Ban on critical race theory disables WWII history teaching in U.S.: article

Students of Montrara Ave. Elementary School attend their in-person class in Los Angeles, California, the United States, on Aug. 16, 2021. (Xinhua)

"I worry these laws will make it impossible to talk honestly about World War II and what the war meant for America. At stake is the ability of educators to discuss historical evidence," says Matthew F. Delmont.

NEW YORK, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. history teacher wonders if it is still legal to teach students about what Black soldiers and veterans experienced in World War Two, as the push to restrict the teaching of racism, especially in higher education, becomes more widespread across the United States, said an article published on the website of Time last week.

Over the past two years, 42 U.S. states have considered such legislation, said the opinion piece, written by Matthew F. Delmont, a historian and college teacher who has taught about the history of World War Two for more than a decade.

Nine states -- Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Arizona, and North Dakota -- have passed legislation banning critical race theory, an academic framework that has become a catchall term for curriculum that examines the role of race in American history, said the article.

"I worry these laws will make it impossible to talk honestly about World War II and what the war meant for America. At stake is the ability of educators to discuss historical evidence," said Delmont.

Several basic facts about the war require discussing racism and systemic inequality: the U.S. armed forces were racially segregated, the Red Cross segregated blood donations, Black veterans returned to the country only to be denied jobs and housing, and 125,284 people of Japanese descent were incarcerated in camps during the war, according to the article.