Sally Kohn: There is this whitewashing rative that has been taught for decades and continues to be taught in many places. We really depend on the younger generations to hold our feet to the fire about what we say we want to be as a country, she says. So i think it's very important that we're starting to consider like, well, what was the experience of women during the civil war? How did those folks who were on the margins, the queer folks, to transfer,. how did they figure into this cause we know all f these folks were there, and all of them pay a role in that history. And now the challenge is to recover that.
Can you think of a time when you told a story and remembered it...wrong? Perhaps you forgot a small detail, like the color of someone’s shoes, or something much bigger, like where the event took place. In a personal context, that might not seem like a huge deal. But what happens when what we misrepresent are our historical narratives? David Ikard is a Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University. In this episode, he talks about the dangers of inaccurate history, shares tips on how to find work that can contextualize and bring nuance to your historical knowledge, and uncovers the real story of one of history’s most iconic figures. You can follow David’s work on Twitter @blkeducator.
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To learn more about "How to Be a Better Human," host Chris Duffy, or find footnotes and additional resources, please visit: go.ted.com/betterhuman