Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

ThePandaRider t1_j9f1b63 wrote

This is specific enough to not be remember and small scale enough not to be taught.

32

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9f1xfi wrote

It’s specific enough to not be remembered for a student in Oregon or Connecticut to not be taught. In Georgia it’s a very significant part of the local history.

It was highlighted on a national scale as well in the mid 80’s when Oprah came to Forsyth and ran an episode about the history of Forsyth county.

7

ThePandaRider t1_j9f4rz7 wrote

History gets glossed over constantly. I grew up in Massachusetts and we have a ton of history that wasn't covered at the state or county level. I always thought it was because the textbooks were not written by the state and the curriculum had a lot of American history that was focused at the federal level instead of state specific events.

16

excitato t1_j9f52re wrote

Do students in Oregon get taught that their state was founded with the law that Black people were banned from moving to the state?

The reality is that things like expulsions of Black people and sundown towns were indeed so common that it’s probably better for every US student to learn generally how thorough and widespread the discrimination was, rather than just single incidents.

13

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9f7xh0 wrote

>Do students in Oregon get taught that their state was founded with the law that Black people were banned from moving to the state?

I haven’t asked them. But if anyone wants to take on the project I’d love to know. I did tabulate responses when someone asked students in Oklahoma about Tulsa. I’ll dig that up and post it in this thread.

4

Bazzzookah t1_j9fb2o5 wrote

I agree and I would add that deep dives into local history makes the teaching experience all the more relevant to the kids. For instance, it would make sense that all North Carolina kids be familiar with what happened in Wilmington in 1898, while for Alaskans a less detailed overview should suffice.

8

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9fobj7 wrote

Yeah. For sure. These are huge local events in history. The expectation isn’t that everyone should be taught this, but people who reside in each state should be taught some of the biggest events, that shape the history of that state.

3

ReporterOther2179 t1_j9isx42 wrote

Education should not be confined to school hours, or end when formal schooling ends. School history will inevitably be selective, there’s not enough time. Even a lifetime is not enough time. An overall shallow knowledge and the occasional detailed study of a few topics will have to suffice because there’s not enough time.

1

wrp1 t1_j9i7h30 wrote

I think you’re waaaay over rating how much our education system can get into kids heads, and over rating the importance of this incident in the whole history of Georgia.

2

kingman229 t1_j9f8g26 wrote

I grew up in atlanta and was also not taught about this, if you want more data! I knew Forsyth was a hotbed for Klan activity into the 90s but nothing else.

26

LegendOfDrizzle t1_j9eyt5y wrote

I grew up in Georgia with the majority of my education taking place in the 90s. There wasn’t a peep about this. I honestly think I learned about it watching something on public television within the last few years.

17

gibby377 t1_j9fie8l wrote

I just read up on it. This, while tragic, isn't really relevant unless you live in/near Forsyth. I live in Georgia, went to school here, they do cover a lot of bad parts of our history, but this wouldn't even be a blip on the radar of all the fucked up shit our ancestors did

12

her42311 t1_j9hb3dq wrote

Incidentally, I grew up in a city right next to Tulsa, and didn't learn about the Tulsa Race Massacre until I was an adult. Also what I did learn at first was wrong, because it was told to me by someone of an older generation and nobody wants to be the bad guy of their own story. So I believe your math is probably accurate.

12

Purplekeyboard t1_j9ggpzb wrote

Keep in mind that a substantial number of people couldn't even tell you what century World War II was fought in, or what countries were on which sides in that war.

I find it to be unlikely that adults decades later would have any idea if they were taught in school about a 1912 Forsyth County incident. Self reports are not the way to know what is or was taught in school.

10

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9ggxha wrote

This is Reddit. It’s not a given these are adults “decades later”. Current teachers also responded saying it’s not in the curriculum. I link to the thread in my top comment.

5

Purplekeyboard t1_j9gie2n wrote

> Current teachers also responded saying it’s not in the curriculum.

That's the statistic you actually want.

7

anusty t1_j9fkuy4 wrote

So what? Is every historical event taught…no

8

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9fm0aa wrote

No, not every event. But the big ones should be for sure. Thanks for the question.

1

anusty t1_j9g42s4 wrote

Who determines what the “big events” were that are worthy of conveying through formal government provided and controlled instruction?

3

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9g4o4e wrote

Whomever makes up the curriculum...I.e. State and local governments.

3

anusty t1_j9g8w30 wrote

That’s not who, those are large bureaucratic entities with, but for elected officials, no accountability. So how is it determined what “big events” should be taught and which “big events” there’s just not time for?

3

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9g9ct7 wrote

The department of education does. Do you want the literal names of the people? Not sure what you’re trying to understand or if you are asking a series of rhetorical questions.

1

hatersaurusrex t1_j9hu9he wrote

You should dig into the stranglehold the Texas School Board historically had over school curriculum not only in the South, but often in the greater US as a whole.

Essentially they were the largest buyer of textbooks in the region, and as such they were in a position to dictate to publishers what could and couldn't be included in history books, or they simply wouldn't buy them. Lots of things got 'left out'

Also a little poetically ironic that Kennedy was shot from the top of their book depository building, which was filled with apologist and whitewashed history texts.

1

anusty t1_j9mxveq wrote

So, the US Dept of Ed is the all knowing entity who all should trust to determine what historical “big things” are taught to American children. Who determined who these decision makers would be, they’re not even elected officials, just a bunch of folks living off taxpayers backs with virtually nothing of value in return…oh, except determining what is taught in a secret chamber somewhere.

