Using “Columbus Day” to Teach About Native Activism and Resistance Today

Above: Who is a hero? Columbus (from a painting in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda-notice the depiction on the right of the Native people) and Lakota Chief Sitting Bull

Across the United States, there has been a growing movement to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, including in the states of South Dakota (which celebrates Native Americans' Day) and Vermont, and the cities of Berkeley, Denver, Seattle, Minneapolis, Anchorage, Cambridge, Portland, among others (Update: Boston officially started celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day in 2021). I teach in Massachusetts, where Indigenous people first held the National Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving 1970 to protest the genocide, land theft, and cultural destruction of Native peoples (which continues to be held here each year). While some dismiss these movements as "political correctness," I argue that they instead challenge all of us to critically evaluate the impact of Columbus' voyage on the Americas and its first nations (for more on this, perhaps no one has expressed it better than Wamsutta Frank B. James in his Suppressed Thanksgiving Speech). In the spirit of Indigenous Peoples' Day, I begin this post with two anecdotes from my teaching, followed by ways that we can use the Columbus Day holiday to teach modern day Native activism and resistance.

Almost ten years ago, when I was a high school social studies teacher, I was teaching about the westward expansion of Whites (perhaps better described as an invasion from the east) in my U.S. history class. The students were learning about forced reservations, the Dawes Act, and Indian boarding schools (including the notorious Carlisle Indian Industrial School). A student raised her hand and asked, "Why are there no longer Indians in America?" I paused for a second, and just before I began to speak, a classmate of hers said, "My father is a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag. There is a pow wow every summer on Cape Cod. There are definitely still Indians here." I wish that my student did not have to explain that her to classmate. I can only imagine how many times she had heard that question before. This was certainly not the last time that I was asked that question by a student.

More recently, I was teaching a history methods course to future social studies teachers (many of whom are earning or have earned bachelor degrees in history). My students were participating in a lesson where we critically evaluate chapters on the "Closing the Frontier," which are typical in U.S. history textbooks. I then introduced an activity that they could use with their students to rewrite the textbook. At the conclusion of the activity, I told my students about the time that one of my students asked why there were no longer Indians in the United States and her classmate's response. I then asked students where in the U.S. history curriculum they stopped learning about Indigenous people. Most responded that it ended with the Battle of Wounded Knee (what is most appropriately called the Wounded Knee Massacre). I then asked how many students had heard of the American Indian Movement, the Occupation of Alcatraz, the protests at Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II, the Second Battle at Wounded Knee, or the Longest March. Very few hands went up.

The problem is that we teach Indigenous history in a way that makes non-Indigenous students think Indigenous people ceased to exist after 1890 (the date of the Wounded Knee Massacre). As social studies teachers, we need to re-position Native people as modern day activists and resistors. We need to use culturally sustaining pedagogy (for what that may look like in a Native context, see here) and we need to bring the teaching of Native history into the 20th and 21st centuries.

Below are five ways that teachers can use this week to highlight present day Indigenous activism and resistance. They position Native people as freedom fighters, rather than victims, and highlight the important present day contributions of the first people.


1. Native Voters and the 2016 Election

Above: A Bernie Sanders campaign event at the Meskwaki Nation Settlement near Tama, Iowa.

Several news outlets have highlighted that with new swing states emerging in the 2016 election (i.e. Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Iowa), that Native voters may receive more attention from the presidential candidates. NPR recently ran this story about politics among members of the Navajo nation. In the primaries, Bernie Sanders campaigned on numerous reservations. Teachers should consider using stories like these to help students learn what issues are most important for Indigenous people living on and off (only 22% of Native people live on reservations, with 60% living in metropolitan areas) the reservation today.

2. Indian Mascots Protests 

Above and Below: Images from recent Indian mascot protests in Cleveland and Washington, D.C. and a political cartoon on the topic.

Over the past decades, there have been several attempts to get professional, collegiate, and high school sports teams to stop using Indians as their mascots. This includes campaigns against the Cleveland Indians Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Braves, who may have the most offensive logos, names, and chants (i.e. the tomahawk chop) of any sports teams (take a look at this video of a dispute between a fan and protester that made national news or this comedic commentary from the Daily Show). In 2005, the NCAA, which governs collegiate sports issued a policy banning offensive nicknames with particular concern for Native American mascots. However, professional sports leagues and many statewide high school athletic associations have not adopted similar policies. For instance, here in Massachusetts, 40 high schools still have Indian mascots. Teachers should consider using the Indian mascot controversies, as a way to help students critically evaluate depictions of Native people in the media. While sports teams may be a starting point, the best lessons would also examine the depiction of Native culture and people in consumer products and Hollywood films.

