Chapter 7
THE POWER OF THE
NARRATIVE
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What stories are told in history is important in that students are expected to
engage with textbooks for a substantial amount of time in their K-12 education.
Words and diverse representation matter, particularly in history. It is our record
and truth of what came before us and what lies ahead. For this reason, there
should be a wide range of experiences and groups of people reflected in the
pages of history books. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Research has
established the paucity of people of color in history (Brown & Brown, 2010;
Busey, 2019; Eraqi, 2015; Lad-son-Billings, 2014; Loewen, 2018; Suh et al.,
2015). Why does this matter? There are unfortunately many recent examples of
how stereotypes and misconceptions evolve when White people come across a
person of color who does not fit their preconceived notions of people in that
group. Cultural encapsulation diminishes interactions with people outside one’s
own cultural group and when history books fuel White supremacy positionality
, a sense of entitlement ensues. Recently in 2020, Christian Cooper, an avid bird watcher, was
falsely accused of threatening and assaulting a White woman in New York’s Central Park.
Awareness and knowledge of historical and contemporary Black naturalists, environmentalists,
and biologists may have dispelled the woman’s racial profiling that led to the false accusation.
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Women of color have to contend with a double bind in their lack of representation
in books. Feminist scholars have drawn attention to the double discrimination or
triple discrimination
that women of color contend with in society (Collins, 2008; hooks, 1981) and then this bias is
recapitulated in high school history textbooks (Leslie, in press; Schocker & Woyshner, 2013;
Woyshner & Schocker, 2015).
In 2018, examples of racial profiling
occurred toward Ohio State Representative Emilia Sykes, a Black female and California
Representative Linda Sanchez, a Latina, who both were consistently harassed by security
personnel.
Security officials responded to this mistreatment by stating that Emilia Sykes did
not “look like a legislator” (Dittmar, 2018). To address this pernicious perspective,
consider the impact on the mindset of students if they were to receive a lesson
about Shirley Chisholm, the first Black elected to Congress in 1968 along with
other notable Black role models in history. Not only would this potentially lessen
societal stereotypes, but it would offer underrepresented groups the opportunity
to see themselves in books, and inspire them to pursue these types of careers.
Currently, students are exposed to a sea of White (male) faces in their history
textbooks. It is no wonder that when they are asked to envision an “inventor” or a
“leader,” they see “White” and “male.” Students can recall many presidents, who
have been previously dominated by White males or recognize Benjamin Franklin
or Albert Einstein as innovators. Lesser known inventors should be included in
curriculum: Dr. Shirley Jackson (Black physicist whose work led to the touch tone
phone, fiber optic cells, and technology such as call waiting); Stephanie Kwolek
(chemist who invented Kevlar, a material used in tires and bullet proof vests);
Ada Lovelace (a mathematician known as the first computer programmer); or
Marie Curie (discovered the theory of radioactivity). There are countless other
women and people of color who served as pioneers in their respected careers
who continue to be absent in books.
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Ethnically diverse males are also not represented in books and women of color
are almost invisible in text due to the double burden of their gender and race.
Recognizing the impact of an imbalanced and sanitized version of history in our
textbooks, it is suffice to say that textbooks could significantly contribute to
creating more diverse curricular content. With textbooks representing diversity in
all its aspects, teachers could more easily create engaging and inclusive learning
environments. Furthermore, representation and relevancy in books and
curriculum provide engaging learning spaces for all female students when they
see themselves connected to the materials in the classroom. Yet, research has
confirmed that there is a gendered imbalance in textbooks (Chick, 2006; Clark et
al., 2005; Clark & Mahoney, 2004; Osler, 1994; Sadker & Sadker, 1994; Schmidt,
2012; Tetreault, 1986; Trecker, 1971). As a professor teaching students in our
gender equity and education programs, I look to expand students’ knowledge
about the contributions of women and other marginalized communities who have
been left out of our traditional textbooks. In order to expand their knowledge
base, my students have had to go the movies to learn about Katherine Johnson,
Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. The movie, Hidden Figures, highlighted
their invaluable contributions to NASA and Neil Armstrong’s first walk on the
moon despite being faced with constant double burden of race and gender
biases. Other pioneers that are often left out of history are Mae Jemison, the first
Black female to serve on a space mission in 1992, and Ellen Ochoa, the first
Latina astronaut to travel to space in 1993.
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Many researchers have advocated for more culturally relevant historical figures.
