Golden State rewrites history

They say history is written by the victor.When the "victor" in question holds his position by mere virtue of characteristic - say, race or ethnicity - the resulting biases are even less justified. Pass those biases down to the impressionable minds of children in the form of books and other educational materials, and improper justification becomes indefensible shame.

Education should not discriminate."Whites" did it to "negroes" to justify slavery. Diagrams in medical textbooks depicted pea-sized brains in dark-skinned slaves and claimed many other physical differences from white-skinned owners, used to justify torture and massive kidnappings. It wasn't so long ago that history books were sorely lacking in any historical events or achievements by any minorities; Black History Month (originally, Negro History Week) began in part to correct that.

Educational bias isn't just ancient history; compare a middle school history book's section on the Civil War published in the South with one published up North. I did, and found differences. Still, that subject is old news. More modern historical biases pervade today, and California may prove the leader for change.This month California became the first state to require by law that public textbooks include historical accomplishments of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans (LGBT) such as Harvey Milk (first openly gay elected politician) and civil rights leader Bayard Rustin (gay rights was only one of his many civil rights causes), the Stonewall Rebellion/police raid in 1969 (first organized resistance to official harassment), and infamous hate crimes, although that's not all. The law also requires inclusion of contributions by Pacific Islanders and the disabled. As Gov. Jerry Brown said after signing the bill, "History should be honest."

Opponents of the legislation called it "brainwashing" and "trampling on parental rights." Advocates, including the California Teachers' Association, hailed it as a step toward ending legal discrimination against the disabled and LGBT communities. It's also meant to be an educational step against bullying, which has led some targeted students to leave school or commit suicide. Neither side has to worry for a few years; budget constraints will limit new textbook purchases until approximately 2015.

Facts should never be the foundation of censorial limitation."In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost." - Alfred Griswold, Yale University president and historian

Sholeh Patrick is an attorney and a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email [email protected]