Student members of People for Black History | Photo Credit Pacer Photos
A group of students at UT Martin plan to continue their efforts to create a UT System-wide movement opposing Tennessee education legislation, legislation that they criticized as anti-education and pro-white supremacy.
Over the past few years, Tennessee lawmakers have passed two legislative acts regulating what educators can and cannot teach their students regarding topics such as Black history, African American studies, cultural diversity, as well as critical race theory. These include the Anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) Law of 2021 and the Divisive Concepts Act of 2022.
Fearing that such legislation would have a detrimental effect on not only the quality of education in Tennessee, but also would undermine the historical significance of Black history and social progress for Black people across the United States, UT Martin students formed the People for Black History.
Their goal: to demand that the faculty senate at UT Martin oppose these laws, as well as eventually form a movement across the entire UT educational system to publicly condemn and spark conversation about the legislation amongst both students and faculty.
That spark resulted in a resolution petition which, in just a month, has gained over 1,100 signatures of support. Additionally, on Feb. 23, UT Martin’s Student Government Association (SGA) passed a bill in mirrored support with the petition, a vote of 16-4.
“The students have spoken up and expressed that they want our university to publicly condemn these racist laws,” said David Mason, a representative of People for Black History and a student at UT Martin.
For context, Anti-CRT Law makes it illegal for any public K-12 school to teach concepts considered “uncomfortable”, such as the history of racial privilege within the United States or that an individual is inherently privileged or oppressed due to their race. The second law, the Divisive Concepts Act of 2022, prevents any institution of higher education from requiring students to take courses regarding black history or critical race theory, as well as prohibiting such institutions from requiring mandatory training in topics listed as divisive concepts.
Both laws also contain clauses that, in essence, mandate that any school or institution found in violation of these acts can be effectively withheld public funding.
Supporters of the legislation claim that it protects children from being exposed to mature topics that they are not developmentally ready for, while critics say that not teaching about such topics effectively “white-washing” U.S. history, undermining the African American and Black experience.
Others point to the vague wording of the laws as to what is considered “uncomfortable” topics and “divisive concepts” as a cause for concern, saying that such lack of publicity and published information as to what the laws really dictate could be easily manipulated.
“A vast majority of people that I have spoken with don’t know that these laws have been passed, don’t know what the laws are or do, and that they regulate our education system,” said Mason. “[The legislation] effectively suppresses a side of history that our legislation is trying to deliberately get rid of and suppress from people, we want people to be open to that side of history and make their own informed decisions.”
“Doing the petition really opens up a lot of discussions,” said Britney Marroquin, a student at UT Martin and member of People for Black History. “People don’t immediately close off to it, they want to ask more questions and it’s very good of them to be more informed about the situation.”
“Considering that the laws passed directly affect our university, it makes it a creative place for discussion,” echoed Caitlin Hill, a fellow member of People for Black History.
As for the next steps for the resolution, the members of People for Black History say they plan to take their case to the Faculty Senate alongside SGA. The SGA bill has been submitted to Dr. Phil Cavalier, UT Martin’s interim chancellor, who will decide where it goes next.
While no other organizations within the UT System have yet to make a public condemnation of the two pieces of legislation, both the People for Black History as well as UT Martin’s SGA have contacted other universities, including UT Knoxville and UT Chattanooga, in hopes of future collaboration.
As for the students of People for Black History, they say this is only the beginning of a movement dedicated to what they deem as opposing diluted history within Tennessee school systems, giving educational power back to the people who need it the most.
As Marroquin explained, “…systemic racism is a thing. White kids in white families…the whole thing is that they don’t want to ruin their innocence, but in Black families, the first thing they have to teach their children is ‘Hands Up!’. They know that their life could be in danger just because of the color of their skin.”
“There is a disparity that knowledge about these issues can close, but that cannot occur with this legislation,” continued Marroquin.
“At its core, Black History is understanding the coming of American history from a Black perspective and seeing how the institution of the United States has treated Black people in our country and the consequences of that treatment as it is today,” said Mason.
“The overall goal of history is to study our past so that we can have a better future and that way history won’t repeat itself, and suppressing an integral part of American history that is so important to the coming of the United States is a disservice to all students in Tennessee,” continued Mason.
Meanwhile, People for Black History must continue to work and wait to find out if their resolution will be included in future Faculty Senate discussions.
The next full Faculty Senate meeting will be 3 p.m. March 14 in 111 UC.
