As I learned about the Middle East in my world history class, I was stunned when a peer said, "Who cares if they get bombed, they're all terrorists anyway." Many Long Island schools are trapped in "bubbles". Harmful rhetorics and racist sentiments are constantly repeated without intervention in our classrooms, bouncing back at students who then absorb them. Our schools are echo chambers: students learn biased narratives of history which reinforce stereotypical ideas and misconceptions about our society. Unfortunately, the predominantly white racial makeup of our schools has also created learning environments where students of color are treated as peripheral, as their narratives and histories have been ignored in our curricula.As a student liaison for the Commack Alumni for Racial Equity organization, and the president of the Commack DiversifyOurNarrative (DON) chapter, I have presented informational resources about educational equity to educators and advocated for literature by authors of color to be included in our humanities curricula. I've always felt that classroom discussions were often coded with bigotry and that these efforts could help create empowering classrooms for me, my peers, and future students. In addition, I've worked with peers, educators, and administrators to address major blindspots in our curricula, especially how the dominant perspective in our history classes comes from a Eurocentric lens. All of these efforts have led me to realize how an unbalanced education leaves students unprepared for the work needed to dismantle systemic forms of oppression and combat racial prejudice. Learning about racism provides students with the skills and knowledge needed to recognize and critically analyze oppressive laws and institutions, enabling students to become allies in social justice movements as they leave their classroom "bubbles''. Only through building our understanding of the foundations of racism in the United States can we progress towards an equitable Long Island that seeks to welcome all.
Learning about the history of racism is integral to having a well-rounded education and greatly affects how we move forward into the world as well-equipped, informed citizens. We must ensure that education is used as a tool to reform our morals, thoughts, and practices in the interest of everyone's well-being. Through these practices, education becomes the most powerful tool to amplify the voices of marginalized communities who have been neglected for far too long. By learning about the history of Indigenous tribes like the Shinnecock, we create hope for a future where sacred indigenous sites throughout Long Island are protected, and Indigenous people are justly recognized as the caretakers of this land. When we learn about the history of Levittown and Robert Moses' constructions with respect to our standing as one of the most racially segregated areas in the country, we create hope for a future with fair residential housing for Black and brown communities. Our hope for a racially just future is rooted in education, and we must work towards ensuring that all students have the tools they need to actualize our vision of an equitable Long Island.