3. Dakota Access Pipeline Protests

Above and Below: Images from the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests

The recent Dakota Access Pipeline Protests have joined Native and environmental activists. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been involved in a legal battle with the company building a crude oil pipeline near their reservation. Thousands of Native people have come from across the country to support the protest, which is attempting to prevent the disturbance of burial grounds and prevent the pollution of the reservation's water sources. Teachers should consider using this current events issue to teach not only about Indian land rights, the history of the U.S. government breaking treaties with Native people, but also the taking of land for government use via eminent domain.

4. Politically Conscious Native Hip Hop 

Above: Hip hop artist Tall Paul

While hip hop has its roots in African American culture, in many ways it transcends race and has become a global music phenomenon. Moreover, hip hop has long been a medium to express political arguments. There are numerous Native hip hop artists who are using politically conscious lyrics to raise awareness of complex social issues faced by Indigenous people. Teachers should consider using Native hip hop to teach students about important issues on and off the reservation, including the preservation of Native languages, drug and alcohol abuse, and youth violence. Here are my five favorite artists:

Tall Paul (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe)
Prayers in a Song: https://youtu.be/BlQJClNQDBo

Naát'áaníí Nez Means (Navajo and Oglala Lakota)
The Radical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW7cLgozECc

Frank Waln (Sicangu Lakota)
AbOriginal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_1fmbKCMmY  

Drezus (Plains Cree)
Warpath: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Cy1Knyu6A  

Supaman (Apsaalooke Crow)
Somewhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3JMKF_tXKQ

5. Pow Wows

Above and Below: The Mashpee Wamponoag Pow Wow, held every July in Falmouth, Massachusetts; The Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Pow wows have deep cultural importance within many Native communities. They are spaces for Indigenous people to honor their culture through a social gathering of dance and music. They often involve hundreds or even thousands of dancers, drummers, and singers (for more, the University of Washington offers a pow wow primer here). In Massachusetts, one of the largest is the Mashpee Wampanoag Pow Wow on Fourth of July weekend. The Gathering of Nations is the largest pow wow nationwide, with thousands of people attending each April in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Teachers should consider introducing students to the modern pow wow to help students unfamiliar with Indigenous culture see an important way that Native people are preserving and teaching their Native heritage to the next generations, which may also help non-Native students draw comparisons between this cultural celebration and some of their own.

While teaching cultural traditions, like the pow wow, it is especially important that social studies teachers acknowledge the diversity of the Native people of the Americas. There are over 500 different Indigenous nations with diverse languages and cultures. Imagine teaching about European historical events, such as the French Revolution or World War II, and only using "Europeans" to describe the people involved. Teaching Native people as monolithic is tantamount to that, removing important distinctions, including histories and cultural differences, between this continent's Indigenous peoples.

For more teaching resources on Native history, check out the PBS American Experience documentary and companion website: We Shall Remain

Why I Am Voting No on 2

This is not a post about the merits of charter schools. Just like their public school peers, some charter schools provide an excellent education, while others are failing their students. The reality is that charter school students perform equal or worse on standardized tests than their peers in the public schools. In Boston, while charter school students perform better on state standardized tests, their public school peers are more likely to graduate college. Overall, Massachusetts has the nation’s best public education system, which is something we should be very proud of, but also something we must carefully protect.

Instead, this post is focused specifically on the upcoming Ballot Question 2 in Massachusetts. If this question passes, it would remove the current statewide cap on charter schools and allow up to 12 new Massachusetts charter schools every year. If it does not pass, the state legislature will continue to decide how many new charter schools can open in the future. Considering all of the negative consequences of the ballot question at hand, I am using this post to discuss the five reasons why I will be voting NO on Question 2 during this November’s election.

