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Images like this help me see how selective we are with history.
We readily look back on the past and recognize those who have gone before us and the good they accomplished. We rightly acknowledge the sacrifices they made so we can enjoy the lifestyle and freedoms secured for us.
We readily look back on the past and recognize those who have gone before us and the good they accomplished. We rightly acknowledge the sacrifices they made so we can enjoy the lifestyle and freedoms secured for us.
There is an understanding that we stand on the shoulders of the good that was done before us, and that the good of the past lingers and defines today.
But we don’t readily apply that same logic to the mistakes of the past. Most glaringly, the sins of racism.
But we don’t readily apply that same logic to the mistakes of the past. Most glaringly, the sins of racism.
We deny that the effects of those sins linger. We dismiss the idea that the systems and structures that benefited our ancestors still benefit us today—or that society created pathways to success for them, which in turn made our success easier.
We buy the pretense that we are where we are because of our hard work, not because those before us stood on the backs of others.
We have inherited both the good and the bad of history. Acknowledging all that was given to us is the beginning work of justice.
