Excited to attend "Confronting Hard History: Using Primary Sources to Teach Slavery, Civil Rights, and Black Lives Matter" with @ProfJeffries. #libraries #archives
Jeffries: Hard history = the parts of history that are uncomfortable to discuss in the present. We must confront these parts of history but it makes us uncomfortable to do so.
Jeffries: Instead of confronting hard history, we practice "purposeful historical amnesia." Too hard? Just pretend it didn't happen. Example: Slavery in the north.
Jeffries: We also tend to rationalize evil to deal with hard history. Example: talking about slave masters as "good people." We celebrate enslavers every President's Day. Example: Talking about Jefferson and Sally Hemmings as a romance when in fact it was rape.
Jeffries: We also deal with hard history by lying about it. We just make stuff up. Example: That the confederacy wasn't founded to protect the institution of slavery.
Jeffries: The myth of perpetual racial progress is the normative narrative we put on the Black experience. But this is both untrue and dangerous. The narrative purports that "things always get better" and ignores how much work actually goes into progress.
Jeffries: This myth tells us if we just wait, things will get better. But this isn't the case. People make change through hard work. The myth glosses over the work ordinary individuals had to do in order to make change.
Jeffries: By using primary sources, we can challenge the normative narrative of the Black experience. Provide examples of active resistance. Resistance is the way most people can connect to humanity of "others." @ProQuest @astreetpress
Jeffries: We are conditioned to connect and empathize with the enslaver rather than with the enslaved. Primary documents that provide examples of resistance and indictments of slavery help bridge the empathy gap.
Jeffries: "Runaway" compensation petitions, freedom petitions, Black behavior petitions, insurance claim petitions are great examples of primary sources to use to illustrate agency and resistance of enslaved people. They challenge the master narrative by humanizing Black people.
Jeffries: Primary sources to use to challenge the normative narrative of the Civil Rights movement: NAACP Papers, esp branch files and major campaigns. When you do this, you expand the timeline of the CRM and see how Black people were challenging racism long before 1954.
Jeffries: You also see that the movement wasn't just confined to the US South. Where you have branches (including in the north) you have Black resistance. The NAACP Papers also evidence broader human rights goals of the CRM.
Jeffries: NAACP Papers decenter Dr. King. Even the portrait of Dr King we see in the papers expands our understanding of him. But we see many players in the CRM before King; it was never about one person.
Jeffries: The NAACP Papers spotlight women and local leadership. Women, students, and local people were often the leaders of CRM actions. The records also show the wide variety of strategies and actions. They also clarify the obstacles and opposition parties.
Jeffries: NAACP Papers shine light on efforts to maintain white supremacy. They redefine victories and defeats beyond the normative narrative.
Jeffries: We can also use primary sources to challenge normative narrative of BLM. We are witnessing the largest public protest in US history. Collecting and archiving need to occur right now. #BlackLivesMatter
Jeffries: Collect, document, and archive in the moment. Take advantage of the signs of the times, literally the signs, posters, etc. They reflect what people are fighting for collectively. Also, videos and photos are critically important.
Jeffries: The documents and resources will challenge normative narratives of BLM protests being violent, for instance. Film footage will show the truth. Social media posts will also be important to preserve. They speak to people's motivation and understanding.
Jeffries: Primary sources can help us complicate standard narratives of slavery, Civil Rights Movement, BLM, and the Black experience more generally. Will help us get the history right today for authentic explanation tomorrow.
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