On Racist Textbooks

Abstract

Abstract The NAACP became concerned about a New York City Board of Education textbook which was called to the attention of the Association. The book, How the United States Became a World Power, about black life during the Reconstruction era, is filled with inaccuracies and stereotypes. In the following essay, Walter White recommends to the NAACP Board of Directors that a representative from the Association evaluate the New York City Board of Education’s textbooks, especially on history and civics. This essay was written in 1932. Effort was made some months ago to get the New York Women’s Auxiliary to appoint a committee to go over all the text books, especially history and civic text books, to compile material such as the above and to prepare therefrom an au thoritative document as the basis for a protest to the Board of Education and to the Mayor. No city in the country offers a more likely chance of successful elimination of such paragraphs than New York, and especially in view of the coming elections. The example set by New York would undoubtedly be followed by branches in other cities.