Statement of CCDCC on Education about the History of Racism
Few statements from America’s founding capture our inherent values as “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal”, and that all Americans are endowed with the rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. As Democrats, we believe that these inalienable rights extend to all people living in this country, regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, gender, religion or national origin.
We knew then, and we know now, that the men who crafted the Declaration of Independence, and later endowed their spirit into the US Constitution, were visionaries, and yet not perfect individuals themselves. The nation that developed upon these ideals of liberty and equality (and the state of Oregon in later years), has struggled mightily to live up to and uphold these lofty values. We marginalized Indigenous people whose land we appropriated enslaved Black people, ignored the contributions of early Hispanic settlers and more recent immigrants, and mistreated Chinese workers and Japanese immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. The stories of non-white members of our national community have been largely dismissed in our teaching of American history.
Across the country today, there is an active movement to limit or exclude the teaching of the important role race has played in the progress of the American Experiment. While attacking an academic framework known as “Critical Race Theory” (CRT), proponents of teaching only an heroic story of white American contributions to our history create a “bogeyman” sowing division in order to gain power through manipulation and fear. To be clear, CRT is not being taught in any public school classroom or curriculum.
We, the Democratic Party of Clatsop County, support the teaching of an honest American story, inclusive of our ideals, our values and our accomplishments, as well as our challenges, shortcomings and failure. Our public schools and universities should be free from the interference of short-term political trends or partisan ideology.
We support the development of age-appropriate history (and science) curriculum in our public schools and universities, guided by academic professionals, grounded in historical accuracy and honesty, and utilizing the best and up-to-date scholarship available.
We encourage the presentation in our classrooms of multiple, and sometimes conflicting, points of view of American history, inclusive of all racial, ethnic, and gender perspectives. Our students should leave our schools with an understanding and appreciation of the struggles and contributions of all Americans, and the many strengths of a diverse society.
And, we reject wholeheartedly the hateful and prejudicial attempts to restrict the teaching America’s racial challenges and the enduring legacy of racial discrimination across our society. We will challenge any attempt to intimidate local school boards or our invaluable teachers from exploring racial justice issues throughout American history.
Ours is a nation of immigrants, and the experiences and contributions of all members of our collective society must be included in our national story. In our “brotherhood” of men and women, there are no clean hands. Yet we share a desire to achieve that “more perfect union”. At our best, we are in a transition to genuine equality on all levels.
Resolution Supporting the Teaching of Accurate History in Our Schools
Whereas; Few statements from America’s founding capture our inherent values as “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal”, and that all Americans are endowed with the rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. As Democrats, we believe these inalienable rights extend to everyone living in this country, regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, gender, religion or national origin, and,
Whereas; our nation, founded upon ideals of liberty and equality, has struggled mightily to live up to these lofty values. We know then, and we now know, that the men who crafted the Declaration of Independence, and later the US Constitution, were visionaries, yet not perfect individuals themselves, and,
Whereas; we knew then, and we know now, that the men who crafted the Declaration of Independence, and later the US Constitution, were visionaries, yet not perfect individuals themselves, and,
Whereas; we also know that “all” did not include Black people or women. Our nation, founded upon ideals of liberty and equality has struggled mightily to live up to these lofty values (as has the State of Oregon). We enslaved Black people, marginalized Indigenous people whose land we stole, ignored the contributions of early Hispanic settlers and more recent immigrants, and mistreated Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, and,
Whereas; Clatsop County and the State of Oregon share this legacy of violence against Native people,
the exclusion of Black people in the state constitution and discrimination against Chinese workers. The stories of non-white members of our national and local communities are largely absent in our history classes, and
Whereas; today there is an active movement to limit or exclude the teaching of the key role race has played in the progress of the American experiment. By attacking an academic framework known as “Critical Race Theory” (CRT), proponents of teaching an heroic account solely of white American contributions to our history create a “bogeyman”. Their goal is to sow division in order to gain power through manipulation and fear. To be clear, CRT is not being taught in any public school classroom or curriculum, and,
Whereas; the Democratic Party of Clatsop County supports the teaching of an honest American story, inclusive of our ideals, values and accomplishments, as well as our challenges, shortcomings and failures. Our public schools and universities must be free of interference from short-term political trends or partisan ideology, and,
Whereas; we support the development of age-appropriate history and social science curriculum in our public schools and universities, guided by academic professionals, grounded in historical accuracy, and utilizing the best and up-to-date scholarship available, and,
Whereas; we encourage the presentation in our classrooms of multiple, and sometimes conflicting, points of view of American history, inclusive of all racial, ethnic, and gender perspectives. Our students should leave school with an understanding and appreciation of the struggles and contributions of all Americans, and the many strengths of a diverse society, and,
Whereas; ours is a nation of immigrants. The experiences and contributions of all members of our collective society must be included in our national story. At our best, we are continually moving towards genuine equality among all members of our American community. In our “brotherhood” of men and women, there are no clean hands, yet together we share a desire to achieve that “more perfect union”,
Therefore let it be resolved: that we reject wholeheartedly the hateful and prejudicial attempts to restrict the teaching of America’s racial challenges and the enduring legacy of racial discrimination across our society. We will challenge any attempt to intimidate local school boards or our teachers from exploring racial justice issues throughout American history and society.