Should African American history be included as part of American history in schools?

Question

Or are we as Americans too ashamed and can not handle the truth?

Answer 1

I think all history of the USA should be included but not separate. It doesn't seem right to have Black History, and not Irish History or Indian history. It shouldn't matter what color, just record the event and tell the truth.

Answer 2

African American History and American History are the same thing. All races were here and played a part. There may have been different parts played and different perspectives at the time but the events are a shared history. I think it would be wrong to separate them. I think having a section that gives a special amount of focus on Civil Rights is very important because it was in the recent past and it has so drastically changed American culture and attitudes but we all have a shared history.

Answer 3

African American history should definitely be integrated with American history. They are "one and the same". There should also be seperate Af-Am history classes to provide more expansive and detailed information.
There is no need to include Irish American or Italian American (not that such a thing even exists) history, for example. Slavery shaped our country and divided our country. America is the birthplace of racism. An understanding of this is relevant and crucial.

I live in California and have always lived on the West Coast. Until I started reading Yahoo Answers, I really had no idea how ignorant so many people-especially the young ones-are about themselves and each other.
Some education is long overdue.

Answer 4

It is included as part of American history. What part do you think is left out?

Oh, wait, I get it. You want a SEPARATE section taught ONLY about African-Americans. Sort of like the gays now want a separate lesson about gays in history.

LIME: Uh, the Irish and Italians shaped this country too. And the Irish were persecuted as well (NINA = No Irish Need Apply). How dare you say that they aren't as important? ALL immigrants to this country shaped it. And honey, America is HARDLY the birthplace of racism. Racism has existed as long as there were races or ethnicities. Remember the Egyptians and the Jews? What about the Spanish vs the Incas/Aztecs? Or the fact that racist Africans sold the people they captured from other tribes to the white men who brought them to America? Get over yourself, America is not the first country to have slavery and it won't be the last.

Answer 5

There is no such thing as "truth" when is comes to history. There are only events which are believed to have happened, events accounts of which are disputed, and a lot of elaborate guesswork aiming to explain why certain things happened in a certain way.

Also, slavery and segregation were not the only ways in which white America attempted to suppress minorities. At different times in the U.S. history, Americans of Irish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and Jewish origin (to name a few) were openly discriminated against. And let's not forget what happened to native Americans, either...

Answer 6

My teachers would have been mortified at that statement.The African American in our American history took up a large portion of our learning ,We even had special credits for courses like American Freedoms.

Answer 7

ALL history should be apart of American history!!!

Answer 8

I think ALL history, the good, the bad and the ugly should be taught in schools.
"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it."