American History Revisited

In the time after Columbus Day, I've been thinking about how American history is approached in our schools and how we are often dishonest with ourselves about our histories in order to preserve narratives that celebrate the dominant cultural groups in society.  Our tellings are often Eurocentric and shy away from honest tellings of the often violent and immoral stories that exist in favor of privileging the (biased) white perspective.  Alternative narratives are often ignored.

Ethnic and racial minorities are often presupposed by white Americans to be "Other."  "Americanness" is conflated with "whiteness" largely because of the biased tellings of our history which focus only on the (positive) contributions of Americans with white, European, Christian (most often Protestant) heritage.  Sometimes it is helpful to reconsider what we "know" about the formation of the United States.

As a member of the United Church of Christ (and, in particular, a Congregationalist church), I am challenged to understand and confront my traditions involvement in genocide and human rights abuses in order to further its own agendas, which favored white, Protestant bodies and values.