Reconstruction 2.0 Won't Work

Raychelle Duazo from amplifer.org

I like to tell a hopeful story when I teach Reconstruction. In the years immediately following the Civil War a nineteenth-century version of social justice seemed possible. This included education for all, expansion of the vote, and more equitable racial representation in state legislatures and local government. Even unity across color lines seemed possible among the poorest in society.
To end the story there would be inaccurate and misleading. We would leave out the truth of history because white supremacy surged to unprecedented power in government, with results like the convict lease system, black codes, Jim Crow laws, and a further consolidation of white power across the country.

In 2021 a Reconstruction 2.0 is being attempted to: 

• limit voting rights
• limit the right to assemble for protest
• limit the right to free speech by voicing protest
• limit any discussion of racism, inequality or discrimination in schools by pushing a false historical narrative

Here's why I know these attempts will fail.
a. they've messed with the wrong teachers.
b. education is all around us and kids are curious.

a. Educators are passionate about educating. History teachers understand minute details about complex subjects but boil them down to be digestible to children. You've decided you're going to tell history teachers that they can't talk about race or racism at all? You actually believe that we are going to go back to ignorance and not share our knowledge with students?
Who do you take us for?
I've met many amazing educators and they are passionately curious people who want to understand how the world works. They dedicate their lives to not only helping students understand how the world works but also to equipping students to change the world, make it better and innovate.
b. In the 1890s when the United Daughters of the Confederacy decided to rewrite history and twist the truth of the Civil War by pushing a lost cause narrative information was easily controlled. Children learned from textbooks. They weren't raised to be critical thinkers. They learned through rote memorization. Today teachers use TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to reach students. Amazing education organizations like icivics, Facing History and Ourselves, Learning for Justice and many more education nonprofits are dedicated to telling the very stories of injustice and inequality that conservative lawmakers are trying to silence. 

Maybe you've noticed that people who appeared to be woke allies have grown tired of the civil rights resurgence movement - much like Americans in 1877. Guess who hasn't forgotten the protests and the injustice of the world? All those children who were stuck at home during the pandemic, anxious and eager to learn. Their eyes are still wide open. You cannot unsee injustice once you see it. It haunts you. Our children are haunted by the images they've seen and stories they've digested. They will not stop until they find answers. Every day they pledge allegiance to a country that stands for "liberty and justice for all."

Have you ever tried to collect dandelion seeds as they blow in the wind? Curiosity about racial inequality and injustice continues to spread. Like dandelions, possibility, change and opportunities to create a more equal society will pop up everywhere.