Editor’s note: The SHIFT Chronicles is a new monthly feature dedicated to amplifying student voices, where those most impacted by the public education system share their thoughts, reflections, and experiences. In collaboration with FaithBridge SHIFT fellows, these commentaries offer a genuine glimpse into the challenges students are facing within our city’s schools. These students represent a diverse range of schools across the city, each with distinct cultures and expectations, yet all united under the DPS banner. A special thank you to all the student writers who contributed their entries.
This month’s articles respond to the following prompt: The value of learning the truth of history. Reflections on visiting the African American History Museum and the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.
Sophia Y. Shon, junior, Thomas Jefferson High School
In a world where no one can agree, respect is rare, and we are fighting for our future, we mustn’t forget our past.
Last October, the Shift Fellows went on an experiential learning trip to Washington, D.C. We visited museums such as the National Holocaust Museum and the African American History Museum. From learning about both the Holocaust and Black history in school, I can say that I was not prepared for the emotions and reflections that I would have in these buildings.
While I had been taught the horrific history of hate crimes against Black Americans, the weight of the crimes were heavier in these museums because they were uncensored. I read stories of people such as Emmett Till for the third time, but during this reading, every “non-school-appropriate” fact was revealed, and I learned the actual story. Not only was I reeducated on the violence that he faced and that ultimately took his life, but I was also educated on other various hate crimes and groups that I was unaware of.
While I had also been educated briefly on the Holocaust during middle school and high school, visiting the museum and speaking to two survivors had an immense impact on me. Listening to children go from happy kids to being slaughtered for their religion and seeing examples of their clothes/ homes that they used to live in put me in a reflective state.
This reflective state continued for months as I returned to Colorado and watched the election pan out the way it did on November 5 and 6th. The education I received on the trip and the heartbreaking stories stuck with me so greatly because of the events that have been occurring in my life, as well as the lives of others.
Since the inauguration of our current president, every day, I see new sighting reports of ICE on Instagram stories of friends. I see kids my age, and even younger, posting about the need for our Earth’s safety and how ashamed they are to be American.
And seeing the fear, the anger, and the mixture of emotions that everyone around me is facing, this reflective state thrives and offers me a place of comfort. It comforts me because I know that events like this have happened in history, and humanity has persevered.
In dark moments, where you are fighting your government or your society, these parts of history show those who are scared not to live in fear but in hope. In moments that I might not have been told the whole story at first, I reflect on my new knowledge and feel peace in my power.
Finally, in moments where I can look back on the truthful past, I can feel unfearful of my future and know that I can make a difference like those before me did.
Lawrence Thomas, Junior, Colorado Early Colleges of Aurora
The value of learning history lies in its ability to teach us raw and honest lessons.
A truth that does not yield to bias shows uncomfortable realities and pushes us to reflect on our mistakes. Looking at history without bias reveals its truth and shows the sometimes harsh realities of good and bad events. The only way to truly grow is to learn this history; otherwise, we will repeat it.
We must learn the history of our nations; it’s not about justifying past actions as right or wrong. It can’t be about shifting the blame to others but understanding the actions of our nations and ourselves. Learning this truth isn’t easy, especially when people try to downplay their actions and label themselves as the “good guys.”
This is why visiting places like the African American History Museum and the Holocaust Museum is crucial, as it allows us to confront history directly. I saw things not taught in the classroom nor in textbooks, but the real brutality and utter violence behind some historical events.
Moments of this tour were hard to believe, as they seemed like a distant time, but it wasn’t that long ago. Something that sticks with me is the Emmett Till room. It told his story, showed pictures, and even his casket. It was hard to believe that some people could harbor so much hate, commit such cruel acts, and live with it.
It was a glimpse into a terrifying reality that many African Americans have experienced. Still, it also reminded me of the people who lived in this time, saw these injustices, and knew they couldn’t idly sit by and let this happen. This wasn’t a book or movie; it was the world they lived in, and they had to speak up.
These museums exist for a reason: to confront us with the past, no matter how painful, so we can learn, grow, and ensure that these injustices are never repeated.
Olivia Ewudziacquah, Senior, DSST Elevate
Over fall break I had the opportunity to go to Washington DC with Faithbridge-Shift23. There we visited various memorials, and museums, like the African American History Museum and the Holocaust Museum.
The Holocaust Museum was heavy, but very important. There was a room with e walls and walls of photographs of the victims of the Holocaust, and you would hold up a tablet and scan the photographs and it would tell you about the photos.
The ones that hurt the hardest were those s that involved children. They had barely started their lives. It honestly made me feel awful and glum; it was very serious.
I didn’t want to take pictures because I felt like it was disrespectful, I wanted to be in the moment. A couple of days later, we visited the African American History Museum. The museum had me in awe, I found it fascinating and there was plenty of stuff to do, like making your own beats, and the Green Book Simulation.