1. This ballot question will decrease funding for traditional public schools. Despite the “Yes on 1” campaign’s claims in television commercials that voting yes will result in “more funding for public education,” there is no evidence that this is true, especially since communities continue to receive less state educational aid. Even the ballot question’s most vocal supporter, Governor Charlie Baker has stated that Questions 2 will not change the current school funding formula. Currently, more than $450 million yearly is being drawn from public school districts. With an increase of 12 charter schools per year (which according to this ballot question can happen indefinitely), it could cost local school districts more than $1 billion annually within 10 years (which will not only present serious problems for urban communities' municipal budgets, but also would hurt their credit ratings).

While charter schools are approved by the state, their funding comes largely from charter school tuition reimbursements from public school districts (see here, for more on charter school funding). Boston had a $158 million charter school tuition assessment, which was 5% of the entire city budget. If this question passes, it could lead to almost all of Boston’s state education aid being diverted to charter schools. Moreover, there are other costs that local districts incur related to charter schools, including transportation. Last year, Boston spent $12 million on charter school busing, while the district has been dramatically cutting its own students’ transportation (middle school students now use public transportation instead of buses and the school assignment policy was changed so more students would attend schools closer to their homes. Boston charter schools also get first pick of school start times).

2. This ballot question will contribute to growing educational inequity in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts (and nationwide), there is strong evidence that charter schools do not serve all students. They typically have higher student attrition rates (which some attribute to charter schools “pushing” or consulting out students) than public school districts. They serve smaller numbers of English language learners and special needs students. Their teachers are not required to be licensed. Their school policies are more likely to promote “no excuses” discipline procedures that can be harmful to children (to understand what this looks like, consider this in-district charter school in Boston or these two charter schools in New York). They are also contributing to an alarming trend of racial resegregation in schools nationwide. It makes sense to correct these inequities before any major expansion of charter schools occurs in Massachusetts.

3. This is about privatizing public education. This ballot question is being pushed by well-funded special interest groups (who do not have to reveal their donors and many are from outside Massachusetts with no previous advocacy work for public education), who would like to see more private entities running public schools. Many of these special interest groups are supported by wealthy families (who do not typically have children in the public schools) and investors (who profit from investments in charter school companies and other attempts to privatize public education). If you believe that public education is essential for democracy, then this should raise serious concerns.

4. This ballot question does not correct problems with charter school governance. While a marketing campaign pushed the use of “public charter schools” among charter schools in 2014, in court, charter schools often argue they are “private” when it comes to open-records, open meeting, and labor laws. The best label for charter schools is probably quasi-public schools, since they receive public funding and are approved and regulated by the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (although there is little oversight by the state and charter schools are rarely closed), but are privately managed. Unlike public schools in Massachusetts, which have democratically elected school committees that govern and set policy (except Boston, which is appointed by the mayor, who is democratically elected), charter schools have private boards (usually composed of business and political leaders, and rarely parents or students). Many charter schools are often run by educational companies and chains, which have much higher management costs (and sometimes by EMOs that are for-profit). Moreover, local school boards have no authority (and usually little communication) with the charter schools in their cities or towns.

5. This ballot question moves the role of charter schools from “labs for educational innovation” into “replacement for traditional public schools.” The cap on charter schools was lifted in the early 2000s from the original legislation allowing 25 to 120 (however, the state has only approved 81 so far, so there is still room for 39 more under the current law) and charter schools serve about 4% of the state’s students (Boston has 27 charter schools educating 14% of its student population). This legislation would result in as many as 60 new charter schools statewide in just 5 years and possibly 120 in 10 years. If charter schools are labs of innovation, then they should remain a relatively small number of the publicly supported schools. If there are great ideas being developed in charter schools, then bring those over to the public schools, not replace them (however, the state has not developed adequate practices around the sharing of practices between public schools and charter schools, which seems to be a major problem if charter schools are actually labs for educational innovation). This ballot question may be the tipping point that could destabilize public school districts which raises concerns about the overall utility of charter schools.

I am writing this post, not because I have an ideological opposition to charter schools, but because I care deeply about public education. As a teacher educator, I work with many future and current teachers, who will work in public schools, charter schools, and private schools. As a former teacher, who worked in public and private schools (and my wife is a public school teacher who previously worked in a charter school), I know that different students flourish in different school contexts. I am also a parent who lives in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston with a child attending our neighborhood public school. I am very happy with my child's school, but I can understand why some of our friends and other parents in our community choose to send their children to charter or private schools. I deeply respect parents’ rights to choose the educational setting that is best for their children. Furthermore, there is much to like about the original idea of charter schools conceived by Ray Budde at UMass Amherst (my alma mater) and Albert Shanker (the former head of the American Federation of Teachers), who envisioned charter schools as teacher-led educational laboratories to experiment with new types of pedagogy and curriculum. The idea of improving teaching and learning, and teacher empowerment, is at the heart of my work.

