OPINION | Civil Rights Reflection: Decolonization and Desegregation

by Mark Epstein

With devastation raining down against the people of Gaza and recent movements to reexamine our past, more people are beginning to question if what we have been led to believe about U.S. history is based in truth or myth. On a recent Nation magazine tour of the South, visiting Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and meeting Elizabeth Eckford was a focal point for understanding how U.S. history has not been taught accurately. Instead, it has often been taught with great omission, and this impedes the recovery from racism and segregation today. States across the South, including Arkansas and Florida, are key battlegrounds for those trying to stop a re-examination of our past.

Yet people in Seattle and the rest of the country are simultaneously trying to understand our true history and heal. Author Viet Thanh Nguyen, who recently spoke at Seattle's Town Hall, said the myths of American history and its place in the world must be exposed; without doing this, he said, we will think of groups of people as "others" whose lives have less value than those whom we think of as "like us."

As we grapple with our past, we're also witnessing human suffering in the present. The devastation in Gaza and Ukraine, for example, demonstrates almost unfathomable human suffering — in living (and dying) color, on our screens large and small. These images touch our hearts and trigger feelings of pain. As with our history, we can confront the pain, or we can turn away from it.

How can our schools facilitate healing and ease trauma for students who want to examine the past to understand suffering in the present? One way is through the curriculum.

Ethnic studies, Black studies, and Indigenous studies are a primary vehicle to explore the history of our country through a new lens that challenges the myths on which our national identity has been founded. Specifically, ethnic studies addresses our country's legacy of stolen labor and lands, as well as the resilience and strengths of humanity today. These myths have led to an "othering" of Black and Indigenous peoples, and immigrants as well.

To meet this surge of demand for more accurate reflections of our past, the College Board decided to launch a new course, AP African American studies, due to be implemented nationwide next year.

Examining the Past: School Desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas

In the Central High School library, our civil rights delegation was fortunate to spend two hours with Ms. Eckford, the first of the nine Black students to arrive at Central in 1957. We were joined for Eckford's talk by students from one of Central High's AP African American studies classes.

Eckford described how her desire for the best track to a college education and scholarship possibilities led her to apply to integrate Little Rock's Central High School, in spite of her mother's lack of enthusiasm for the idea. On the first day the "Little Rock Nine" were scheduled to attend in 1957, Eckford's family did not have a phone to receive the message that the school was postponing attendance. Consequently, she took the public bus, and faced the angry mob by herself.

National Guard soldiers — who she thought were there to protect her — instead blocked her entry with bayonets. The famous photo of her — clasping her notebook while anti-integration student Hazel Bryan screamed behind her — was taken moments later. On her way to the bus to go home, she encountered more vitriol, including the comment, "Let's hang her; get a rope."

Eckford's year at Central continued like a nightmare, though one she bore in silence, saying, "A school fight is nothing like the violence we faced every day." Each of the nine Black students eventually received a personal military escort, who trailed far behind them in the halls. In history class, Eckford's favorite subject, her teacher taught that slaves were well-treated; Eckford was shocked that her fellow students accepted this version. "You know you cannot erase history; it is evidence-based," she said. Segregationists and parents prepared and pressured white students to torment them daily — including spitting, knocking them into lockers, throwing trash at them, and verbally harassing them. Most of Eckford's fellow students remained indifferent, though she noted the crucial support on a daily basis from two students in her speech class.

Eckford was prepared to defend herself, noting that she had covered her notebook, which she carried in front of her at all times, with sewing needles. Yet, she never spoke to her family about the harassment, fearing they would pull her out of Central High.

Eckford didn't publicly speak of the trauma of her experience for over 40 years, until after a reunion and partial reconciliation with Hazel Bryan. She told our delegation and the AP students, "I have PTSD; it's been a difficult journey. I didn't realize that speaking publicly … I have been doing exposure therapy; I don't cry anymore." She said, "I ask young people, 'Have you been doing as well as you can?' Many tell me, 'No.'"

Eckford's presence at Central High School and her impact on the AP students were powerful, as revealed in their questions for her. One asked, "Would desegregation still have happened if you did not come here?" She said it would have, but it would have been delayed.

"Didn't anyone help you?"

It would have been dangerous, assured Eckford. One boy who sat with them lost all his friends and was beaten up in gym class.

"Wasn't your treatment documented?"

Not until decades later.

"How did teachers treat you?"

When Eckford would try to pay money to purchase the Weekly Reader, "the teacher made me put the money on the desk, so as not to touch her hand."

Eckford held this trauma inside for decades. Yet, at age 82, her voice and presence are only getting stronger. Regarding the importance of our daily behavior, Eckford implored us to ask how people are doing. "You may be the only person someone talks to that day."

Challenges in the Present: The Conflict Over Curriculum

In addition to speaking about the past, Eckford has also been outspoken on the curriculum struggles of today.

The last two years have seen tremendous backlash against efforts to redefine U.S. history and institutions through the lens of racism. At this time, the AP African American studies course is being piloted in over 700 schools. Ron DeSantis, Florida governor and former Republican presidential candidate, banned the course; the state of Arkansas denied college credit for it, removed it from the list of state-approved courses, and refused to pay for students to take the AP test. In response to attacks on the course this summer, the College Board made changes, removing mandated studies of the Black Lives Matter movement and current discussions of reparations.

