It seems like one of the most powerful ways that white supremacy and systemic racism is upheld and perpetuated is through the erasure of history, particularly the history of racism and discrimination in this country. I am a US born American Citizen with a PhD, educated in the US, and nearly all of the content in the videos in Module 1 was new to me. If we knew and understood the history of this country and it's consequences, how could anyone ever deny the systemic and insidious nature of racism? By hiding this history and focusing on narratives that make colonization seem like 'progress' and excluding the voices, experiences, and narratives of those impacted by colonization and racism, we erase the truth. We build a society that does not value history, and that only sees history from a narrow and biased lens, that disconnects us from the history of racism and discrimination and allows us to see racism as "in the past" and only occurring in individual interactions by mean people with little consequences beyond momentary discomfort, and none of that is accurate.
I totally agree with you. Why didn't we learn this in history classes? It seems like now media is the history. And people forget things so quickly, especially if it does not apply to themselves. History does influence how people think and act and behave but they need to know the correct history.
I am painfully aware that I do not know my own history, particularly when it comes to race. It simply was not taught in school.