A Letter From the President

To:  Emily Webb, Director for Board Relations, Virginia Dept. of Education.
From:  Audrey Perry Williams, President
            Hampton Roads Branch ASALH

Subject: Rewrite and Inaccurate Narratives of Minorities in The History and Social Science Standards of Learning

It is with deep concern that I am writing this letter to your office.  Upon reviewing the recent History and Social Science Standard of Learning, I realized a decision was made to erase the history of minorities and their contributions to this country.  I find it disturbing that there is an attempt to even suggest that this inaccurate information be accepted and become a part of the curriculum.

 This attempt is a mockery to not only minorities but to all people in this country.  It is obvious that this country has been able to survive because of the contributions of all and not just the majority.

I find it appalling that you would even think the people of this state, regardless of race, would sit back and let historical inaccuracies move forward without a fight.

This rewrite was created by Superintendent Balow, the Superintendent’s selected consultant, Ms. Shelia Bryd Carmicheal, and the Governor’s office staff. It is not the original draft standards created in partnership by hundreds of educators, historians, professors, museums, organizations, parents, teachers, and VDOE staff, considering over 6,000 public comments.  In addition, much of the work by the recent Commission on African American History Education and Virginia’s diverse groups and voices have been removed from this document.

ASALH  strongly opposes the  ¨Final Redraft of VA HSS Standards for K-12document created by Superintendent Balow, Shelia Byrd Carmicheal, and staff from the Governor´s office. We demand that the original ¨Proposed Revised 2022 History and Social Science Standards of Learning” documents be approved by the Board of Education by the Virginia Department of Education History and Social Science Staff in August and discussed in September and October.

There has been a discussion that your office is concerned about the feelings of most children in this state.  However, have you ever thought about the children of the minority who are reminded daily that they have no history and are inferior to the majority? Our children are people too and deserve to know their history's accurate narratives.  If history is accurately taught, there would be no attempt to hide information.

ASALH’s mission is to ensure that our history has an accurate narrative and it is because of this mission that I am writing this letter.

I do hope a decision will be made not to ignore the work done over a lengthy period of time with numerous diverse groups having an input for the document that has been produced with minimum input from a diverse group.

Audrey Perry Williams, President
Hampton Roads Branch ASALH
757 303 6170
lvwith1@aol.com