Buffalo mass shooting reignites conversations about how racism is taught in classrooms
(CNY Central | May 17, 2022) On Saturday a white supremacist targeted Black people in a mass shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, killing 10 people and injuring three others.
The suspected shooter is 18 years old and graduated from high school about a year ago.
The massacre has reignited conversations about how racism is taught in classrooms.
According to experts, well-rounded curriculums are going to be critical in combatting the baseless white supremacist ideologies applied in the attack in Buffalo that are readily available online.
“When we don’t teach these historical truths in classrooms, what we do is we do a disservice to all students,” said Dr. Courtney Mauldin.
Dr. Mauldin is a professor of teaching at Syracuse University and an expert in Critical Race Studies.
She explained that Black history in public schools needs to go beyond the basics and ensure that students have a well-rounded understanding of how Black people have contributed to American history.
“We have to think about the fact that our students deserve to know that truth and also deserve to see their stories told through curriculum and through critical engagement of what has happened so that we don’t repeat some of these historical patterns going forward.”
That means understanding slavery and its ongoing impacts today, as well as contributions and achievements not related to trauma and oppression.
“It’s not anti-American to teach the history of the United States, what’s happened in America,” said Dr. Mauldin. “We have to think about the fact that our students deserve to know that truth and also deserve to see their stories told through curriculum and through critical engagement of what has happened so that we don’t repeat some of these historical patterns going forward, which is what we just saw recently here in Buffalo” …
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