First hour: Miriam Zinter on being a Black woman who looks white
Second hour: Who teaches local history and how is it taught?
“Why do you have a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign on your front lawn when all those people do is kill each other?” That's a question a neighbor recently asked a local woman who is Black, but looks white. In a piece for the Huffington Post, Miriam Zinter wrote about the "horrible things white people feel safe telling" her. She says these encounters have been happening for a long time. We walked with Zinter about some of these issues in 2018, but now, three years later, we revisit the conversation in light of the current political and social situation. She spoke with our colleague Beth Adams during an interview for Morning Edition, and now we continue the discussion on Connections. Our guest:
- Miriam Zinter, community activist
Then in our second hour, this country is engaged in a heated ongoing debate over who teaches American history, and what exactly is taught. To that end, SUNY Geneseo has some ambitious ideas about how to help local historians teach American history tied to the country's 250th anniversary. The center wants to place students alongside town historians to help tell a full, rich story about this country's founding, its ideals, its actions, and how it has changed. Our guests:
- Michael Oberg, distinguished professor of history and director of the Geneseo Center for Local and Municipal History at SUNY Geneseo
- Joel Helfrich, incoming director of the Center for Local and Municipal History at SUNY Geneseo
