There are several historical events that shocked me when watching the posted videos on Module 1. One of them being that I didn't realize that Native American children were taken from their biological families and adopted to white families to make them fit in with white American society. It's also shocking to hear about Dr. J. Marion Sims (father of gynecology) and how he carried out operations and experiments on African American women who were slaves. These historical events, and the other historical events mentioned in the videos still affect people of color today. People were taught to see people of color less than and treated them as inhumane to justify their actions. Take the confederate flag for example; people still see it as "southern heritage" rather as a symbol of hate because of that southern pride that is passed down through generations. I wish more of this would have been taught in schools. Not only about oppression, but to also include the contributions made by people of color. I hope one day this happens. This is why it is so important to talk to people who don't look or think like you, so you can learn from one another because not everything is put into a book, or taught at school.
Both of these events also shocked me. I had read a novel that touched on the American Indian orphanages, but until I watched the video and witnessed the testimonies of the victims, it had not completely registered with me. It's so incredibly horrible.
Yes, I was aware of disconnected pieces of this, but nothing approaching a full picture of the level of purposefully harmful efforts toward minority groups, including the lie of "schools" for Native American children. I was also shocked at the nazi-like (even nazi-inspiring) cruel, dehumanizing "treatments" for Mexicans crossing the US border. The fact that all of this is deeply pervasive and extensive in its fear and hate basis is bone-chilling. We need to do the long, deep ugly work of powerful transformation!