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Learning Complete History

I'm writing in praise of the Guilford Town budget's inclusion of funds for the Guilford Free Library, Witness to History, Writing Injustice Book Club, Big Hearts Book Club, the Guilford Foundation's awards to Guilford Anti-Bias/Anti-Racist Alliance, and the Jordan Porco Foundation. The programs of these organizations promote healing and understanding in our community.

I always wonder, when Courier letter-writers criticize programs like these, just what kind of education did they have growing up to make them so oppose these positive programs? Many of us grew up with incomplete history — history lessons that lacked historical information about slavery in the North (including right here in Guilford) as well as the South, discrimination against the Chinese workers who built our railroads, Black workers who built the White House, removal of native Americans from their homelands to isolated reservations, discrimination against immigrants including Hispanics, the Irish and the Italians.

I applaud our local educators and librarians whose professionalism ensures our youngsters and teens get to learn complete history with these programs. They help all ages recognize and work to overcome cultural/racial bias.

Ellen Creane

Guilford