Recently, Representatives Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced bipartisan federal legislation urging states to integrate the events and lessons of September 11, 2001, into public school curricula nationwide. On its surface, the intent is clear and necessary: we promised as a country to "Never Forget" the lives lost, the bravery displayed, and the profound ways that tragic morning reshaped our world.
Yet, as this proposal moves forward, it sits alongside a troubling and contradictory movement in statehouses across the country—a concerted effort to sanitize, dilute, or outright remove the brutal realities of slavery and systemic racism from American textbooks.
To me, that difference simply does not compute.
I do not view this debate through an abstract academic lens. I view it through the lived experience of my own life. I lived through the indignities of Jim Crow. I took part in the painful, necessary struggles of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. I carry the memory of being arrested twice in downtown Atlanta for the simple, fundamental act of trying to sit at a lunch counter of my choice and order a meal. Decades later, I stood as an adult on September 11, 2001, watching in heartbreak as terror struck our nation and our collective resilience was tested once again.
Having witnessed both the depths of human cruelty and the remarkable power of American perseverance, I know that history cannot be treated like an à la carte menu where we select only the stories that make us feel good.
When Representatives Garbarino and Gottheimer advocate for mandating 9/11 education, they do so because understanding that day is essential to understanding modern America—our national security, our foreign policy, and our shared grief. But understanding the horror and abuses of slavery is equally essential. Slavery is not a side note in American history; it shaped the founding of our republic, our Constitution, our economy, and the long, unfinished walk toward civil rights that my generation bled for.
Attempting to shield young people from the brutal facts of slavery while requiring them to remember 9/11 reveals a dangerous double standard. True patriotism does not demand that we hide our national scars or erase the chapters that make us uncomfortable. True patriotism demands the courage to look at our past honestly, to honor the victims of every tragedy and injustice, and to learn from the full breadth of the American story.
We must remember 9/11. And we must remember slavery. A nation that fears its own history is a nation incapable of protecting its future.
Yet, as this proposal moves forward, it sits alongside a troubling and contradictory movement in statehouses across the country—a concerted effort to sanitize, dilute, or outright remove the brutal realities of slavery and systemic racism from American textbooks.
To me, that difference simply does not compute.
I do not view this debate through an abstract academic lens. I view it through the lived experience of my own life. I lived through the indignities of Jim Crow. I took part in the painful, necessary struggles of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. I carry the memory of being arrested twice in downtown Atlanta for the simple, fundamental act of trying to sit at a lunch counter of my choice and order a meal. Decades later, I stood as an adult on September 11, 2001, watching in heartbreak as terror struck our nation and our collective resilience was tested once again.
Having witnessed both the depths of human cruelty and the remarkable power of American perseverance, I know that history cannot be treated like an à la carte menu where we select only the stories that make us feel good.
When Representatives Garbarino and Gottheimer advocate for mandating 9/11 education, they do so because understanding that day is essential to understanding modern America—our national security, our foreign policy, and our shared grief. But understanding the horror and abuses of slavery is equally essential. Slavery is not a side note in American history; it shaped the founding of our republic, our Constitution, our economy, and the long, unfinished walk toward civil rights that my generation bled for.
Attempting to shield young people from the brutal facts of slavery while requiring them to remember 9/11 reveals a dangerous double standard. True patriotism does not demand that we hide our national scars or erase the chapters that make us uncomfortable. True patriotism demands the courage to look at our past honestly, to honor the victims of every tragedy and injustice, and to learn from the full breadth of the American story.
We must remember 9/11. And we must remember slavery. A nation that fears its own history is a nation incapable of protecting its future.
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