‘It Is Important To Teach The Truth’

Feb. 13, 2023 Editor, The News-Gazette: Facts are important in history. When discussing Black history in America it is important to remember that until recently, from a historical perspective, Black Americans were denied the same opportunities as White Americans to build wealth because of discriminatory laws. After slavery, the 100 years of segregation that followed included Black Americans continuing to be discriminated against under the law, and impeded from participating in many wealth building opportunities, up until the middle of the 20th century.

Black Americans were stopped from owning homes in certain neighborhoods and attending certain schools or educational programs that could have allowed Black families to build more wealth. It is not a theory that these discriminatory policy decisions had consequences and an economic impact on Black Americans who are still alive today. It is important to teach the truth, not the whitewashed untruth. MARQUITA DUNN Vice president, NAACP Rockbridge