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Black history is under attack — unfortunately, that’s nothing new

by Gevin Reynolds and David Pepper, opinion contributor - 02/19/24 8:00 AM ET

February is supposed to be a time to celebrate Black history. But in recent years, that history has come under attack by extreme Republican lawmakers in state legislatures across the country. In the past year, politicians in 30 states attempted to curtail the teaching of Black history.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time this battle has been waged. In fact, a pattern has been playing on repeat since the end of the Civil War: African American gains, followed by a state-sanctioned backlash and rewriting of history. Recognizing this pattern allows us to put the present attacks on Black history in their proper context and reorient our fight where we should: the state level.

We see this pattern distinctly in the aftermath of the Civil War. With the ratification of the 13th Amendment, newly freed Black people hoped that they could finally begin to live lives of freedom. But any hope of true liberation was shattered as states began to pass Black codes. These laws hampered Black people’s economic freedom, placing restrictions on the property they could own and requirements on the jobs they could hold. True to the pattern, the “leaders” who wrote these laws immediately tried to rewrite history by claiming the laws were necessary to curtail vagrancy and protect communities.

As the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments ushered in a new era of Reconstruction, Black people throughout the South gained real political power. Black men, who gained suffrage through the 15th Amendment, transformed state legislatures across the South by voting and by running for office themselves. More than a dozen Black men — including Hiram Revels and Joseph Rainey — were elected to Congress. Hundreds were elected to state legislatures, allowing them to repeal many racist laws. This progress would not have been possible without Black women, who despite still being barred from the ballot box, played instrumental advocacy roles — including through organized labor.

But again, a violent backlash ensued.

In massacres throughout the South, white mobs killed hundreds of Black people attempting to participate in the political process — some simply standing in line to vote. The end of Reconstruction allowed states to reenact racist laws, including ones to suppress the Black vote.

Meanwhile, those in power spun up a dangerous and false narrative. They reframed the violent overthrow of Reconstruction as “reform” needed to clamp down on so-called corruption by the new, diverse political coalition. Black Americans weren’t yet ready for democracy, the new history went, so ending Reconstruction was an appropriate correction.

Fast-forward to the election of former President Obama. Instead of marking our entrance into a “post-racial society,” the ascendance of our first Black president triggered another intense backlash. Besides fueling the rise of former President Trump, Obama’s election prompted states to undertake aggressive efforts to make it harder for Black people to vote. With the Voting Rights Act essentially gutted, extremists have engaged in widespread gerrymandering and enacted restrictive voting laws that they frame as being necessary to remedy (nonexistent) voter fraud.

But beyond just seeking to rewrite the history around these antidemocratic efforts, extreme Republicans have their targets fixed on erasing centuries of American history altogether.

Some of these efforts have already succeeded. In Florida, new curriculum standards will no longer allow students to learn the true history of slavery. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) recently rewrote the history of her own state when she answered that the Civil War was fought over “the role of government.” And just this month, a Republican lawmaker in Colorado came out against Black History Month, asserting that its observance teaches “false history.”

Which brings us back to today. Considering all of this, how should we celebrate Black History Month this year?

We first must clearly understand the moment in which we are living. These present attacks on Black history are merely the latest iteration of a pattern that has been unfolding for generations — a pattern, which, if we fail to recognize it, will allow the present attacks on Black history to succeed.

Second, seeing this pattern, we must resolve to resist. We must continue to teach — and learn — Black history. By doing so, we acknowledge the contributions of American heroes whose stories have gone untold, draw inspiration from their patriotism, and affirm the diversity of our democracy.

And finally, we must recognize that unaccountable American state houses are the central arenas for this fight. Jim Crow laws remained on the books for as long as they did because of these state houses. And today, they are once again leading the charge to erase Black history.

If we want to preserve Black history, we must bring accountability to the state houses — including by voting out the lawmakers who seek to perpetuate this pattern we have identified.