I love my education

“The textbooks were whitewashed. When our history was mentioned, it mainly revealed our struggles in society.”

By Layla Hussein

“And that’s how the idea of vaccination was introduced,” said Mr. Harris. Astonished, the class pleaded for their history teacher to reiterate the lesson before the bell rang. “C’mon Mr. Harris! Tell us one more time!” hollered Darius, with the rest of the class chanting “please”. Although just a 7th grader, Darius was always fascinated to learn more about his history. Every lesson was more than just a slideshow for his grade, but a story that brought him to a world he never thought possible.

“Alright, settle down class!” Laughing, Mr. Harris continued, “I’ll repeat the lesson one last time.”

“Vaccination was introduced from the African tradition of inoculation by Onesimus, an enslaved person. He was sent to various places in the early 16th century. Eventually, Onesimus was owned by Cotton Mather, the Puritan church minister at the time. As his slave, Onesimus revealed a centuries-old African technique of inoculation.”

“And this technique was when materials from an infected person was scratched onto a non-infected person to develop immunity?” asked one student. “Exactly!” said Mr. Harris, gratified that his students were engrossed with his lesson. “But before your bell rings,” the teacher continued, “Cotton Mather convinced a doctor in Boston to test this technique during the smallpox epidemic in 1721. Essentially, Onesimus is known for paving the path to experimentation with vaccine development.”

“Imagine if Onesimus wasn’t a slave and had the resources to put his own theories into use!” angrily said Darius. Nodding in agreement, the teacher responded, “I know, it is a shame. But the important part we must focus on is the fact that we are learning about this side of history— DINGGGG!”

As the class hurriedly exits their last period, Darius waits for Noah, his best friend since Kindergarten. Although they have several differences, including race, sexuality, and hobbies, they find that as an opportunity to learn more about each other. As Noah gets his loaded bookbag together, the two exit school and get on the school bus.

Their conversations are spontaneous — their favorite part of their 7-year friendship. Whether it be discussing conspiracy theories, family life, or even politics, everyday brings a new aspect to learn about each other. But on today’s bus ride home, Noah and Darius simply conversed about their shared love of their history class.

“Although I’m not black,” Noah expresses, “I almost feel as though I empathize with all of their struggles from the past. It breaks my heart to even process slavery, you know?”

“Totally. I am so thankful for Mr. Harris’s class. There is so much to my history that it would take decades for us to research it all ourselves.”

“For real though!”

Darius continues, “And I feel like without history class, I would be unappreciative of my culture merely because I didn’t know much about it.” The conversation cut short as Darius’s stop was nearby. The two friends hugged as they said their goodbyes, with Darius leaving the bus stop and dashing to his home.

“MOM I’M HOME” exclaimed Darius, dropping his book bag to give his mother the world’s tightest hug. “Awe baby! How was your day my love? Tell me all about it! Lunch is almost ready!”

“YAY! Thank you momma! And my day was perfect! I learned about vaccination in Mr. Harris’s class!”

“Really? I could tell you’re in love with that class,” said Momma, watching over the pot filled with macaroni and cheese for lunch.

“Absolutely! History class makes me so proud to be black! Like, did you know that during World War II, historically Black universities were a place of refuge for persecuted Jews seeking asylum from Nazi Germany? Or that Dr. Gladys West contributed her calculations that lead to the modern-day GPS?”

“Wow honey, that’s amazing. I always learn something new from you every day.”

“Momma, you always say that, but did you really not know these things before?” Knowing that a lengthy conversation was ahead, Momma turned off the stove and answered, “Well, when I was a teen in 2020, we never learned these things. The textbooks were whitewashed. When our history was mentioned, it mainly revealed our struggles in society. Sometimes I still get shocked that your best friend is Noah because back in my days, it was hard for different races to accept each other.”

“So what happened in 2020?”

Momma left the kitchen to take Darius into the living room, as both of them jumped on the couch. “Well,” Momma says, “It all started when...”