An Illinois state lawmaker is leading the call of some Chicago-area officials to abolish the teaching of history because it leads to “white privilege and a racist society” and needs to be halted “until appropriate alternatives are developed.”
Rep. LaShawn K. Ford of Chicago last Sunday decried the current curriculum in Illinois public schools and called on the Illinois State Board of Education at a press conference Sunday in Evanston to remove all current history books from the classroom.
"It costs us as a society in the long run forever when we don’t understand our brothers and sisters that we live, work and play with,” Ford said.
Ford, a former history teacher in the Chicago Public Schools system, said the current curriculum overlooks women and minorities, NBC affiliate WMAQ in Chicago reported.
In a release announcing the press conference, Ford claimed current instruction “unfairly communicate our history,” and that it should be halted until a “suitable alternative is developed.”
Ford expressed outraged that a Confederate flag was recently displayed in Evanston.
“We should instead devote greater attention toward civics and ensuring students understand our democratic processes and how they can be involved,” Ford said in the release.
Ford also has introduced a bill to require instruction of the civil rights movement in any U.S. history curriculum.
“When it comes to teaching history in Illinois, we need to end the miseducation of Illinoisans,” Ford said.
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