A Video Seemingly Suggesting Slavery Was “No Big Deal” Is Being Taught In Schools, And Trump’s White House Partnered With The Company Behind It
“I feel like this is mental prep for slavery pt. 2.”
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PragerU, a conservative media organization promoting itself as an educational network, is getting called out online for the historically inaccurate and misleading messages it’s delivering to children. And, surprise, surprise, Donald Trump’s White House is partnering with them.
After Trump rescinded a bill that cut more than $1 billion in funding for CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), CPB announced it would have to shut down, which could force organizations that rely heavily on its funds, like PBS and NPR, to do massive budget cuts and layoffs.
PragerU describes itself as a nonprofit looking to spread “American values through the creative use of digital media, technology, and edu-tainment.” They offer content for adults, as well as learning videos and resources for kids. They state their free content — which includes short videos on topics like politics, history, economics, and social issues — “helps people of all ages think and live better.”
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In fact, one of PragerU’s history videos is currently going viral for its revisionist way to explain slavery to children.
The video in question comes from a 2022 episode of PragerU’s series Leo & Layla’s History Adventures. The siblings discuss having a “weird” day because students and teachers at their schools didn’t know if they should acknowledge Christopher Columbus Day as a holiday or call it Indigenous Peoples Day. Leo said people online have split views: some people refer to Christopher as a “really mean guy who spread slavery, disease, and violence to people who would’ve been better off if he’d never gone to the new world” while others believe he was a “really courageous guy who loved exploring, inspired generations, and spread Christianity and western civilization to people who really benefited from new ways of thinking and doing things.”
The two go back in time to talk to Christopher himself.
Christopher asked if they were “from the future or Indians” because he’d been “having a hard time telling who’s who lately.” They told him they traveled back in time to tell him he was given a holiday in the future, but they wanted to learn why it was so “controversial.”
Leo then questioned Christopher about acting like the land he “found” actually being in India. He then asked how he treated the people who discovered the land before he did. Christopher said the Taíno people “were great, peaceful, curious, really helpful, and highly intelligent” and were able to easily “mimic back” the things Christopher and his crew said to them, so he ordered his crew to “treat them well.”
This made Leo question why he read and heard at school that Christopher “brought slavery and murder to peaceful people.” Christopher addressed the accusation by claiming the place he found was far from “paradise” and that the native people weren’t “peaceful.” Layla was confused by Christopher’s contradicting statements after previously describing the people as peaceful. Christopher went on to claim the “Carib tribes” were “vicious warring cannibals.” He went on to say that although all the bad things (like jealousy, war, murder, lying, etc.) exist in many places around the world, in Europe, they draw the line at “eating people and human sacrifice.”
When asked more about slavery, he replied: “Slavery is as old as time, and has taken place in every corner of the world, even amongst the people I just left. Being taken as a slave is better than being killed, no? I don’t see the problem.” Layla told him that in today’s times, slavery is viewed as “evil and terrible.” He also said he met people who had different religious beliefs with “respect.”
“How can you come here to the 15th century and judge me by your standards from the 21st century?” Christopher asked. “Before you judge, you must ask yourself, what did the culture and society of the time treat as no big deal?”
Leo and Layla eventually traveled back to the current day, and they both came to the conclusion that he was a “courageous explorer,” and although he might not be a “hero,” they believe he did “heroic things that are definitely worth celebrating.” They added that the things we “judge him for” were viewed as “normal” back then.
And as you can expect, people online had A LOT to say about this historical take:
Materials from PragerU are currently offered in public schools in six states: Florida, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Montana, Arizona, and Louisiana.
The video is up on PragerU’s page. Personally, I am really saddened to see slavery downplayed in a video meant to educate children. We shouldn’t be trying to change history, as it’s important to learn from our past, even if it’s something awful. What are your thoughts?