History excavation: Lies your teacher told you

By Thulani Conrad Moore, Roots of Justice Trainer
Lies about historical figures are not unusual, but they are dangerous. Lies of commission are those stories told that are false. Equally dangerous are the lies of omission. Facts that have been omitted to control or shape the historic narrative. Finding the truth takes some digging.
Excavating is a process of exposing, laying bare, digging, or unearthing. It usually refers to digging soil. I am digging through history to expose nuggets of U.S. history your teacher didn't tell you. Lies of omission and lies of commission make you miss important stuff.
For instance, which of these is true about the first U.S. president, George Washington? 

• When he was a child his father confronted him about a cherry tree that had been chopped down. George said “I can not tell a lie…I chopped down the tree, father.” Or,
• George Washington was a human trafficker (enslaver). At the time of his death, he held 317 humans captive on his farm. He claimed 123 of those Africans as property. ​

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