Our guest Karen Murphy reminded us that we think about as history changes over time.--not just what we care about and who we care about but what is considered history. Facing History and Ourselves came to be in 1975 when its founders met at a conference on the Holocaust and it was the first time they’d learned about that history despite ostensibly being well-educated teachers and citizens. We take for granted now that the Holocaust is something people need to know, but it’s a history that needed to be fought for--as is still the case for many nondominant histories today.
Karen reminded us that just because a decision is made about the importance of a historic event--that we should all know about Frederick Douglass or read Toni Morrison or know about the NY Draft riots--doesn’t mean it will be continued forever unless decisionmakers (classroom teachers, education officials, textbook writers) sustain commitment to it being important.