Gay (2018) emphasizes the importance of diversity in our textbooks and our
curriculum. She states that “the fundamental aim of culturally responsive
pedagogy
is to empower ethnically diverse students through academic success, cultural affiliation, and
personal efficacy. Knowledge in the form of curriculum content is central to this empowerment”
(p.). Ladson-Billings (2003) who also draws attention to the importance of teachers using
culturally relevant pedagogy, gives the following example:
If the people who look like them occupy the lowest skilled jobs in the school –
janitors, cafeteria workers, instructional aids—then they begin to calculate their
own understanding of people. The official curriculum only serves to reinforce
what the societal curriculum suggests, i.e., people of color are relatively
insignificant to the growth and development of our democracy and our nation and
they represent a drain on the resources and values (p. 4).
When textbooks do not offer alternative voices or counterstories, the
exclusionary practices of textbooks and curriculum further marginalizes students
of color and reinforces the negative stereotypes of the larger society.
Furthermore, successful images or stories of diverse role models gives young
learners the chance to see themselves in those future roles.
Subsequently, students are astounded that they have not learned about the
accomplishments of other ethnic groups or individual contributions in history until
they are in college. Oftentimes when students and I are engaging in this
conversation of how and why some individuals are not in textbooks, someone will
inevitably say, “We only include the pioneers, the people who did that particular
thing first.” Unfortunately, this ignores systemic racism and sexism of years past.
People of color and women’s contributions have come later than White males’
achievements because they were not afforded opportunities in
education. Symbolic representation
serves as one way for role models to signal societal change. For example, when there is
someone who breaks through the glass ceiling based on their underrepresented status of gender,
race, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation, this symbolizes progressive change and a
cultural shift in accepting underrepresented people in leadership roles. Role models can then
signify positive identity formation in young people, particularly in male-dominated areas of
education, such as sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
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In other instances, people of color have not been recognized for their
achievements or given credit for their work. Delores Huerta serves as one
example of how the intersection of her gender and race influenced her work as
cofounder of the United Farm Workers Association. Re-searchers Lavariega
Monforti and McGlynn (2010) investigated Latino representation in 29 college-
level government and political science textbooks and found that many of the
books discussed the merits of César Chávez yet only three mentioned Dolores
Huerta. In my examination of 12 history textbooks used in California and Texas,
all of them included César Chávez and the impact he had on farmworkers as
cofounder of the United Farm Workers Association. Delores Huerta who had an
equally prominent role in civil rights activism, leadership, and initiating the Grape
Boycott in 1965, only was mentioned in6 out of 12 books, with most books,
merely mentioning her name as cofounder.
Today, Delores is over 90 years old, and she continues to work tirelessly for
Chicano labor and civil rights as well as youth education programs through the
Dolores Huerta Foundation. Huerta, at age 89, was arrested for protesting in
California over wages for caseworkers who serve the elderly and physically
challenged. She is no stranger to arrests, garnering up to two dozen arrests in
her lifetime thus far. The civil rights leader has advocated for a wide range of
issues from clean drinking water for California Central Valley communities,
gender discrimination, redistricting, voter registration, and providing low-income
youth with leadership and civic engagement programs. While accomplishing so
much in her life, she also had to endure sexism within her leadership role in the
Chicano community as well as violence from participating in protests. In one
instance, she suffered a severe beating by police at a peaceful rally and as a
result had “six broken ribs and the removal of her spleen in emergency surgery”
(Chávez, 2005, p. 251). Huerta routinely faced violence and sexism in her work,
but nevertheless she persisted.
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You may be asking yourself at this point, why don’t publishers and textbook
authors simply incorporate more people of color in their books. Researchers
have established that indeed textbooks can be political (Apple, 2004; Spring,
2018). This may sound counter intuitive as many students believe that textbooks
are credible and comprehensive, since they are textbooks. First, one must
understand that there are only a handful of publishing companies that dominate
the entire textbook market. Compounding these limitations are a small pool of
textbook authors who contribute to text. In the completed research that examined
the absence of women of color in 12 California and Texas K-12 history textbooks,
I noticed that many of the books were authored by the same writers with their
names rotated in different orders of authorship. Limited textbook publishers and
authors inevitably lead to increasingly narrow viewpoints and choices as to who
is included in books and who is excluded.