The movements to profit from and privatize public education have clouded the original vision of charter schools. This may be the reason why the National NAACP, New England NAACP, Black Lives Matter Movement, the Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association, Massachusetts Municipal Association, the National Democratic Party (who has generally supported charter school expansion), the Massachusetts Democratic Party, and numerous local officials across Massachusetts, including the Boston City Council and the mayor of Boston (who is a vocal supporter of charter schools), have changed their stances on charter school expansion. Even Comedian John Oliver recently made this humorous commentary on "This Week Tonight" and, despite early voter support for Question 2, there appears to be lessening of support recently for changing the current charter school law.

If this ballot question passes, it would have a devastating impact on our local public school districts. It would continue to weaken traditional public schools, which serve 96% of the state’s students. This ballot question will possibly lead to a two-tiered education system in Massachusetts, with the negative impacts exacerbated in our urban communities. Conversely, if this ballot question fails to pass, charter schools will continue to be an option for Massachusetts’ families and there will be undoubtedly more charter school seats in the coming years (since the state has still not reached its legislative maximum, with the exception of a few districts).

Voting "no" on Question 2 allows for more time to be thoughtful in our approach to charter school expansion within our public school system.

Teaching About the Intersection of Race and Labor

Labor history is often missing from the U.S. history curriculum. For example, here in Massachusetts, the History and Social Science Framework includes only a few labor history topics (i.e. the formation of labor unions, progressive era reforms, 1919 Boston police strike, and New Deal work programs). When labor history is included, events that highlight the intersection of workers rights and racial justice are often missing. For instance, A. Philip Randolph is the only Black labor figure in our state's high school social studies standards, and my suspicion is that he is also rarely included, or at best a fleeting mention, in most U.S. history classrooms.

In this post, I offer 10 people and events that can be used to help students investigate the intersection of race and labor with links to websites that provide teachers with related primary sources.

1. Frank Ferrell, The Knights of Labor, and Racial Exclusion



A major controversy erupted at the 1886 Convention of the Knights of Labor over whether or not Frank Ferrell, a black representative of the Knights of Labor in New York City, should introduce the governor of Virginia at the opening session. This is an excerpt from Knights of Labor leader Terence Powderly’s 1890 autobiography detailing the tense moments leading up to Frank Ferrell’s appearance.

2. A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

 

In the 1920s, a group of disgruntled Pullman porters in New York City asked A. Philip Randolph, a strong advocate of the rights of black working men and women, to help them form a union of sleeping car porters and maids. George Pullman, president of the railroad company, fought the union, denounced Randolph as a communist and recruited support from the middle-class Black leaders of the Chicago. The Brotherhood was the verge of collapsing when Congress passed federal laws guaranteeing the right of all legitimate unions to organize workers without interference from their employers. Much of Randolph's philosophies on labor and politics was outline in this 1919 editorial "Our Reason for Being" in The Messenger.

3. East St. Louis Massacre of 1917

 

In the early 20th century, many southern African Americans sought job opportunities in northern factory towns during the Great Migration. The migration quickly expanded the size of the Black community in the St. Louis area, including East St. Louis, Illinois. On July 1, 1917, a rumor spread claiming that a White man had been killed by a Black man, and tensions boiled over. The next day, the city of East St. Louis exploded in the worst racial rioting the country had ever seen. Most of the violence - drive-by shootings, beatings, and arson - targeted the African American community. The riots, called the East St. Louis Massacre by many in the Black community, raged for nearly a week, leaving hundreds of African Americans and nine Whites dead, and $400,000 worth in property damage. More than six thousand Black citizens, fearing for their lives, fled the city. Several prominent Black civil rights activists spoke out against the riots, including this editorial by W.E.B. Du Bois and speech by Marcus Garvey.

