Is Florida Using Fredrick Douglass to Rationalize Slavery?
A discussion on the educational merits of Prager University
Class is back in session. For the purpose a civil discussion I am curious to know what this audience thinks about the assertions of a New York Times column by Charles Blow that suggests Prager U is doing the children of Florida a disservice by oversimplifying the horrific circumstances of slavery throughout our history. What do you think?
In my course at the University of Wisconsin Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental studies we discuss topical issues related the interpretation of Black history in our national parks and monuments (EnvirSt308). In a recent article, Blow questions the narrative of slavery in the United States as taught in Florida schools by Prager University or Prager U. Though this institution shares in a disclaimer that its videos and lessons are not from an accredited university, the stories it shares are being used to give young students a working understanding of American history.
Blow suggests that Prager U is taking liberties with the details of historic events. In particular, he cites the example of Christopher Columbus and his first contact with native people in Haiti, circa 1493, and the beliefs of the abolitionist Fredrick Douglass as shared in an 1853 speech decrying the impacts of the Missouri Compromise decision of 1850 in which he said “reveals with great clearness the extent to which slavery has shot its leprous distillment through the lifeblood of the Nation.”
As interpreted by Prager U in a cartoon shared in Florida schools Douglass’s thoughts on the issue are paraphrased to say, “I’m certainly not OK with slavery, but the founding fathers made a compromise to achieve something great: the making of the United States.”
Read the article and share your thoughts.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/opinion/florida-prager-slavery-frederick-douglass.html
As an educator I encourage my students never to take any news articles or opinion pieces at face value. Everything we read should be affirmed or denied by our own independent research so that we can be better informed on the important issues of our day. The stories of Christopher Columbus and Fredrick Douglass are interpreted through the historic monuments of the National Park Service and at the Library of Congress. Additional resources are also available through the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture