Learning to Fight Racist Education: Dialog with the Work of Carter Woodson

Carter G. Woodson demonstrated that racists kept African-Americans in a subservient state after Empancipation by using twisted education. An entire group of Americans were educated to work for the “white race”. Self-confidence, reason, and curiousity were both intentionally undermined through a miseducational program.

Reading one of his works suggested to me that these same techniques are still used in schools today, but for an even broader group of people . I don’t “do” comments on this site, because I find Facebook and Twitter better platforms for different types of discussion. I have had long threaded discussions on both sites. Occasionally, however, I get a comment (this time on Twitter) that merits a long-form response. With permission here is a reaction to my live-read of The Miseducation of the Negro*.

He** Tweeted:

very interesting. i’m a recent American (raised in Canada), and may miss the punch of the implication that there’s a racial conspiracy in education and society designed to “keep them down”, specifically in institutions that were powerful enough to be effective.

it’s therefore difficult for me to believe, living in NYC and never elsewhere in the US, that this could be true or successful. racial identity/heritage here seems recent, “white” being only meaningful post-war. every national-identity was non-integrated until very recently.

I’d also observe that policy toward fixing the economic disparity in the political realm has only ever made the problem significantly worse. Removing laws has been helpful, creating a redistributive system has broken culture.

I suppose I’m asking: if the problem isn’t institutional (in law), how can the issue of persistent inequality be fixed, save the redemption of the hearts of the active racists (assuming they exist, I’ve yet to meet one in Manhattan, non-white family all-the-same)

Welcome to the States!  Sadly, racism, including in places like New York City, has been with us all along. I am not an expert in this area, but here are just a few facts about New York City that suggest a problem with your take:

1. New York City had a large number of Southern sympathizers during the Civil War. When Mr. Lincoln instituted a draft, there were serious riots that turned into race riots. White Americans targeted African-Americans during these New York City riots and peace was only restored using troops.
2. New York City public schools were still segregated in my childhood. African American schools were under-funded and under-staffed. While (thank God) they are now unenforceable, many deeds in the New York City area still contain language that restrict who can live in housing. These restrictions often are race-based.
3. Public school texts openly taught race theory ideas, including the general superiority of the white race or  the Anglo-Saxon ethnic group.
4. Even common English reflected race-based thinking. People in my grandparents generation (watch pre-war movies) said “that’s white of you” as a compliment. Movies consumed in pre-war NYC reflected a subordinate role for African-Americans, minstrel shows were popular, and songs like “Zip C—n” were sung in public schools. When you realize that Dixie was probably first performed by a (white) minstrel show in New York City with a Northern author, you can see that “white” as a distinction was common. This segregation applied to newspapers as well. Here is Dr. Woodson: In schools of journalism Negroes are being taught how to edit such metropolitan dailies as the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times, which would hardly hire a Negro as a janitor; and when these graduates come to the Negro weeklies for employment they are not prepared to function in such establishments, which, to be successful, must be built upon accurate knowledge of the psychology and philosophy of the Negro.
5. Much of the abolitionist movement in the North was overtly racist. They were opposed to slavery, but wanted African-Americans shipped back to Africa. In many areas, Republicans were eager to prove they were a “white” party, just anti-slavery.  It is true that the notion of who was white evolved over time with groups like the Irish, Italians, or Slavs not considered “white.” In some areas only Anglo-Saxons were considered native stock! However, all these groups could integrate into “majority” white culture over time. African-Americans were forbidden by law to marry white persona in many (though not all) states. They had no hope of being admitted to the “privilege” of white culture.

These are not (I am sure) the worst examples, but they are the ones that immediately sprang to mind from a lifetime of reading.

As for laws, they have helped a great deal. While I am a small government conservative, the area of race  required massive federal intervention. Why? State governments and local municipalities, including those in the North, were mandating racism. Government intervention and government Great Society programs in the 1960’s were not perfect solutions, but they did help more than they harmed to obviate the scars of enforced economic racism.

Are things perfect as a result? By no means! Government programs are blunt instruments and never fully solve an issue. Social Security has made extreme poverty in old age more rare, but such programs can never eliminate all cases.

Even if racism were totally eliminated today, Jim Crow and other evils of the past would still impact our lives today. As any conservative knows, the past matters and ideas, good and bad, continue to impact us long after they are “dead.” The Russian Revolution counts still if you want to understand Russia, but then so does the Mongol conquest of Russia! To think the evils of state enforced racism (in my lifetime) could vanish by now is very dubious thinking.

Of course, racism has not just vanished. I have worked for people who thought telling racist jokes was great fun and evaluated employees on their Black English. Sit down and talk to a fellow Christian who is African-American. They do not need me to tell the story of race today in places like New York City.

Finally, I am glad you have yet to meet an open racist in Manhattan. Progress has been made! I also agree that many of our government “solutions” only make things worse. Some policies from government seem to have contributed to family breakdown, for example. Generally, I have found endless searches for problems has been less beneficial than moving forward by (as Dr. Woodson argues) becoming servant leaders.

Let’s listen, learn, and move forward in the light of accurate history!

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*Dr. Woodson was writing when this was the term for African-Americans. While I will not use it myself, I will not change his own usage.

**I have left out the writers identity and did not edit the Tweets. To be fair to the respondent, please note that Twitter has different writing conventions than a long-form piece here!

***Here is another unedited response to Dr. Woodson and to my piece:

A “christian education” is an oxymoron. Your cult indoctrinates vulnerable minds into a superstitious Bronze Age cult substituting make believe for actual knowledge. You perpetuate your absurd apocalyptic death cult at the expense of critical thinking, reason and the advancement of the human species. Exchanging “belief” for “knowledge” is the exact opposite of “education” You should be ashamed for writing such a stupid essay

Since I do not think Dr. Woodson was guilty of any of those things, I will let his work as an educator stand on its own merits. Safe to say, Christian education should and has supported critical thinking, reason, and human advancement. One piece of critical thinking is to learn that “belief” and other words have multiple meanings in different contexts. Dr. Woodson is an excellent example of a fine Christian educator.