Textbooks were ‘racist to the core’
If you ever wondered why South Carolinians continue debating the causes of the Civil War a century and a half after it ended — every major historian will tell you it was clearly about slavery — just know this: Most public school students in the state during most of the 20th century were taught from books that were written by the daughter of a slave owner and Confederate soldier.
“Mary C. Simms Oliphant was my grandmother,” [said Coming to the Table member Felicia Furman]. “And you’re right; her history books were racist to the core. Even as a child, I recognized this. She was completely oblivious. Furthermore, her grandfather was a slave owner in Bamberg County. See www.sharedhistory.org for my acknowledgment of this loathsome legacy that follows me today.”
To read the rest of this article, go to: Textbooks were ‘racist to the core’ by for The State (South Carolina)