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Fairfax Co School Board eliminates Columbus Day, the teaching of "white" history
Posted by: Four Seasons ()
Date: June 21, 2020 06:25PM

Proposed Board Member Amendment(s):

I move that the School Board rename the Columbus Day holiday to be “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” for the SY 20-21 calendar that has already been adopted, and for the SY 21-22 calendar that is yet to be approved. (Meren)

This shift aligns with FCPS Social Studies’ work to do significant curriculum revisions and professional development over the last 18 months to address the overrepresentation of white and Eurocentric history and the lack of diverse perspectives in social studies courses.

Rationale:
As a community that values diversity, equity, inclusion, and history, Fairfax County Public Schools should pivot from acknowledging Columbus Day, and instead celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

“The mythology about Columbus and the “discovery” of the Americas continues to be many students’ first classroom lesson about encountering different cultures, ethnicities, and peoples. Teaching more accurate and complete narratives and differing perspectives is key to our society’s rethinking its history.”[1]

The land on which this nation rests had been occupied by indigenous peoples for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans. Indigenous peoples have been and continue to be the victims of prejudice and systematic discrimination as a result of 500 years of
oppression and violence that began with European colonization, and it extends to the systematic oppression indigenous people face today throughout the Americas.

Columbus’ arrival in the Caribbean in 1492 opened the door for the European colonialism that brought about the destruction of the communities and people of indigenous peoples in the Americas, which includes the 50,000 Indigenous people of Virginia. Honoring Columbus perpetuates the “…Euro-American narrative that reinstitutes the marginalization of Indigenous cultures and knowledge. Indigenous peoples are left in the shadows of Euro-America’s destiny. Generations of Native people throughout the Western Hemisphere have protested Columbus Day. In the forefront of their minds is the fact the colonial takeovers of the Americas, starting with Columbus, led to the deaths of millions of Native people and the forced assimilation of survivors.”[2]

Our students and community deserve a more honest observance on this day, accompanied with teaching, that reframes “explorers” like Christopher Columbus not only as brave adventurers, but as the face of efforts to obtain land and people through any means they deemed necessary.

Instead of celebrating this legacy of genocide, our community should celebrate the many contributions made by indigenous peoples “…with activities that raise awareness of their rich history, culture, and traditions. They will do so thanks to Native people, their supporters, and others who have gathered for decades and continue to gather now at prayer vigils, powwows, symposiums, concerts, lectures, rallies, and classrooms to help America rethink American history.

A more factual and expansive experience of indigenous peoples’ culture and history is sorely needed in the present day, as per 2015 research by Sarah Shear, assistant professor of Social Studies Education at Penn State University–Altoona. Based on research on U.S. history standards from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Dr. Shear and her collaborators found that 87 percent of the references to Native Americans in U.S. curricula are in the context of American history before 1900. “The narrative presented in U.S. history standards,” they write, “when analyzed with a critical eye, directed students to see indigenous peoples as a long since forgotten episode in the country’s development.” Shear and her colleagues see serious implications in the way the United States teaches its history:”[3]

Recognizing the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day is one way that we as a county can work towards Caring Culture by, as our Strategic Plan states, “...fostering a responsive, caring, and inclusive culture where all feel valued, supported, and hopeful.” With the number of indigenous people from Central and South America continually growing in Fairfax County and in the DMV area, joining in the celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a step in the process of fostering an inclusive, equitable, and just community for all.

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Re: Fairfax Co School Board eliminates Columbus Day, the teaching of "white" history
Posted by: Christopher Columbo ()
Date: June 21, 2020 06:36PM

Greaseball Wop history
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Re: Fairfax Co School Board eliminates Columbus Day, the teaching of "white" history
Posted by: Troll Hunter D ()
Date: June 21, 2020 07:42PM

This is not the DMV area. That is false reference that only foolish trolls post.
More accurately, Fairfax county Virginia falls under the Washington DC Metropolitan area. In Virginia, the letters DMV signify the Department of Motor Vehicles. By the way the Delaware/Maryland/Virginia area is known as the
DelMarVa.

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Re: Fairfax Co School Board eliminates Columbus Day, the teaching of "white" history
Posted by: tonto ()
Date: June 22, 2020 02:52AM

I must protest over Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Indians had slaves. In fact, they kept slaves even after they were free.

BLM

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Re: Fairfax Co School Board eliminates Columbus Day, the teaching of "white" history
Posted by: Luke ()
Date: June 22, 2020 03:22AM

,
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Re: Fairfax Co School Board eliminates Columbus Day, the teaching of "white" history
Posted by: A Path Forward ()
Date: June 22, 2020 09:14AM

All that needs be taught are that niggers are savages. The origins of the slave trade involves niggers selling niggers.

Asians are late comers to the game. Any prosperity or progress results from trade with Europe.

Hispanics are lazy and scammers looking to live on the work of others. Their countries have typically been very undeveloped.

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Re: Fairfax Co School Board eliminates Columbus Day, the teaching of "white" history
Posted by: state employee ()
Date: June 22, 2020 09:42AM

You can call it whatever you want so long as I get that day off with pay like we always have.

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Re: Fairfax Co School Board eliminates Columbus Day, the teaching of "white" history
Posted by: Did someone say......BLM ()
Date: June 22, 2020 09:51AM

tonto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I must protest over Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
> Indians had slaves. In fact, they kept slaves
> even after they were free.
>
> BLM
Attachments:
BLM.jpg

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