4. The Bracero Program



The Bracero Program (translated as "One who works with his arms") lasted from 1942 to 1964 and allowed Mexicans to take temporary agricultural work in the United States. 4.5 million Mexican farmers came and worked primarily on the West Coast and Southwest. Several groups concerned over the exploitation of Bracero workers tried to repeal the program. As part of this protest, Leonard Nadel took these photographs of Bracero workers in 1956.

5. Operation Bootstrap/Operación Manos a la Obra



In 1948, Puerto Rico elected its first governor Luis Muñoz Marín who favored manufacturing as a means to developing the island's economy. As a result, the U.S. government launched an industrialization program known as "Operation Bootstrap/Operación Manos a la Obra," which focused primary on inviting American companies to establish factories and business ventures in Puerto Rico. These companies would receive incentives, such as tax exemptions and infrastructural assistance, in return for providing jobs for the local population. At the same time, they often had poor conditions for their workers and the flood of U.S. products that reinforced economic dependency for the island. The U.S. government also encouraged the migration of Puerto Ricans to the mainland U.S. (i.e. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, California, and Florida) and Hawaii. For many Puerto Ricans, this labor-related event is the push and pull factor that brought their families to the mainland. There are many graphs displaying statistics related to the U.S. government program.

6. Sue Cowan Williams Sues for Pay Equity for Black Teachers in Little Rock



Sue Cowan Williams represented African American teachers in the Little Rock School District as the plaintiff in a 1941 case challenging the rate of salaries allotted to teachers in the district based solely on skin color. As a result of her lawsuit, the school district did not renew her contract. While loosing the initial case, she would win on appeal in 1945, be reinstated in her position, and spending the rest of her teaching career in Little Rock (retiring in 1974). The case ruling is available here from Morris v. Williams (1945).

7. The Local 22 Strike and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

 

In the 1940s in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Local 22 of the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers of America forced the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to improve work conditions for the Black (and largely female) workforce, who often endured incredibly hot conditions and long hours, while breathing tobacco dust, we segregated in an area separate from White employees. Besides pictures, few primary sources exist. However, Duke Magazine has an excellent in-depth story on the union and strike.

8. Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta: National Farm Workers Association and the Grape Strike and Boycott

  

In 1962 Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta founded the National Farm Workers Association. The union would grow to include over 50,000 field workers, many of whom were Chicanos or Mexican immigrants. Chavez and Huerta organized numerous protests, including the Delano Grape Strike and Boycott. There are numerous primary sources available at the Farmworker Movement Document Archive and an excellent documentary film called Viva La Causa (also see here).

9. The '82 New York Chinatown Strike

 

In June 1982, demanding a fair contract, unionized garment workers, who were largely Asian American women, went on strike in New York's Chinatown. As a result of thousands workers, many of whom were also immigrants, marched through the streets of Chinatown forcing employers to withdrew their demands. Within hours, the workers had won the strike. The memories of the workers from the '82 Chinatown Strike have been compiled into this anthology. 

10. Hattie Canty and the Las Vegas Hotel Maids Union



In 1990, Hattie Canty was elected president of the Las Vegas Hotel and Culinary Workers Union Local 226. As a result of the union workers' actions and strikes, work conditions and standard of living were improved for thousands of working class people in Las Vegas’s hotel and casino industry. This was covered in a New Yorker article from 1996.

Teaching About Race in U.S. History at the NCSS Annual Conference

For the past two years, I have presented teacher workshops on teaching race in U.S. history at the National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in Boston and New Orleans. The main premise of the workshop is that race is often omitted from the U.S. history curriculum and, when it is included, it appears only in a handful of units (i.e. European colonization/Indian "removal," slavery/abolition, and the modern civil rights movement). Additionally, Asians and Latinos may be completely invisible in the U.S. history curriculum (and may only appear during lessons on the building of the transcontinental railroad or Mexican American War). In these workshops, I ask teachers from around the country to share the many different ways that they include race and inequity in their U.S. history classrooms, which often includes many powerful examples (many of which I had never considered before the workshop.

If you are interested in making race a central aspect to your U.S. curriculum, I encourage you to download the below materials, which I have used during these workshops. They include an engaging opener, an inquiry question, and primary source documents rooted in racial experiences of past events. I list the session title and the topics addresses.

