Racial inequality is being ignored in the US because the civil rights movement (CRM) ended nearly 50 years ago. Despite the recent Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement flaring up with renewed vigor, the conservative society is trying to prove it is irrelevant. The fight for social justice is under-provided in schools because of the distortion of facts. Malformations of the role of Rosa Parks, emphasis on King’s actions, and paradoxical use of CRM as an excuse for racism in modern times are negative aspects of the perception of the movement in society. Changing the school curriculum is necessary so that students have the opportunity to think critically when analyzing information, and not mindlessly obtain distorted historical facts.
The study of the role and image of historical characters in CRM is incorrect and distorted. Rosa Parks is considered the person who informally initiated the movement due to the refusal to give up a seat to the white person on the bus. The woman was a seamstress, and it is believed that the transport incident was due to exhaustion. The school curriculum does not emphasize enough Parks’ personality, providing only superficial data. Historical retrospective shows that the seamstress was an activist of a group of Black Montgomery women who already had plans for peaceful strikes (Bickford, 2015). Another element of misrepresentation is the bus incident perception as the first visible manifestation of social injustice that eventually led to CRM. It is only a partial truth since the event can be described as a spark to initiate action.
The school curriculum is silent about the story of 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, who did an identical act on the bus. The girl refused to vacate her seat to the white person and was also arrested nine months earlier than Parks (Fox, 2019). It does not diminish the seamstress’ merits to the discriminated community, but it also misinforms and suppresses a significant CRM background. This episode also spreads a misrepresentation of the black population in general. Parks was not a vulnerable and haggard seamstress who could only contradict a white person because of tiredness. The school curriculum is silent about the women’s social activities and the bus incident as one of the transitional moments. Thus, the change in the provided retrospective history is necessary to actualize the movement in modern times.
Martin Luther King Jr. is considered to be one of the key personalities in CRM history. The man coordinated the protests and inspired thousands of black Americans who were discriminated against every day. The CRM remained a non-violent and peaceful movement primarily because of King’s vision, who promoted appropriate strategies to achieve public goals. The school curriculum sufficiently describes the leader’s merits, and it is an integral part of the study of American history. Nevertheless, even this course should be considered incomplete and erroneous. The fact is, King was not the only person overseeing the protests. Administrative work related to the formation and conduct of meetings, campaigning policy, the localization of strikes, the dissemination of petitions, and the professional sphere analysis were the basis for the CRM’s success (Lerman, 2016). Public attention and recognition were formed around King’s personality, which undoubtedly has a rational basis.
However, the school curriculum is silent about the background organizational activities that hundreds of activists have provided. The main focus is on the public figures who stood at the crowd’s head and delivered motivational speeches. Their contributions are limitless, and they have gotten their due in the pages of books, but it is not a complete description of the CRM history. Such organizations as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Congress of Racial Equality, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Southern Christian Leadership Conference made a community contribution to the CRM success (Lewis, 2019). These institutions often remain in the shadows because their public actions did not have outstanding statements or radical movements. Instead, they are background organizations that have acted locally to maintain public engagement and awareness. Nevertheless, their activity in CRM remains significant and under-represented in the educational system. The school curriculum should be expanded so that not only public figures and key change agents are perceived as the sole creators of CRM success.
The memory of historical events is a relative concept, as it can transform over time. CRM is undoubtedly one of the most influential historical events that brought justice to social life. People-of-color received the attitude and rights that they should have like any other citizens. However, the modern interpretation of CRM can be unethically distorted by stakeholders. For example, the Alabama v. Holder court case has shown that historical events can be used as an irrelevant period, which has lost relevance for modern racial equality (Kennedy, 2015). The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was assessed as no longer appropriate in the current perspective due to much less overt forms of discrimination. This fact is not well covered in the school curriculum, although it is crucial in the modern BLM movement.
In other words, the distortion of the historical significance of CRM by senior officials means rethinking the values ​​that change agents carried in the 50-60s. The conservative position reveals the struggle for racial equality as a process from the past that is impossible in the modern United States. Times are changing, and society no longer needs radical action to restore justice. Kennedy also argues that conservatives are referencing the dramatic progress intolerance that prohibits using protest techniques. This approach is an ethical violation and devaluation of the value of CRM. The school curriculum includes limited information about the historical retrospective’s current representation, although it is critical to understanding BLM functions. Potential narrative change with the inclusion of recent misrepresentation cases will help students critically assess historical retrospectives and make informed decisions about current racial inequality.
Racial and social inequality exists even in the modern world, despite the statements of conservative communities. CRM is a historically fundamental event that has spawned a struggle for equality, even beyond ethnic diversity. The current school curriculum provides necessary information regarding movement, but it is skewed or incomplete. Rosa Parks is portrayed as a tired seamstress who did not give up her seat to the white man for the only time, although it is taken out of context. Martin Luther King is positioned as the primary coordinator and driving force for CRM, although the background organizational work required a tremendous amount of effort. Conservatives say that modern society does not need CRM-like movements, although black Americans are abused every day. The school curriculum could be correct and complete, but the truth is distorted and not fully conveyed. The fight for quality education should be a new round of honoring historical events that should not be forgotten.
References
Bickford, J. (2015). Assessing and addressing historical misrepresentations within children’s literature about the civil rights movement. The History Teacher, 48(4), 693-736.
Fox, C. (2019). Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat 64 years ago — Here are 15 surprising facts about her.Insider. Web.
Kennedy, R. (2015). The civil rights movement and the politics of memory.The American Prospect. Web.
Lerman, R. (2016). Civil rights movement: Truths & myths.Morningside Center. Web.
Lewis, F. (2019). Organizations of the civil rights movement.ThoughtCo. Web.