbook published by McGraw-Hill 10 years ago described enslaved people as “workers brought to the southern United States.” Children aren’t forgetting about slavery; it is being repackaged. CRT doesn’t teach racism – denying racism does. Learning about the Holocaust doesn’t teach antisemitism; denying the Holocaust does. And truth and facts aren’t’ dangerous – lying is. The real damage is being done by those who refuse to tell the truth, not the other way around.
Prayer – Holy God, the truth will set us free and lies will put us in bondage. Save us from ourselves, we pray. Amen.