In today’s schooling, the story of slavery is presented as a simplistic tale of villains and victims. Students memorize the atrocities committed by Europeans and Americans, but rarely, if ever, do they hear about the full, unvarnished truth. The classic story of slavery as taught in our schools has glaring omissions, leading to a skewed understanding of historical events. It’s time students are equipped with the complete facts, rather than a selective history that serves a particular agenda.
A lesser-known fact is that among the 12.5 million slaves shipped across the Atlantic, only about 388,000 arrived directly in what is now the United States. It raises the question of why American history classes focus solely on this portion as if ignoring the larger context. Additionally, the uncomfortable yet significant element often left out of the textbooks is that it was African kingdoms who initially sold their own people into slavery to the Europeans. These African empires were powerful entities that constructed their reigns on the backs of the slave trade. Their stories, equally as important, never seem to reach the pages of our history books.
Moreover, while students are drilled on the evils perpetrated by the West, rarely do they hear about the millions of white Europeans who were captured by North African pirates and sold into slavery. The curriculum doesn’t seem to have room for discussions on the widespread enslavement affecting people regardless of their nationality or race. One wonders why the educators so conveniently sidestep this piece of history. It’s almost as if the narrative has been tailored to fit an agenda, one that paints a picture of perpetual Western guilt while ignoring other dynamics.
In looking at the American South, another overlooked aspect is that there were indeed black slaveholders. This complicates the one-dimensional portrayal often given to students. If the objective of education is to provide a comprehensive understanding of history, it seems bizarre that such significant details are left out. It appears some truths are too inconvenient to include, which raises further suspicions about the intentions behind the current educational approach.
The tale we tell our children about the past matters greatly because it shapes how they understand the present and what they envision for the future. By only highlighting certain parts of history and neglecting others, schools are not educating—they are indoctrinating. It is time for an education system that stops cherry-picking facts and instead offers a balanced, honest account of history. After all, students deserve to know the whole story, not just the parts that suit a particular narrative.