The politics of textbooks has been well established for decades, particularly in
Texas. Spring (2018) has chronicled that the Texas School Board has had a long
history of censorship and promotion of politically conservative perspectives. For
example, the board pushed for the use of former President Barack Obama’s
middle name (Hussein) in books. Members have voted to include increased
content on the conservative resurgence of the 80s and 90s, groups such as the
Moral Majority and National Rifle Association (NRA), while rejecting inclusion of
female leaders such as Delores Huerta and Margaret Sanger. The board rejected
Huerta as she was not seen “as an example of good citizenship,” and Sanger for
promoting contraception and stabbing organizations that evolved into Planned
Parenthood in the early 1900s. In a recent 2018 article in the New York Times, a
journalist reported on the Texas School Board and their ranking system of
historical figures. They had just met to complete their ranking and identified
individuals who they would include and exclude in statewide history standards.
They voted to eliminate Hillary Clinton from history curriculum as well as Helen
Keller. Each member of the board is tasked with classifying a figure based on
their significant contributions to history. The board believed that neither individual
made compelling gains. Clinton who served as secretary of state and was the
first female to win a major political party’s presidential nomination received a
score of 5 out of 20. Keller who is deaf and blind was a leading activist and
author of many books on various social justice topics garnered a ranking of 7 out
of 20. After the story was reported the social media and public indignation was
instantaneous and widespread, resulting in the State Board reconvening and
reinstating both Clinton and Keller back into the curriculum a few months later.
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Textbooks containing racist language and perspectives distort historical content,
which has recently been highlighted on social media and the news. One of the
most egregious renderings of the misrepresentation of history occurred in 2015.
Coby Burren, a 15-year-old Black teenager noticed some troubling wording he
encountered when reading his geography textbook in class. One of the chapters
was entitled “Patterns of Immigration” with a speech bubble pointing to a United
States map that read, “The Atlantic Slave Trade between the 1500s and 1800s
brought millions of workers from Africa to the Southern United States to work on
agricultural plantations” (Spring, 2018, p. 126). Coby immediately took a picture
of the content with his phone and sent it to his mother. His mother, who is a
former teacher and pursuing a doctorate in education shared this on social media
and it immediately went viral. Justifiable outrage ensued for many reasons.
Words matter. African Americans did not immigrate here as suggested by the
heading, “Patterns of Immigration,” they were forced and imprisoned here
through enslavement. By eliminating the word “slave” or “enslaved” and replacing
it with the word “workers” erases an important and truthful part of history that
continues to impact Black people today. The publisher McGraw-Hill Education
did acknowledge later that it was an error that needed to be fixed. Unfortunately,
there are 100,000 copies of the book circulating in Texas schools as well as tens
of thousands of books in various states around the country. The publishers’
remedy for this: providing stickers to cover the offensive language. But for Coby’s
mom, the language used in the text speaks to larger systemic issues regarding
social justice issues and the Black Lives Matter movement. Roni Dean-Burren
ruminates on the power of language, “[The slaves’] stories, their lives, their
bodies - they didn’t matter enough to call it what it was.”
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Additionally, the power of language can result in distorted truths through
grammatical choices. Ellen Bresler Rockmore (2015) who teaches first-year
English courses at Dartmouth encourages her students to avoid passive verbs,
particularly when referencing human subjects. For instance, if a sentence reads
“Torture was used,” we have no idea who is responsible for the torture, it is just
something that has happened. In her own analysis of Texas textbooks, she
observed unclear writing and the use of active verbs when talking about the
“upside” of slavery. Textbook authors often relied on passive verbs when
discussing enslavement such as the following passage in Texas United States
History:
Some slaves reported that their masters treated them kindly. To protect
their investment, some slaveholders provided adequate food and clothing
for their slaves. However, severe treatment was very common. Whippings,
brandings, and even worse torture were all part of American slavery (para.
10)
First, the initial sentences give the impression that “slavery wasn’t that bad.”
Once the short pas-sages get into the horrific nature of enslavement, there are
no people to be found. Who is doing the torture, branding, and whipping? The
reader does not know as there is no responsibility ac-corded. We need to know
who did this as it conveys truths about our history. The problematic passage
takes the responsibility and accountability away from White slaveholders and, of
course, completely glosses over the brutality of enslavement in the first couple of
sentences. In sanitizing the text, it also absolves the perpetrators of any
wrongdoing. This rewriting of history in a manner that does not truly reflect what
transpired establishes a dangerous precedent for youth who learn that those with
power will not be held accountable for the mistreatment of others.
