Today in my 6th period English class a few of my seventh grade students compared Donald Trump to George Wallace and Hillary Clinton to John Lewis. Yes, that George Wallace – the governor of Alabama who at his 1963 inauguration speech said “Segregation today…segregation tomorrow…segregation forever.” And yes, that John Lewis – the civil rights activist who at the age of 23 was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream Speech.”
Last week we read Lewis’s 1963 speech where he opens with the line “We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of, for hundreds and thousands of our brothers are not here, for they are receiving starvation wages or no wages at all.” We worked to determine his point of view on segregation and analyze the development of that point of view over the course of his speech. My students identified that he was clearly against segregation and that he used a variety of strategies to get his point across. He shared horrific examples of how the evils of racism and oppression left African Americans defeated, beaten and dead. “What did the federal government do when local police officials kicked and assaulted the pregnant wife of Slater King and she lost her baby?” They noted that he worked to appeal to a diversity of constituents - sharecroppers, police officers, whites who were pro-integration, legislators, all of America.
Today we read excerpts from George Wallace’s 1963 Inaugural Address. Some of my students had already recognized Wallace’s name from Lewis’s speech where he stated, “They're talking about slow down and stop. We will not stop. All of the forces of Eastland, Barnett, Wallace, and Thurmond will not stop this revolution.” A few of my students asked if Wallace was white. I told them he was. They asked if he was for or against segregation. I told them they’d have to read his speech to find out. After we read a few excerpts from the speech including one where Wallace stated, “Let us rise to the call of freedom loving blood that is in us and send our answer to the tyranny that clanks its chains upon the South. In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny . . . and I say . . . segregation today . . . segregation tomorrow . . . segregation forever,” we paused to state what we’d learned about Wallace’s point of view so far. One of my students raised his hand, and with a look of surprise and shock on his face said, “He’s a complete racist.”
It’s no surprise to me that my students connected Trump to Wallace. They both use fear to rally support for their divisive ideas. They both believe, whether stating it explicitly or implicitly, that white Americans are superior to the rest of us. They both see a departure from the 1950s "Leave It To Beaver" white Americana as a threat to our country. This all seems obvious. Two white men in positions of power who abuse that power to oppress others.
What did blow my mind was that in the teacher’s notes for this lesson the writers of the Core Ready curriculum stated that in today’s classrooms it may be difficult for our students to understand that someone could hold the beliefs of Wallace - that someone could be as divisive, as disrespectful, and as derogatory as he was. “Although it can be difficult for readers in the 21st century to understand the thinking of someone like George Wallace at that point in American history, it is important to expose students to those whose beliefs are different from their own and encourage them to try to understand the historical context of those beliefs.”
Sadly, my students don’t have to read a 1963 speech from a white segregationist to be exposed to beliefs that are different from their own. They simply have to check their Twitter feed to see Trump’s latest hate-filled rant. They can watch the news to learn that he believes Mexicans, like them, are rapists and Muslims, like them, are terrorists. They can listen to an audio recording of him to know that he believes women and girls, like them, are objects to be fondled by men and all Black and Latinos, like them, seem to live in “the inner city.”
The curriculum writers’ note to the teacher reminds me that a) this curriculum went to print before this presidential election began, b) we haven’t come as far as a nation as I originally believed, and c) sadly, there are many people in the 21st century who still hold the beliefs of George Wallace. I’d venture to say these folks are Trump supporters.
My students, their reflections, and their insights remind me that a) we are a beautiful people, b) it is imperative that we equip our students with the skills and resources to organize and create change, and c) the youth will lead us. They did when 23-year old John Lewis said in 1963, “We must say wake up America, wake up! For we cannot stop, and we will not and cannot be patient." They will in 2016 when my 12-year old student says “Donald Trump in the debate is like George Wallace and Hillary Clinton is like John Lewis. Trump’s trying to divide people with fear and Hillary is trying to bring people together.” We’ve come quite a ways as a nation and still have a ton of work to do. I’m grateful that in my line of work, as a teacher, I get to think alongside some of our nation’s best – my diverse, creative, intelligent, and inclusive seventh grade scholar activists.