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I'm actually on the side of history and recognize that we don't need to erase the memories and contributions to America made by men like Jefferson and Washington. They are important to the history of this country and served crucial roles in moving this country along. To a certain extent, we should contextualize their behaviors at the time with what was socially & morally acceptable and weigh it against those contributions.
So in order not to lose awareness of our American history and acknowledge the wrongs done to oppressed people by our "idols," the right thing to do is extend that courtesy to many, many figures of the oppressed population.
If America wants to keep busts of slave-holding leaders, then America needs to start commemorating people like Nat Turner, the fugitive slave rebel who killed slave owners in their bed. Malcolm X, Che Guevara, The Black Panthers, Bobby Seale... and that's just the beginning.
If you America wants the descendants of oppressed people to embrace the history of their oppressor, then America needs to also embrace the history of those they oppressed. No more of the sanitized worship of only the "good" and upstanding figures. MLK is great, but there's no reason to not give his contemporaries like Malcolm X the same exposure. If you're willing to look past the racism of the past, then you can look past the flaws of someone like Malcolm X.
If Black Americans can read about Washington's accomplishment and motivations and accept his own flaws as part of the package, then America should do the same with the history of the people they oppressed -- embrace the violence, embrace the hate for their oppressor, embrace the questionable actions they took in the context of the time.
Even writing this post has exposed my own ignorance b/c I really wanted to include historic figures of Latino, Native American, and Asian descent. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about their histories to point out the equivalent of Huey Newton, et al.
Just a reminder that if you care about American history not being completely cleansed of important people who had atrocious lives, then you better come up with a mea culpa to offset their coverage.
Stop crying about George Washington statues and use this opportunity to fix your mistakes.
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