Children’s lessons about slavery in America leave out the word ‘some’

The English language is rich in words—nouns and verbs in particular. Children learn early a sentence requires a subject, which is a noun, and a predicate, which begins with a verb. However, those words are greatly clarified and enhanced by what are called modifiers—adjectives and adverbs. Enough of a basic English lesson. Instead, I would like to focus on an adjective that appears to either be lost or rarely used. That adjective is the word “some.”

The rarity of this requisite word for clarification purposes related to race is a serious and prejudicial issue. This is true of American history and race relations today. Sadly, it affects black and white common history perhaps more than the history or race relations of other races. And even though America is one of the most multi-racial nations in the world, our media and politicians seem to be mired in a black/white quicksand. Let’s consider events where the word “some” would clarify and bring accuracy to American history but is lost or missing.

American slavery in most textbooks is cast as white and black. The slaveowners are white, and the slaves are black. In fact, reading or classroom teaching portrays only whites as slaveowners. It’s true that slavery was race-based, with blacks as slaves.

 Image: John Brown by John Steuart Curry, 1938. Public domain.

However, not all whites owned slaves nor were in favor of race-based slavery. “Some” whites owned slaves, but percentage-wise, were a great minority. At the same time, thousands of blacks also owned black slaves, which is rarely, if ever, taught. Native Americans representing five tribes also owned black slaves. As a result of the lost or missing word “some,” when it comes to whites and the missing multi-racial fact of slave ownership, an entire race is expected to bear the entire burden of guilt. Also rarely noted or taught is the fact most of those in Africa selling blacks into slavery were also black Africans. It’s important to also use the adjective modifier “some” to identify those parties.

During the Civil War, black slaveowners also supported the Confederacy financially and otherwise. In one state—Louisiana—the wealthiest slaveowner with the most slaves was black.

Imagine the difference in race relations if young children were taught the accurate history of slavery. Learning that only “some” whites owned slaves or were even in favor of slavery and that “some” blacks and Native Americans also owned slaves would lessen hurt or animosity created in children based on a falsehood.

Such facts do not take away from or lessen the grave injustices blacks experienced over the course of history, and this is not intended here either. But other races and ethnic groups (including whites) also experienced injustices and prejudices or refrained from committing them.

The popular theory being taught identifying whites as oppressors and blacks as oppressed is simply inaccurate, if not totally false. “Some” individuals are oppressors, and “some” individuals are oppressed. But both cases involve people of all races. History—ancient, world, and national—reveals oppressors and oppressed are in every race, and it’s universal.

Take, for instance, the national violence and murder rate today with murderers as oppressors and victims oppressed: More blacks are oppressed by other blacks than by any other race. Even when it comes to police killings, more whites are killed by police statistically than blacks. Such a fact is also true of other races; that is, most of the oppressors and oppressed are of the same race.

No doubt white supremacy exists today, but not by a majority. Racial supremacy also exists in other races. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. recognized and spoke of it. Speaking at DePauw University in 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Black supremacy is as dangerous as white supremacy, and God is not interested merely in the freedom of black men and brown men and yellow men. God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race and the creation of a society where all men will live together as brothers, and all men will respect the dignity and the worth of all human personality.”

Returning to a most basic English lesson, let’s endeavor to give an adjective modifier its due and rightful place when addressing race and history. It’s time to cease blaming any race in its entirety for being guilty of what only “some” have done. Good and evil are universal to all races. Oppressors and oppressed come from all races and, in fact, are more guilty of such harm to those of their own race. History must be read broadly to learn this fact.

The word “some” deserves a welcomed return to our vocabulary relative to history and race. Just as children are taught parts of speech accurately, America’s children also deserve history taught accurately, not only to reveal truth but also to encourage interracial childhood friendships based on “content of character”—something we all need to practice.