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The national debate over systemic racism — whether it exists, and if so, how much blame it deserves for ongoing racial inequity — is one made more contentious by the way we’ve been taught to understand racism as a subject.
In addition to typically thinking of racism solely as a matter of personal prejudice, as opposed to an institutional force, most of our discussions of racism have been confined to particular historical time capsules. So, for instance, there was enslavement, but then it ended; and then there was segregation, which also ended.
By teaching history linearly (as opposed to thematically), we reinforce the idea that racism has a limited shelf life. It works its damage in particular periods, and then the slate is wiped clean by good people who get together to make it so. Yes, there might have been some lingering injustice, or a somewhat lesser form of oppression than the one before, but good people worked on it once again and made things better. Progress, on this account, is as inevitable as tomorrow’s sunrise, and has been the story of America when it comes to race.
