The oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States, the American Historical Association (AHA), has issued a statement condemning “the recent deployment of histories invented in the interest of bigotry, violence, and division.”
“If the statements of white nationalists do not reflect who Americans are or want to be,” the statement says, “they do compose an undeniable part of our collective past. Those aspects of the nation’s heritage should be exposed and overcome, rather than ignored or celebrated. Knowledge of history can help Americans achieve that goal.”
The statement on domestic terrorism, bigotry, and history was cosigned by some three dozen academic organizations, including the Organization of American Historians, American Anthropological Association, National Council on Public History
North American Conference on British Studies, the Oral History Association and the Organization of American Historians.
You can read the full statement at the AHA website. Founded in 1884, the AHA promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials. The organization also publishes a leading historical journal The American Historical Review.
Photo of American Historical Association provided.
I read the complete statement and agree with it as far as it goes. The problem is it doesn’t go far enough, and it leaves a lot of questions unanswered, such as:
1. Why now does the oldest and largest association of historians in the United States decide to make a statement about right wing violence? Why not, for example, in the 1920s when the klan was at the peak of its power?
2. Why no mention of leftist violence which has a long history in the United States and also has seen an increase lately? While violence by the left is not against one racial group, it is focused on undermining our entire democratic system. We need to take leftist violence as seriously as we do that on the right.
The fact that Chris Cuomo compares antifa to our soldiers who defeated Nazism in World War 2 reveals, along with this statement, that some on the left are only concerned about violence on the right. They remind me of people who choose communism over nazism, when the real choice is democracy over all violent and totalitarian systems, including communism and nazism. Real believers in democracy are opposed to violence from the right and the left. The AHA’s statement is unbalanced in this regard.
https://forward.com/opinion/428960/the-dayton-murderer-is-proof-we-need-to-take-left-wing-violence-seriously/
Resorting to whataboutism to inflate left wing violence and pretend it’s on par with right wing violence and “focused on undermining our entire democratic system” makes it clear your loyalty stands with white supremacists.
Shame on you. There is no room for that here.
John your response is the typical ad hominem response that I am coming more and more to expect from the left. Extremely disappointing. Saying that I am against violence from both the left and the right is not whataboutism. Nor is it siding with white supremacists. It’s siding with democracy against all extremists. The shame is all yours for indulging in name calling rather than logical arguments. Should I assume now that your response means you support antifa and left wing terrorism. I will not stoop to your level to do that.
It is imperative that amid the contemporary politically charged rhetoric that makes civil discourse so difficult that every effort be made to give a clearer historical perspective in regard to domestic terrorism, intolerance, ethnic and racial inequality, the lack of civility, gender, the rule of law, economic inequality, and immigration policy. Historians who deserve our respect are the ones who are able to transcend the today’s tribalism and to produce readable, documented, and thoughtful works that illuminate how the past impacts us today.
Racism and bigotry have no place in American society. Historians must judge facts accordingly, so posterity can properly navigate future times. They must do so in an unbiased manner.
Leftists are not typically violent, but they are atypically peaceful. Extremism runs from left to right and vice versa. It is wrong, no matter who advances it’s notions.
Chris Cuomo is neither extremist or anti-American. He is a patriot and a journalist of sound character and integrity, in a time when such things are sadly lacking in American news reporters.
Right now race relations in this country have suffered greatly from Republican right-wing law-makers, who seek to undermine American sovereignty and democracy by a pervasive fictionalized versions of historical facts. Sarah Palin, anybody?
It is the duty of every historian and journalist to question the veracity and wisdom of those people who are in control of the American national. Those who do not are negligent in their duties. But their arguments must be predicated on logic and facts, unlike a dubious and fundamentally inept President who bends (in my opinion) and denied facts on a daily basis. He likes uneducated people!
Why? So he can manipulate them! His running knowledge of history is made of one delusion after another.
Immigrants coming into our country to improve their lives is not a crime.
They should be documented though for security purposes. Yet Mr. Trump has seen fit to exploit and inflict harm on innocent foreigners to advance an entirely bastardized political agenda (in my opinion).
Studying human history teaches people to see through veils of nonsense in gov’t and elsewhere.
We must hold people in power responsible for abusing power, when they do so. If we don’t, we learn nothing from history.
We are a country of foreigners and immagres. This country was built mainly by paupers. So to wrecklessly discriminate against poor people in such a fashion is a universally uneducated thing to do.
Left-wing extremists should also be carefully scrutinized. They have been historically linked to many tragedies. Remember Chairman Mao and his buddy Stalin? They were not good people. In fact, they both left a vulgar stain on human history.
Race relations has been too often lampooned in America recently, by left and right wingers, to the detriment of all…when it is actually serious business. As a result, political moderates have been badly marginalized.
This is their own fault as too many of them are politically indolent.
If you want your civil rights secured, you must be willing to fight for them. So people, get out and vote and do your duty…
Stand up for America and save our history by preserving a free and open society for all. Stick to the facts! The only (in my opinion) fake news is Fox News. But what do l know? I’m just a historian.
“who are in control of the American nation,” I meant to say.
“and denies facts on a daily basis,” I meant to say.
Apologies.