malik giles
managing editor

History is written by the victors, conquers and conspirators. In other words, it is written by the winners, and anything by the losing side is either minimized in the history books or is not worth mentioning at all. 

Americans glorify figures like Thomas Jefferson, who was most likely a rapist because of his sexual relations with his teenage enslaved girl, Sally Hemings. If he did not rape her like the evidence leading to that allegation, she was still  underage and being taking advantage of.

Evidence like that will never be in the history books if things do not change.

Even though white people make up more than 70% of the nation, I believe that history is more than what white men have written, and grade-schoolers should be taught about more cultures in their history classes to understand what people of color are going through.

People are taught that slavery is wrong and all the evil that comes from it, but what about certain events after slavery, such as the Tulsa Race Massacre. As a black man, I did not know about that event and the fact that there was a Black Wall Street until I had turned 17. They do not teach this because it’s graphic and also a dark time in history that white people are ashamed of and want to cover up. 

Grade schools should not only teach a more diverse history, but they should do it right and in a respectful way. 

Many historical figures are not mentioned in history books or inaccurately or negatively portrayed. One example is Huey P. Newton, whom I learned from watching a cartoon called “The Boondocks.” He was the co-founder of the Black Panther Party, and they were portrayed as gangsters and drug dealers.

In my eyes, they were heroes who started the Free Breakfast For Children Program and policed the police. 

I feel if grade schools expose students to this type of knowledge, not just white people, but Americans will have an understanding of different races and cultures.