In addition to the paucity of comprehensive ethnically diverse historical figures in
history textbooks, there also appears to be a lack of stories and models of cross-
racial alliances. This is what inspired Dr. Borunda’s initial work in the discovery of
Euro-American humanists who risked their lives in following Black leaders in
attempts to thwart racism and the institution of enslavement. They were the
ultimate coconspirators! Love (2019) advocates for the shift away from the term
“allies” as it can be a mutually beneficial term. Allies may engage in activism with
a sense of egotism, a way of boasting about their decent work, and attempt to
lead communities that they have no personal relationships with. The term
coconspirator uses their privilege for the benefit of others, while taking risks to
overthrow White supremacy. Our history books need more co-conspirators’
counter narratives to show what is possible when people are truly united in their
fight to eradicate White supremacy. What we have found in our research in
presenting humanists in history to various educators across the United States is
that most students or K-12 teachers have an easy recall of enslavers such as
George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson but have never heard
of abolitionists, Colonel Shaw, Helen Hunt Jackson, or John Brown.
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Other perspectives absent from history curriculum are the compelling stories of
other social justice advocates who acted as coconspirators for other groups. We
rarely hear about Asian American activism in history (Suh et al., 2015). Dr. Feng
Shan Ho saved thousands of Austrian Jews during World War II. He served as
the Chinese General Consul in Vienna at time when Jews were trying to flee from
being placed in concentration camps or killed by the Nazis. Many countries did
not want to accept Jewish refugees. If anyone was caught attempting to assist
Jewish people, they were tortured and killed as well. Dr. Ho took it upon himself
to ignore the potential dangers and risked his life by issuing visas to Jewish
people to Shanghai, China, allowing thousands of people to escape execution.
Grace Lee Boggs (1915—2015), a first-generation Chinese American devoted
her entire life to social activism for Black lives. Growing up as one of seven
children in the Midwest, she enrolled at Barnard at 16 years old, and earned a
PhD in Philosophy at Bryn Mawr. After she graduated with her doctorate, she
was unable to work at a university due to the gender and racial discriminatory
practices in the 1940s. It was in the southside of Chicago, living in low-income
housing after graduation that opened her eyes to racism and poverty. Her work
with a tenants’ organization fueled her newfound resolve for the importance of
activism. Most of her life’s work centered on community organizing and
protesting at demonstrations to improve working conditions for factory workers,
housing segregation and discrimination, voting rights, racial profiling
, and law enforcement. For a time, she was also an elementary school teacher who advocated for
the teaching of Black history and having more Black principals represented in schools. Over
time, her thinking began to shift toward schools being the catalyst for developing our children
“into responsible citizens—by involving them in community-building activities, such as planting
community gardens, preparing school and community meals, building playgrounds, cleaning up
our rivers, and neighborhoods” (Lee Boggs, 2016, p. 175). Not only would children learn new
practical skills, but they would also gain teamwork experiences as well as social responsibility.
This philosophy served as the impetus for the creation of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center
to Nurture Community Leadership.
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Throughout her life, Grace’s commitment and passion for social equity was
indefatigable in that she attended nightly meetings, working with many notable
Black community activists, her husband Jimmy Boggs, C. L. R. James, and
Reverend Albert B. Cleage. Her husband Jimmy was similarly devoted to social
justice, engaged in organizing, writing, campaigning, protesting, and making
speeches even throughout his five-year battle with cancer. Through his
chemotherapy, he continued to persevere. Remarkably when Jimmy entered
hospice, his work never ceased until his passing. Similarly, Grace also never
stopped working, until she passed at the age of 100 years.
Both leaders for social justice were extraordinarily devoted to their Detroit
community making the world a better place through their emphasis on
humanism. They saw themselves “as part of the continuing struggle of human
beings, not only to survive but to evolve into more human beings” (p. 255). One
aspect of their work was organizing a Black Revolutionary Party in conjunction
with others, whose goals were to create systemic societal changes as well as to
establish and hold onto “humanist objectives of the Black Revolution in this
country . . . ” (p. 158). Their mission focused on the interconnectedness of social
activism and life. Grace’s husband, Jimmy, would routinely say, “It is only in
relation to other bodies and many somebodies that anybody is somebody. Don’t
get it into your cotton-picking mind that you are somebody in yourself “(p. xxii).
Their humanist approach and alliances with the community highlighted their fiery
intent to change the world through community action. Lasting and systemic
change happens when people work together as a whole rather than fragmented
movements.
