And this is an argument to fundamentally sacrifice the good on the altar of the perfect. Would it be better that minority positions, accomplishments, and experiences were taught as part of broader curriculums? Of course–but they’re not. Doing away with Black History Month doesn’t address that, because the alternative isn’t a broader solution, but to simply do nothing. BHM is a bandaid, but if you rip off the bandaid, it’s still a wound. With the bandaid there at least we’re forced to acknowledge the wound.
Similarly, giving away cash in the form of loan forgiveness doesn’t solve the problem of greed in upper education, but it does alleviate pain felt by an entire generation of working Americans. This is a perfect example of the problem: the fascists blocked the relief, and then what happened? Did we muscle down as a society and get to work on the difficult problems of moving higher education away from the current profit-motivated model? No, of course not. What happened instead? Right: Nothing happened. Tuition is still reprehensibly high. The only difference is that the last generation of borrowers continue to suffer, just like the next will.
The point is, BHM is not an alternative to systemic policy changes to address historic racism and other discrimination: it’s a stopgap, and lobbying for its abandonment isn’t lobbying for a societal pivot to more effective ways to address the problem. It’s lobbying that black history not be taught at all.
And this is an argument to fundamentally sacrifice the good on the altar of the perfect. Would it be better that minority positions, accomplishments, and experiences were taught as part of broader curriculums? Of course–but they’re not. Doing away with Black History Month doesn’t address that, because the alternative isn’t a broader solution, but to simply do nothing. BHM is a bandaid, but if you rip off the bandaid, it’s still a wound. With the bandaid there at least we’re forced to acknowledge the wound.
Similarly, giving away cash in the form of loan forgiveness doesn’t solve the problem of greed in upper education, but it does alleviate pain felt by an entire generation of working Americans. This is a perfect example of the problem: the fascists blocked the relief, and then what happened? Did we muscle down as a society and get to work on the difficult problems of moving higher education away from the current profit-motivated model? No, of course not. What happened instead? Right: Nothing happened. Tuition is still reprehensibly high. The only difference is that the last generation of borrowers continue to suffer, just like the next will.
The point is, BHM is not an alternative to systemic policy changes to address historic racism and other discrimination: it’s a stopgap, and lobbying for its abandonment isn’t lobbying for a societal pivot to more effective ways to address the problem. It’s lobbying that black history not be taught at all.