The Whitewashing Narrative of Black American History
in 20th-Century Education
Abstract:
While society has grown and adapted since the Civil Rights Movement, reforms and approaches to African American history in the education system have continued to affect curriculum and education today. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s the historical narrative of Black Americans endured forms of whitewashing that impacted the understanding of the Black American community’s trials and contributions to society throughout United States history. This whitewashing was done by changing the textbooks and curriculum used in the classroom to take away from any negative aspects of Black American history that would give White Americans in the United States a negative connotation. It was also performed through the creation of new schools, essay contests, and organizations that praised and pushed the segregationist agenda, with hopes of preserving the societal hierarchy that held White Americans at the top. The approach to textbook and curriculum content created and in circulation during the Civil Rights Movement, in addition to the grassroots organization performed by parents, school boards, and PTA groups all had an impact on what was taught to students and how they were taught. While these reforms were present on a national level, civil rights-related educational reforms were particularly present in Mississippi. Studying the effects these reforms and movements had on the education system nationally, as well as their impacts within a more localized government, provides a broader understanding of how the education system was shaped and created its own narrative of Black American history in the United States. This senior thesis will address the whitewashing narrative of Black Americans in the education system and how the impacts of the Civil Rights Movement have continued to shape how Black American history is perceived today.