Beyond Slavery and Civil Rights: Teaching Race in U.S. History
NCSS 2014 Boston, Massachusetts

File Link: http://www.christophercmartell.com/HandoutNCSS15Martell.doc

California Gold Rush
Zoot Suit Riots
Hurricane Katrina 

Uncovering the Omitted Past: Teaching Race-Related Events in U.S. History
NCSS 2015 New Orleans, Louisiana

File Link: http://www.christophercmartell.com/HandoutNCSS14Martell.doc

American Revolution
Japanese Internment
1980s and Reagan's Economics Policies

70th Anniversary of Hiroshima: 15 Websites, Books, and Films to Teach Multiple Perspectives

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the United States use of the atomic bomb on Japan. It is estimated that 150,000 people were killed at Hiroshima and 75,000 people were killed at Nagasaki by the atomic bomb. While the use of the atomic bomb is one of the most controversial issues in the history classroom and is still widely debated by historians, it is not uncommon for history teachers in the U.S. to teach the event from a one-sided perspective defending the use of the atomic bomb to decisively end the war and save American soldier's lives. This perspective would be aligned with a majority of Americans, as a recent Pew Poll found that 56% of respondents believed that the use of the atomic bomb was justified. Yet, the use of the atomic bomb is much more complex and any teaching of the event demands an examination of multiple perspectives and should include a careful discussion of the human loss of life, the political reasons that influenced the bombs' use, and the growing historical evidence that the bomb may not have been necessary to end the war.

The Zinn Education Project has several excellent posts on the U.S. use of the atomic bomb.

To help teachers, I have compiled a list of 15 websites, books, and films that dive into the historical complexities, as well as present the multiple perspectives of the U.S. decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan.

1. Film and Graphic Novel: Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen)

The 1983 anime film was adapted from a manga series that ran from 1973-1985. Loosely based on Keiji Nakazawa experience as a Hiroshima bombing survivor. The film and manga series tell the story of six year old Gen Nakaoka who survives the bombing, but sees most of his family die in the bombing.

2. Book: Hiroshima

Originally published in The New Yorker magazine, American journalist John Hersey captured the stories of six people who survived the bombing of Hiroshima. It was one of the first publicly reported accounts of the survivors.

3. Article: The Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

An article on teachinghistory.org by Christopher Hamner of George Mason University discusses the controversy of the atomic bombing, how U.S. textbooks portray the event, and primary sources for students to use.

4. Curriculum: Hiroshima: Perspectives on the Atomic Bombing

This curriculum package from the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education includes several activities with primary sources that examine the atomic bombing from multiple perspectives.

5. Website: Atomic Archive: Hiroshima Documents and Photographs

In a National Science Foundation-funded project, this website housing a large collection of digital  texts, eyewitness accounts, photographs, videos, and maps. 

6. Website: Public Radio International: What If Your Hometown Were Hit by the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb?

Public Radio International has created a website to demonstrate the size of the destruction of the atomic bomb transposed on your specific location. This allows teachers to put the damage into perspective.

7: Article: Revisiting Hiroshima The Role of US and Japanese History Textbooks in the Construction of National Memory

A study in Asia Pacific Education Review by Keith Crawford of Edge Hill College (United Kingdom) that compares textbooks in the U.S. and Japan and their portrayal of the atomic bomb.

8. Film: PBS American Experience: Truman (Atomic Bomb Segment)

The PBS American Experience documentary on Truman has a 5 minute clip on the atomic bomb and the decision to use it on Japan.

9. Website: Truman Library Documents

A website cataloging the documents at the Truman Library related to the use of the atomic bomb on Japan.

10. Article: If the Atomic Bomb Had Not Been Used

This 1946 article from The Atlantic defends the use of the atomic bomb.

11. Website: National Security Archive: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II

An extensive collection of primary sources (mostly government documents) related to the atomic bombing of Japan.

12. Article: TIME Magazine: After Hiroshima: Portrait of Survivors and Pictures from the Ruins

In 2014, TIME Magazine presented their photographs (published and unpublished) from their archives related to the bombing survivors and pictures from the ruins.

13. Interview: Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only known person to survive both the atomic bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is one of the few English-language interviews with him.

14. Film: Atomic Cafe

Starting with the first atomic bomb test, this documentary uses historical film footage to tell the story of the use of the atomic bomb on Japan and the consequential atomic (and later nuclear) arms race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.