1

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9ob9cw wrote

You asked “who” makes the decisions. I gave you an answer to THAT question. You didn’t ask who SHOULD. You’re arguing with air.

We agree. This is big government telling people in Georgia they aren’t going to learn about racial cleansing in their state. Obviously I disagree with that the DOE should be doing this.

These entire last few days, you keep arguing about nothing. You have something to say, say it. But phrasing it on the form of a question, then getting direct black and white answers and arguing with a straw man makes you seem incredibly disingenuous.

Get it off your chest, whatever it is.

2

anusty t1_j9ofyde wrote

Ok, people who think they’re smarter than everyone else by displaying their arrogance so assertively as to incite violence are really lame.

1

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9oghru wrote

I 100% agree! I too dislike arrogant people/leaders who try to incite violence.

You could have said that days ago instead asking a bunch of weird question, getting accurate answers then asking more weird questions, and wasting my time and your time. Next time just get to the point.

And we also agree that the government should not stick their nose into what people should and shouldn’t learn....right?

2

anusty t1_j9otzis wrote

It’s for communities to determine and parents to decide whether to expose their children or not. There used to be a sense of community, but for for those most rural areas, it really no longer exists; the cost of connecting the globe, imo

1

JumpingPotato1 t1_j9gz2qt wrote

The question is really "Do you remember being taught in school about the 1912 racial cleansing in Forsyth County (GA)?"

Multiple times I look at former classmate's twitter or instagram asking "Why weren't we taught ___?!?!?!?" and had to remind them they were and we were in the same class, you just didn't pay attention.

6

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9h0a53 wrote

It’s weird that you have had multiple times on social media where friends said “why weren’t we taught...” I’ve not experienced that before.

Anyway, it’s not on the curriculum, per a teacher who is also on the thread I link to.

2

JumpingPotato1 t1_j9haot4 wrote

There was some post about "The REAL history of Mexico" that made the rounds including things raging from basic facts to falsehoods like "The Mayans never actually sacrificed anyone" pair with question about why we were not taught this in school.

2

PredictorX1 t1_j9f616p wrote

Given the small sample size, I was curious about the confidence interval, which is (95% C.I.) 5.1% to 28.3%. I'd be curious to know how well the surveyed population matches that of Georgia.

4

eyekneadhalp t1_j9jjvrc wrote

Americans love to erase history that doesn’t make us look good…so that means they like to erase a lot of our history. Luckily there will always be people out there teaching this stuff…just not enough

4

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9ew65e wrote

Source: Reddit post and responses

Chart: Excel

Description / Comments:

A couple of years ago, I asked folks in the Georgia (U.S.) sub the following question. Were you taught in school about what happened i Forsyth County in 1912? Out of the replies I was able to get a clear answer on, only 11% of respondents learned anything about the racial cleansing.

Note: this is a small sample size. I don't know the demographics, counties, etc of respondents. It's should not be mistaken as a scientific and statistically significant survey. It's simply a question I posted to Reddit with a tabulation of responses. There were 144 responses, only 55 provided a direct enough answer to tabulate.

​

Some links, if you want to know more about the topic.

Forsyth Co. racist history examined as lynching memorial approved | 11alive.com

The 'Racial Cleansing' That Drove 1,100 Black Residents Out Of Forsyth County, Ga. : NPR

Racists Once Terrorized This Georgia County. Diversity Made It Prosper. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Local organization holds dedication for historical marker documenting 1912 lynching in downtown Cumming - Forsyth News

​

For those interested in today's demographics of Forsyth County, here they are:

White alone, 74.6%

Black or African American alone,4.9%

American Indian and Alaska Native alone, 0.5%

Asian alone, 17.9%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone,0.1%

Two or More Races, 2.0%

Hispanic or Latino, 9.8%

White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, 65.9%

3

MassholeLiberal56 t1_j9f7gy0 wrote

Then there was the disgraceful Trail of Tears which took place 60-80 years earlier. Georgia is such a welcoming place. No wonder Sherman knew what he had to do.

3

wrp1 t1_j9i7w19 wrote

But they know that this sort of thing happened. The KKK, Civil War, lynching.

The US education system does a good job of making every person aware of our original sin, and how long it persisted beyond emancipation.

3

theguineapigssong t1_j9hnqkq wrote

I vaguely remember seeing Oprah interview people there in the 80s and I learned about it that way.

2

imwalkingwest t1_j9ji936 wrote

I grew up in Forsyth county and everybody knew about the Oprah special, but no one knew anything outside of that. When would they have taught it? 8th grade Georgia history? There’s was too much amazing Oglethorpe history to get to! /s

2

Simple-Tea-3642 t1_j9itsqk wrote

Ask Europeans how much they learn in school about their ancestors’ roles in the global slave trade - usually, almost nothing. But what makes me the most sad - how little we learn or teach about black history and culture before the slave trade.

1

JPAnalyst OP t1_j9j2zrd wrote

I guess since I live in Georgia, my concern is Georgia. I don’t like whataboutism, I don’t think it’s helpful.

2

Public-Lemon-1218 t1_j9mn0ny wrote

A good deeper dive into the data would be education level it was taught and county of the respondent. I wouldn’t want to assume without data but my hunch is they learned this in a college/university history course.

I did not learn of this during school in the 90s, nor was I taught about the race riots in 1906. Interesting when Georgia History is required in 8th grade. But my Georgia History course for my Education degree did cover these topics.

1