I found it amazing. Usually in schools they talk about things that happened all the way back in the 1700-1800s. The museum put into perspective that African American history didn’t stop in the 1960s, it kept going in other ways.
Down the stairs in the museum you encounter the slavery exhibit, where there were shackles and other stuff on display.
The overall tone of both of these museums was to inform, not sugarcoat or hide the truth and I think it’s really valuable in the aspect that it reminds us not to repeat the same mistakes.
Being at the forefront of history and things that happened in the past, it forces us to take an empathetic stand and realize just how dire some portions of history truly were, breaking down walls and helping fix the system that is still so broken.
Hiding the truth and deliberately keeping secrets/knowledge will only cause harm.
Yenebri Carcamo Sophomore, Gateway High School
How much history and events do we learn about, and are we told how they happened?
While we understand most of the history we learn in school, we tend to learn only about significant events and key figures that have been identified by the dominant culture. We don’t acknowledge the not-so-big events that happened throughout history. Even when we learn about really important events in school, they jump through the timeline and leave many details out.
When I think about events in history, I think about World Wars 1 and 2, slavery, the Holocaust, and more. Those events are important in history because they impacted the world and caused it to change. Some people don’t acknowledge that those events happened in history or aren’t properly taught about them. For example, I have heard of people not believing that the Holocaust was an actual event that happened. That means they don’t understand how the Holocaust was an impactful event.
When people start learning about the events that happened in history, they really get to understand how the world has changed from those events. And how it’s important to pass those events down so they continue to be known and acknowledged. It is also essential that they are told as they really happened because people had to live through and recover from them.
Visiting the Holocaust museum was really emotional because I was able to hear people who actually went through those events and were here to tell their stories of how they remember those events in their own words. That also made me realize that even though we are told these stories of events that have happened, we don’t really realize they weren’t that long ago.
When it comes to learning about historical events, we must learn about the truth of how those events happened. We must also learn about them because they show everything that has happened to get us where we are in the world, and how they have shaped the world.
Olivia Saavedra Junior, East High School
Relics of the past give us a connection to our deep cultural and historical values.
These artifacts serve as a gateway to sneak a glimpse of what society was like dating back decades, centuries, and even millennia. Predating the rise of technology, architecture, monuments, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, cultural attire, journals, preserved documents, and even household items helped document the evolution of the human race.
The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were pivotal in reshaping democracy and forming the United States. Overwhelmed with immense pride, these documents have been preserved for nearly two and a half centuries, as no individual wanted future generations to forget this immense accomplishment.
Throughout the United States, education systems never fail to parade their utmost pride in our terrific founding fathers or forget to praise the triumph of the colonies in gaining independence to create this glorious, prosperous country. Success stories never fail to be taught, praised, and paraded. However, the same cannot be said about global atrocities and horrors, especially when they occur in one’s own nation.
In the article written by Nikita Stewart, We are Committing Educational Malpractice’:Why slavery is mistaught — and worse — in American schools, she states “Unlike math and reading, states are not required to meet academic content standards for teaching social studies and United States history. That means that there is no consensus on the curriculum around slavery, no uniform recommendation to explain an institution that was debated in the crafting of the Constitution and that has influenced nearly every aspect of American society since.”
For generations, tragedies like chattel slavery, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, and the violent oppression of minority groups have been omitted from the teaching curriculum of schools across the entire nation. Cutting such events from the curriculum erases the suffering and humanity of these people. It diminishes their experiences, struggles, and contributions to the country. It’s an injustice to both the historical record and the descendants of those who endured these tragedies.
Bans on books that critique corrupt governments, racism, oppression, civil rights abuses, and many other topics viewed as “threatening” to the nation’s reputation have been steadily increasing. The book The Life of Rosa Parks, written by Kathleen Connors, faces removal from education systems and even a potential ban in Florida schools.
Additionally, Bill H. R. 5 has recently been passed by the Republican House, which will exacerbate book banning and censorship. As a result of these restrictive measures, students will graduate with a poor understanding of how these events shaped our country, failing to recognize the powerful and lasting effects they had.
By removing this part of history, we risk whitewashing the past, leaving out the painful and essential truth about how the nation was built on the backs of enslaved and oppressed people. If we don’t confront the ugly truths of history, it becomes much more challenging to address the inequities that exist in the status quo.
To erase these events from our teaching curriculum is not to erase them from existence but to turn a blind eye and ignorantly dismiss what indeed occurred. We must place the value of educating society on the truths of our history over our nation’s pride, not diminish the suffering that individuals had to endure, censor the truth of our nation, discount global atrocities, mislead future generations, and spread false narratives.
