Let’s say you wanted to contextualize math problems, so as to make them more meaningful. And, what you wanted to do was incorporate the history of slavery in America for this purpose. This could actually be done in a way that is objective. This wouldn’t fit the agenda of race hatred. In fact, it would pro-American.
Some objective facts of slavery (and its aftermath) would include:
1. The fact that slavery pre-dated the forming of the United States.
2. The fact that the U.S. was one of the first countries of the world to ban the slave trade. (The ban is in the U.S. Constitution.)
3. The difference between slavery in the border states versus slavery in the deep south.
4. The hardening of opinions on slavery in the country, in conjunction with the use of the tariff by the north.
5. The growth of the north in terms of population and wealth, relative to the south.
6. The number of people who died in our Civil War relative to the number of people who were freed from slavery.
7. The progress of Americans of African heritage since emancipation.
8. A comparison of incomes of Americans by race (insofar as race can still be identified), showing Asian Americans to be at the top.
9. A comparison of the trend of income of people in the top 20 percent, in the middle 60 percent, and in the bottom 20 percent.
10. The correlation of stable families, working and education with being in the top 20 percent as opposed to being in the bottom 20 percent.
Add that Africans sold other Africans as slaves.
Compare the standard of living to American blacks who’s ancestors were brought here as slaves to what their lives would be like if they never came to the US.
Never mind that blacks also owned slaves in the US.
Good list. What about asking
- the number of whites who did not own slaves
- the number of black slave owners
- the number of black slave breeders