Here are some personal examples of moments where I expanded my depth of understanding about historical content. I'm not blaming teachers or schools as much as my own need for bias and a simplified sound byte that I can use off the cuff any old time. Example "My ancestors never owned slaves". That's to get me off the hook. Another big one is that I spent my life proving I didn't have advantages over other people based on any sort of economic or cultural priviledges. Hard work and perserverence, raised myself up by my own boot straps. Oops, mom, dad, help me. And they did. You can never say you walked in somebody elses shoes, only your own. Today you can say it's not about race. It's about income. Which is all about race in the past and significant in determining generational wealth. .
1. Rosa Parks: I thought she was just some random black lady that was fed up one day and refused to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus. She was a long time activist for decades. She was part of the Montgomery bus boycott led by Martin Luther King in 1955.
2. Jackie Robinson: Baseball player that endured racial slurs while playing. Like Hank Aaron who received death threats for breaking Babe Ruth home run record. But I did not know that Jackie Robinson was court marshalled for refusing to give up his seat on a bus when he was in the military. It had become legal in the military by that time and he beat the court marshall.
3. Christopher Columbus was arrested and imprisoned in 1500 for brutality and mismanagement while acting as governor of Hispaniola. He was returned to Spain in chains by royal comissioner Francisco de Bobadilla for the crime of tyranny against both indigenous people and Spanish colonist.