We all know the saying, “history repeats itself.”
This cliché quote has been preached to you by social studies teachers who beg for your attention in class. You’ve heard your parents say it, forewarning you about the mistakes of their generation. You’ve even said it to yourself when you thought about taking back your ex.
But what we don’t know is why history likes to work in cycles. I believe this “natural” phenomenon occurs due to a lack of extensive explanation of the past.
I’m not one to follow conspiracy theories. Listening to people rant that the government plotted the 9/11 attacks grants an instant eye roll from yours truly. When Facebook posts blamed the Newtown shooting on a government cover-up, my stomach would churn as if on cue.
A natural distrust in one’s government isn’t something I’m too keen on, but I wouldn’t trust a snake in the grass just because it asked me to.
I like to imagine that my lessons as a child about Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement were similar to most experiences in the United States.
The name James Earl Ray is programmed into my brain by associated memory, just as Lee Harvey Oswald’s name is seared into my mind as the man who killed John F. Kennedy. It’s almost like a quick fact I’ve acquired to use only for historical reference and the occasional trivia night.
But associated memory means nothing when the King family believes this man was innocent.
In 1999 the King family filed a wrongful death suit against Loyd Jowers, owner of a restaurant in close proximity to the Lorraine Motel where King was killed.
In assistance with Jowers, the King family proved to the jury what they ?believe to be a government ?conspiracy to kill King.
Government agencies mentioned in this civil suit did not defend themselves in court, but the jury found the Memphis police department and federal agencies responsible for King’s ?assassination.
My question is simple: why isn’t this being taught in our schools?
I remember a lot of Martin Luther King Jr. Days in elementary school. Many involve watching footage from the raids in Birmingham, learning from metaphors that explain racism and even a cartoon movie involving time travel to the 1960s. The only government involvement mentioned in these lessons were about Brown v. Board of Education, Jim Crow laws and the infamous Bull Connor.
About two months ago, the New York Times published a threatening letter that was sent to King by the FBI. Widely known as the “suicide letter,” this unsigned note called on King to end his own life, citing him as “evil” man who participated in “sexual orgies.”
We have a national holiday dedicated to man who worked for equality, but we fail to explore completely the challenges he faced.
Our own government played a significant role in the civil rights movement, and our education system isn’t painting it in the ?correct light.
It’s one thing to spout off conspiracy theories in passing, but when they’re proven in a court of law and alter the lens we see history through, they should at least be mentioned in an elementary textbook.
maehogan@indiana.edu