15. Website: PBS NewsHour: Five things your class should know on the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing

PBS NewsHour has assembled a quick summary of the 5 things every history class should know about the atomic bomb.

Teaching About Race and the “Good War”: The Role of Racism in World War II

When I was a child, I enjoyed playing army with my friends. We would dress up in our imagined uniforms and guns, and pretend we were fighting the bad guys. My grandfather, who was a soldier stationed in Boston during World War II, would say, “Stop playing that.” He would tell me that some of his friends died during the war and many others experienced terrible events. Despite the fact he never left the United States, he told me about his own difficult war experiences here at home and how lucky he was that he did not go through what others did, concluding that, “War is not a game. It is not fun.” I never forgot what my grandfather would tell me (in fact, it would later influence me to become a pacifist and a war protester). From a young age, I knew there was a very bad side of the “good war.”

In his book "The Good War," Studs Terkel captured powerful accounts of the war through oral histories, and in many cases, exposed the dark side of the war. As we approach the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, it is important that social studies teachers help students dig deep into the complexities, including the often-ugly past, of the war. The Second World War is often framed in history classes as a clash between democracy and fascism (certainly the Holocaust and Japanese military atrocities in China and elsewhere provide evidence of how horrific fascism was). However, we must remember, as Howard Zinn wrote, “World War II is not simply and purely a ‘good war.’ … There were too many betrayals of the principles for which the war was supposed to have been fought."

One specific part of this betrayal of principles is the treatment of people of color, soldiers and civilians, during the war. At the hands of the U.S. military and the civilian government, people of color faced imprisonment, segregation, discrimination, destruction of their homes and land, and, in some extreme cases, even scientific experimentation. The Black, Latino, Asian, and indigenous people's histories of the War, in many ways, contrasts the history we often read in textbooks or see in the media. Within communities of color, there were varying personal experiences and opinions of the War. While some American Indians felt an overwhelming sense of patriotism and volunteered to fight, others volunteered to simply leave the poor economic conditions of their reservations, and still others felt anger at the U.S. government for allowing the war to tear apart their communities and land. While over a million African Americans fought bravely for their country, they also felt the sting of segregation both at home and abroad. After the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in internment camps, many Asian Americans, regardless of their ethnicity, were forced to routinely demonstrate their patriotism for fear of being labeled the enemy. For Latinos, while the war effort helped many Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans, and others groups feel patriotism and civic inclusion, for others it was a reminder that the color of their skin and their language prevented them from being treated like full citizens.

These histories are often left out of the larger World War II narrative. Yet, they are incredibly important part of the War's history and should be addressed along side other more traditional topics, such as D-Day or the contributions of citizens on the Home Front. Below is a list of 11 important race-related events, with brief descriptions, that should be taught in any World War II curriculum. In the links, teachers can find many primary sources that can be used to frame historical inquiries.

 

1. Japanese Internment and the 442^nd Regiment

After the Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor, the U.S.government began swift arrests of Japanese American males in Terminal Island, California. It was a premonition of what was to come. Although more than 2/3^rd of all Japanese Americans were U.S. citizens, Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which imprisoned 120,000 people of Japanese descent in 10 internment camps, called “war relocation camps” at the time. There were many resisters to internment, including Fred Korematsu, the No-No Boys and Girls, and other acts of civil disobedience. Despite their treatment, many Japanese Americans, who were imprisoned or had family imprisoned, chose to fight for the U.S. military, of which the 442nd Regiment is the most well known. For other Asian American groups, in particular Chinese Americans, it was a time to express their patriotism and transcend stereotypes, but also a time to display their loyalty to avoid being treated like the Japanese Americans.

2. Workforce Discrimination in the War Industries

In the early years of the war, industrial production was increased. Factories were often running 24 hours a day to produce armaments, tanks, planes, and other types of military equipment. Women played an important role filling in for many of the men who were shipped abroad. Yet, people of color were often excluded from these factories and faced significant discrimination in hiring. In many places, the war industry was for “Whites only.”

3. Anti-Japanese Propaganda

Even before the U.S. entered the war, the government began to turn out military propaganda. While much of this was tailored to garner support for ally nations and to raise funds for an impending war, the propaganda that focused on Japan had obvious embedded racial stereotypes. While this was intended to arouse patriotism and support for the war, it also sent a powerful negative message to Japanese Americans about how White America viewed them and motivated prejudice and hate crimes toward Asian Americans.

