American Voices
Below are a few perspectives from interviews with Americans across the country about their views on history and how it should be taught.
Are you proud or ashamed to be American?
Should students feel guilty for actions of earlier generations?
What would you say to Democrats about the issue of teaching history?
I Don’t Know What to Believe
“I’m seeing on the news, where they’re talking about Critical Race Theory and teachers are pitting Blacks against whites and like the horrible stuff. But then my son comes home and I kind of want to pick his little brain to see what he’s hearing. He’s always like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. We don’t talk about that in school. My teachers never said that.’ And I’ve never witnessed anything like in assignments or homework that made me question what he’s been taught. So I feel very conflicted. I don’t know what to believe.”
—Tina, 45-54 white woman, Republican, South Carolina
A Real Understanding of What Happened
“I do think that the media or Republicans can think that the goal of learning all of American history or especially the negative parts is to make people feel guilty or ashamed. Whereas I think in general, the idea is more that we want students to just get a real understanding of what happened. The goal is what’s exaggerated by the media to make it seem like the Democratic agenda is trying to punish children for things they are not involved in.”
—Michael, 35-44 white man, Democrat, Texas
When we learn more, we love better
“I think that there should be classes, you know, on the Hispanic heritage and on the Polish heritage or any heritage, because I think that when we learn more about people, we love people better, we accept people better. I think that the more that we can understand what they’ve gone through, that we can create a greater empathy and compassion.”
—Bonnie, 55-64 white woman, Republican, Indiana
We shouldn’t be ashamed
“We shouldn’t be ashamed to be American because we learn from the mistakes by writing laws to change the messed-up things that were once legal, like lynching, or segregation. We changed the laws, so we should be proud. So we should admit our mistakes, but we’re proud of them. Be proud that America fixed up the laws and [is still] changing the laws.”
—Adam, 35-44 Black man, Democrat, New York
It’s The Past Generations
“Students should never be made to feel guilty...It's the past generations...The only thing they can do is not feel guilty, but think about what they can do to make it better.”
— Chanda, 55-64, Asian, Democrat, Texas
