Martin Luther King Day is celebrated every January 15 to honor the life and works of a world-renowned equality and racial justice crusader. On this day, people are encouraged to reflect on the principles of social justice that
Dr. King held dear and served society selflessly as he did. Individuals and social change groups often observe the day by organizing rallies, speeches, marches, and talk shows centered around meaningful conversations to further Dr. King’s dream for society.
Keeping up with the tradition for Martin Luther King Day, The View hosts spoke about slavery and how white kids should feel about it. This sensitive topic had hosts Ava Navarro and Sara Haines clashing over conflicting points of view.
The conversation started with host Whoopi Goldberg asking why Americans aren’t comfortable learning about Black history. Only 12 out of the 50 US states have a Black history mandate in grade schools. Even worse, 18 states have outrightly and severely limited the curriculum through various laws.
ALSO READ: Missouri School Board Drops Black History Classes After Rescinding Anti-Racism Resolution
For co-host Sunny Hostin, the lawmakers’ actions show how badly they want to “erase the contributions” of “people that don’t look like them.” “They not only erase the ‘bad stuff’ that may make people’ feel bad’ like slavery, which is responsible for the very foundation of this country,” she said.
“They erase the contributions of someone like Bayard Rustin. They erase the contributions of Indigenous people. They have erased from history and teaching our children that the freezer was developed by a Black man, that the first open-heart surgery was performed by a Black man, that the GPS technology that we all use today was developed by a Black woman.”
POLL—Should Public Schools Include Critical Race Theory and Sex Education in Their Curriculum?
Hostin also added, “What is supposed to be the very foundation of this country is that we are all equal. But what happens is when you’ve had privilege for so long, equality feels like oppression.”
However, Navarro disagreed with Hostin’s position, saying there’s much more to the topic than Hostin’s take. According to her, “Black History and other things, banning books, has been weaponized for political purposes — to drive people to the polls based on outrage because ‘my poor little white kid is feeling bad because he’s learning about slavery.’ That’s ridiculous.” She added that no one should be made to feel bad just because they’re learning about history.
ALSO READ: Residents Fume as Town Proposes Ban on Pride, Black, and Women’s History Celebrations
It was at this point that Haines interrupted. “Well, it should make you feel bad. But it’s important that it makes you feel bad.” Navarro couldn’t be swayed. “I don’t think it should make you feel bad. I don’t think a white child that had nothing to do with slavery should feel bad about slavery. I think we need to learn history so we don’t repeat the same mistakes about history,” Navarro countered. The conversation ended with Haines agreeing with Navarro’s point of view.
What side of the fence are you on? Do you agree with Navarro and believe that people shouldn’t feel sorry for their ancestors’ actions? Or do you think that Black history should evoke regrets? Let us know.
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