4. The Role of Race in Chemical Experiments on Soldiers

During World War II, the U.S. military experimented on soldiers in an attempt to improve their ability to fight the Axis Powers. Recently, NPR uncovered secret testing of chemical warfare, including mustard gas, on Black, Puerto Rican, and Japanese American soldiers to determine if certain ethnic groups were more resistant to chemical warfare that could be used by Germany or Japan. Many of these veterans faced life long health effects and premature deaths as a result.

5. The Impact of World War II on Indian Reservations

In recent years, many students have learned about the important contributions that American Indians made at home and abroad (including the famed Navajo Code Talkers), but little is taught about the impact that the war had on Indian reservations. The U.S. government used Indian lands as internment camps (Poston in Arizona and Gila River in Colorado) and military bombing ranges (Pine Ridge). In Alaska, the government imprisoned many Unangan people in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, because they lived in what the U.S. government declared a war zone. With over 25,000 American Indians served in the military during the war, this caused a massive exodus of young Indian males from reservations, with many never returning after the war, which devastated many indigenous communities.

6. Racial Segregation and the Military

While the United States was fighting a war against fascism, it continued to practice Jim Crow-era racial segregation at home and in the military. Many soldiers of color were relegated to labor roles during the war, were never appointed to the highest leadership roles, and, when they did see combat, were often sent on some of the most dangerous missions (as many people know from the experiences of the infamous Tuskegee Airmen). In reaction to the racial discrimination, many soldiers of color stood up this this through different forms of protest, including Jackie Robinson (the future baseball player), who faced a court marshal trial for refusing to move to the back of a segregated military bus.

7. Detroit Race Riots

In summer of 1942, the Detroit Race Riots began at Belle Isle amusement park, when “a fight erupted between a total of 200 African Americans and white sailors. Soon, a crowd of 5,000 white residents gathered at the mainland entrance to the bridge ready to attack black vacationers wishing to cross. By midnight, a ragged and understaffed police force attempted to retain the situation, but the rioting had already spread too far into the city." Days of rioting by Whites and Blacks occurred. In the end 25 Black residents and 9 White residents had been killed.

8. The Zoot Suit Riots

Two years later in 1944, following the Sleepy Lagoon murder, the city of Los Angeles would also erupt in race-related violence often labeled the Zoot Suit Riots. What started as a turf battle between Mexican American teenagers and White sailors, who were stationed on their edge of their neighborhood, would result in sailors and other White residents attacking Latinos (as well as, Filipinos and African Americans) throughout the city, often stripping the young men of their Zoot Suits (which were culturally significant, but seen by Whites as excess in a time of textile rations).

9. The Double-V Campaign and Sedition

Often taught today as an act of patriotism, the Double V campaign (victory over fascism abroad and victory over racism at home) waged by African American civil rights activists during the war, connected segregation to the inequality and lack of democracy existed in fascist nations. However, this was seen by some in power, including J. Edgar Hoover, as an act of sedition and disloyalty.

10. Treatment of Veterans of Color on Their Return Home from War

We often think of the scenes of Time Square on V-J Day, where Americans greeted returning soldiers with ticker-tape parades. While nearly 2 million people of color served in the U.S. military during World War II, many did not face the same fanfare as returning White soldiers. In fact, a large percentage returned home to segregation and discrimination. Blacks, Latinos, and American Indians returned to higher rates of unemployment to Whites, segregated housing through redlining practices, and inability to secure bank loans, and refused service in stores and restaurants. Many returning Japanese American soldiers not only lost their homes and possessions when their families were interned in prison camps, but they were often treated as if they were “the enemy” by many Whites.

11. The Use of the Atomic Bomb

The last issue that should be addressed when examining the role of race in World War II is the use of the atomic bomb on Japan. In his book “Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb,” historian Ronald Takaki argued that beside a desire to reduce U.S. causalities and end the war quickly, Harry Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb twice on Japan was motivated by American’s “racial rage” toward the Japanese. These were not military targets that were bombed. Rather, they were major cities with large civilian populations. It is an event that had a profound impact not only on the people of Japan, but Japanese Americans, some of whom had family and friends in the bombed cities.