Intersectionality Matters!

69. The Battle for America's Memory, Part 2

May 7, 2025
Melanie Campbell, President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, joins a dynamic discussion on the urgent need to protect Black American history. The group emphasizes the connection between safeguarding museums and defending democracy. They explore how recent book bans are efforts to erase anti-racist knowledge and the challenges facing institutions that uphold Black histories. Resilient organizers share their strategies for community engagement and activism, urging listeners to join the fight against memory erasure.
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INSIGHT

Erasure As A Strategy

  • Erasing Black history and narratives is a deliberate strategy to sustain white supremacy and undercut demands for equity.
  • Removing artifacts and marginalizing Black scholarship makes it easier to portray inequality as natural rather than systemic.
ANECDOTE

Author Targeted At Naval Academy

  • Tim Wise described being the most-banned author at the Naval Academy after multiple books were removed.
  • He used the incident to show anti-racism is being targeted while racist materials remain available.
INSIGHT

What Book Bans Reveal

  • The list of removed books reveals a pattern: racism is tolerated while anti-racism is suppressed.
  • Removing counter-narratives prevents young people from learning structural causes of inequality and mobilizing for change.
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