Another Asian American woman was similarly influencing her community in
Harlem. Yuri Kochiyama, who was imprisoned in a concentration camp in 1942,
became further energized in activism after seeing first-hand the inequities that
Black neighbors faced in her community and in the inner city neighborhoods
where she lived with her six children (Fujino, 2005). Part of her advocacy focused
on improving school conditions, hiring Black principals, and increasing
integration. The Harlem Parents Committee, which Yuri had joined, also
developed the Freedom School whose purpose was to instruct children about
Black culture and history (Fujino, 2005). The curriculum embodied culturally
responsive pedagogy
before the term was established. Yuri found inspiration from Black authors such as W. E. B.
Dubois and James Baldwin, which further fueled her activism.
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It was during a protest for Black and Puerto Rican construction workers that
forever changed Yuri’s life. On October 16, 1963, she met Malcolm X who
became a friend and mentor to Yuri. She joined his group, the Organization for
Afro-American Unity, and became a fixture in racial justice movements. From that
fateful meeting with Malcolm X, Yuri’s activism accelerated and encompassed
her entire life. Attending meetings, protests, writing letters, research, and housing
other activists or political prisoners was a family affair, where everyone
participated in some or most of these activities, including her children. Fujino
(2005) describes how her son, Eddie, as a seventh grader became the first
organizer of an antiwar rally at a junior high in New York. Yuri was also present
when Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, as he was giving a
speech to his organization. She was one of the first people on stage after the
shooting, placing her safety aside to try and help Malcolm (Fujino, 2005). The
moment was memorialized in Life magazine where she is seen cradling
Malcolm’s head. Afterward, Attallah, Malcolm’s oldest daughter continued her
relationship with Yuri and referred to her as “Auntie.”
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Despite the tragedy that unfolded in Yuri’s personal life, including the death of
two of her children, lost to suicide and a car accident, she was undeterred in her
activism. In the late 1960s, she became a leader and mentor to young people in
the Asian American Movement. Yuri continued to work from early morning into
the night, usually only getting a couple of hours of sleep per night. Her endless
supply of energy and commitment to helping other people was well documented
to anyone who knew her. Yuri’s activism was not without consequences and not
for the meek of heart. She was arrested many times and experienced great
stress due to routine Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance. Her
interminable energy encapsulated four decades of civil and human rights work
and has been captured in documentaries and a one act play, entitled Yuri and
Malcolm X. The hallmark of her activism centered on humanism and her ability to
connect and advocate for so many diverse groups. “She had an extraordinary
ability to bring people together and to inspire their interest in working for social
justice” (Fujino, 2005, p. 253).
Drawing attention to people such as Dr. Feng Shan Ho, Grace Lee Boggs, and
Yuri Kochiyama and other Asian American figures would mark the beginning of
culturally responsive pedagogy. Furthermore, documenting Asian Americans’
experiences counters ideas about the model minority myth
, the idea that all Asian Americans are successful and have somehow avoided the same
prejudices and discrimination of other groups based on this false belief (Wu, 2019).
Viewing people in a monolithic way places everyone in one group and ignores
the complexities of group and individual differences. Furthermore, the model
minority myth also creates a wedge between other marginalized groups. Groups
become pitted against one another in their false comparisons of who has “made
it” and who has not. Subsequently, Black people, Latinos, and other groups are
regarded paternalistically, and measured against Asian Americans in their
success. If they can do it, surely you can as well! This wedge politicking
serves as a way to divide people (Hartlep, 2013).
The truth is that Asian Americans have historically suffered from racism and
continue to do so today. Anti-Asian hate crimes have risen dramatically recently
due to the COVID-19 pandemic and misconceptions about it being “the Chinese
virus.” Having positive representations of Asian Americans in textbooks and
curriculum can offer students the chance to unpack falsehoods and to act against
racism.
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Malcolm X also exemplified the importance of learning history to promote
change. Yuri recalls how he influenced her:
One of the greatest lessons Malcolm instructed people was to learn their
own history. Know your history. Know the world. Be proud of who you are.
He would say, “If you don’t know who you are and where you came from,
how can you know what direction to go in the future?” Through the process
of discovering our own histories, many peoples —Africans, Asians, Puerto
Ricans living in the United States - learned to throw off our internalized
racism and develop pride in our heritage. But don’t stop there. Learn about
the histories of other people. And learn about the history of social
movements because this is how you learn to create social change (Fujino,
2005, p. 158).
Malcolm was addressing the need for ethnic studies curriculum in education at
time in the 1960s when many underrepresented groups were advocating and
fighting for civil rights.