African American history isn’t just for African Americans, it is for anyone who is willing to learn about the less exposed sides of “American” history. By eliminating African American history after Reconstruction, one would be contributing to the erasure of some of the most significant landmarks of African American progress towards equality. In fact, the bulk of progress came after Civil War. “Battling segregation, discrimination, and other barriers to success and equality, black Americans were able to distinguish themselves and grow politically, socially, and culturally through the beginning of the twentieth-first century” (Lesson 8).
Amid Reconstruction, African Americans were able to begin new lives, but more importantly, they had the law on their side. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, along with many other laws such as the Civil Rights Acts provided a new-found sense of intellection, justice, and freedom (lesson 1). Such events are turning points within history that should remain in school curriculum because it accounts for history from an unfamiliar perspective. The lessons
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Washington once asserted that “vocational education and economic security were more valuable than social advantages and political office” (lesson 2). Further, education and spirituality are what provided African Americans with the strength and security to endure some of history’s most unspeakable timeframes. So, to avoid repeating the past, one must learn from it; one must educate themselves. It is important that all Americans be provided with the knowledge necessary to ensure that this nation does not decline in progress towards a government that represents all Americans (and not just a certain group). But before that can occur, all Americans need to be educated and introduced to the struggles that occur outside of their own race. They must be allowed to experience the past, and understand that African American history courses provide such an