Eckford and other surviving members of the Little Rock Nine have argued that attacks on the course were being used by Republicans as part of a calculated effort to "erase our history." Another surviving member of the Nine, Terrence Roberts, said, at a "bare minimum," there shouldn't be "laws restricting their ability to learn, or what they could learn." The city of Little Rock and its school district, in contrast to the state of Arkansas, have supported the course and will cover student fees for the tests.

Ethnic Studies in Seattle Public Schools

About a decade ago, the search for truth over myth led Black students from Rainier Beach High School, the NAACP Youth Council, and allies to demand that Seattle Public Schools (SPS) diversify its curriculum emphasis. Among other innovations, in 2017, SPS passed a Board of Education resolution mandating ethnic studies in all grades, K—12.

SPS is not piloting the AP course, and while ethnic studies is being taught widely in Seattle, implementation has been uneven, especially in the early grades, and the high school courses offered are electives.

Without an awareness of a biased orientation, according to Washington Ethnic Studies Now, "the examples of educators who are doing apparent harm are countless … including educators subjecting students to role plays about slave auctions and the experiences of enslaved people, textbooks spuriously depicting enslaved Africans as immigrants or workers seeking a new life, and educators advancing colorblindness as a solution to racism." In SPS schools, there are still elementary teachers who assigned art projects about turkeys, Pilgrims, and Indians last November, without providing further context.

Despite that, SPS educators have made significant efforts to teach ethnic studies in general, and SPS does offer a Black studies course and Indigenous studies.

In its adoption of the Since Time Immemorial curriculum, focusing on the 29 federally recognized Indigenous nations in the state of Washington, SPS says this state-mandated curriculum, "helps formally address the omission of information that has shaped and influences many aspects of our collective community life. Due to a long history of institutional racism in education, the accomplishments, affairs, and contemporary experience of the First Peoples of Washington state has been consistently omitted from public school curricula and/or portrayed inaccurately." This curriculum is meant to be adopted pre-K through 12th grade. Also, in October 2022 (and updated in 2023), SPS Superintendent Brent Jones mandated the districtwide observance of Indigenous People's Day on Oct. 10, renaming the holiday and rejecting the honoring of a conqueror.

At the secondary level, Black studies courses are currently being piloted and taught by at least six SPS high schools and a handful of middle schools. Black history is U.S. history, whether it is about the building of the country, the defense of its ideals, the vision for a more just future, or excellence in academics, the arts, and athletics. It is part of our human and national identity that is being reclaimed. Black studies is essential for the self-concept of African American students who often find themselves in the school-to-prison pipeline; Black studies is necessary for all students to put equitable thinking into practice.

At Rainier Beach High School, Black studies is being piloted and integrated into the ninth and 10th grade world history classes, and the 11th grade IB language and literature courses focus on Black literature and thought. Amy DiTommaso, who wrote and teaches the ninth grade curriculum at Rainier Beach High School, says, "Black studies is so much more than the content we teach. It also heavily impacts our pedagogy and how we set up our classroom experience … [The students] loved trying to solve big issues from today and to showcase their learning. They saw the importance of studying both the history and modern-day issues of the continent with the greatest number of nations and really took pride in their work. When people ask, 'Why Black studies?', as cliche as it sounds, the question shouldn't be 'Why?', it should be, 'Why have you not yet?'"

In addition, Black Lives Matter at School, which originated in Seattle in 2016, will take place Feb. 6—10 — although it is unclear whether it retains the full support of the district. In its toolkit for the event, the National Education Association says, "The goal of BLM at School is to spark an ongoing movement of critical reflection and honest conversation and impactful actions in school communities for people of all ages to engage with issues of racial justice."

"Decolonizing" our curriculum unlocks our minds from assumptions that other people are less worthy or powerful; it opens us up to understanding the value of all humans.

Seattle does not have politicians who would say out loud that we need to go back to the way we were taught history in the past, and SPS does have many of the policies in place to address the curriculum changes we need. However, budget cuts to these innovations, justified by supposed austerity — when we have the richest billionaires in this country living in our state — could have the same effect as overt racism in slowing the forward movement in our learning.

In the words of an educator, posted on the Zinn Education Project website, "Sometimes it feels like it is time to hang it up and do something else. Then you remember, if not me, then who? We must serve as the light to pass the light to others so that our progress forward is reinforced by the next generations of educators."

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The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the contributors on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the Emerald or official policies of the Emerald.

Mark Epstein is a 31-year South Seattle resident. He taught elementary and high school for 35 years, with the last 25 at Rainier Beach High School. He is a devoted father and grandfather, with daily walks and love from his pandemic puppy. He has been a career-long union activist, and since his retirement in 2019, he has been active in support of immigrant communities in our state. A lover of music and growing food, he is also an avid biker for transportation.

📸 Featured Image: Students of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, including Hazel Bryan, shout insults at Elizabeth Eckford as she calmly walks toward a line of National Guardsmen on Sept. 4, 1957. The Guardsmen blocked the main entrance and would not let Eckford enter. (Photo: Will Counts / Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)