I remember when...

Growing up, the phrase "I remember when (insert tragic historical event), and you'll remember this, too." It was said as if each generation got one monumental event that would never be forgotten. One.

That hasn't been the case for Gen X and Millennials. We haven't known peace our entire lives. Now that we've grown. Now that we've educated ourselves beyond our parents. Now that we are able to share our truths and represent our people because we were angered when we realized the history we were taught in school omitted just enough to make the country look great, and too much for us to actually become great.

We vowed to never forget what happened on 9/11, but we have already forgotten so much. Will we do it again? 50 years from now, will the stories of today be sugarcoated and reframed into a softer, more digestible version. Because it's so very difficult to look in the mirror to see the monster within.

The past 10 years, I, myself, was surprised to learn about some of the hidden things in American History. So I can understand how so many people have a false impression of the identity of this country. The first settlers here were framed as religious refugees seeking a new life and a fresh start. (Oh, the irony.) Only to find an awaiting enemy. The truth? They were the first of many to arrive and eventually enslave countless people for centuries to come.

Had it not been for the recent attempt to reframe the "Trail of Tears" in school textbooks, then I may have never considered that the US was so misleading... that it also had a government that would lie. After all, weren't we taught that this country was built with integrity by honest men, not enslavers?

We were educated on the battles between Native Americans and the colonists. We were told that everyone made peace and all was made well. While I'm not saying that it didn't happen, I don't recall learning about the near extinction of bison to starve out human beings. All for domination and power. I know I was never taught about Oscarville, GA (Lake Lanier), Kowaliga & Benson, AL (now Lake Martin), or Seneca Village, NY (Central Park). Where was the lesson on Tulsa, OK and Black Wall Street?!

Have you heard of these towns? Did you know they were successful prominent towns that were evacuated and destroyed for lakes and dams and parks? Oh, and they were also communities comprised of African Americans.

People today want to reduce it to slavery and say "that was so long ago", not accounting for the generations thereafter who were terrorized and hindered so that they could not succeed. If we were to truly account for the challenges that the black community has faced in this country when considering their successes, can you imagine where we would be without systemic racism and white supremacy? Whether we want to admit it or not, those very institutions have held all of us back.

How many of us truly know about the enslaved Chinese immigrants who were forced to work in gold mines and build railroads or the Japanese internment camps that existed during WWII? It was literally a blip in my history book. I will never forget it because it was the first time I ever saw anything about people who resembled me that didn't frame them as insane jungle people. One full page. The top half was one photo of an internment camp and the bottom had maybe 3-4 paragraphs that discussed what they were and why.

As a child, I didn't understand the significance of that. As an adult, it pisses me the fuck off. Having such a small mention of something so notorious is the perfect example of sweeping something under the rug. But who would want to admit to rounding people up out of fear and racism, robbing them of their money and businesses, rendering them homeless, subjecting them to abuse and trauma, then shrugging it off like it was nothing?

While some may have seen it as dramatic to forewarn about today's events, many of us know that it wasn't so far fetched because it has happened before. Less than 100 years ago. We just hoped that we knew better than to do it again. I guess not. But we will be destined to repeat these ignorant mistakes as long as we refuse to face the truth about what and who we are as a country. Only then can we become better.

There is no way to measure the value of our efforts to correct our course, but the real work will come after. Thanks to technology and modern media, it will be more difficult to hide. We must remember. With as much dedication as we have memorialized everything that has been done to us, we must remember everything we have done to ourselves.