Before watching these videos, I thought I had an understanding of the history of the US. I had learned about assimilation schools for Native Americans and Japanese internment camps in AP US history classes, but I think I had considered these things (among others in the videos) part of the past. Listening to the folks in the Native American school/adoption videos infuriated me. To know that our government was involved in something so insidious in the name of American expansionism broke my heart open, because I know that these types of land grabbing, culture stifling events still happen today.
The only reason I knew a little more about the history of eugenics in the united states (and elsewhere in the world) is from a women's studies course I took in college. I learned that in my home state, people (primarily black women and men) were being forcibly or unknowingly sterilized until the 1970s!! It feels so wrong to not talk about this in schools.
In general, module 1 made me reflect on how I have received historical information throughout my life. The videos also unfortunately made some current events seem like a grave repeat of history (i.e., racist language from news coverage of migrant caravans to the border). I think I want to continue learning more about the more insidious history of the US, and have added some books to my reading list to do so.
