John Oliver on learning the hard truths about the history of race in America

John Oliver discussed how race is taught in U.S. history lessons

There is a national debate right now about when and if U.S. students should return to school amid pandemic concerns. Whenever and however school restarts, John Oliver hopes to see some significant changes in the way history classes cover race in America.

The protests following the murder of George Floyd brought increased attention to racial equality, social justice, and systemic racism. But the goal isn’t just awareness but to enact concrete change in American society.

For that to happen, changes need to be made in the classroom. That was John Oliver’s message during the main story on Last Week Tonight. Taking a break from coronavirus coverage, Oliver and his team of writers addressed the need for accurate education that doesn’t shy away from the painful, uncomfortable truths of the past.

As always, Last Week Tonight didn’t just point out a problem and talk about it. The Emmy Award-nominated staff also offered some realistic solutions on how to improve the way American education approaches issues of race.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver calls for U.S. history lessons to be fact-checked

A major issue that John Oliver sees with the education system is how it is tailored. He cites examples suggesting that making history more “palatable” to white people has led to misconceptions, ignorance, and large numbers of people being uninformed about issues surrounding race. With this knowledge, Oliver isn’t surprised to see people learning history from Watchmen or thinking that The Help is an accurate depiction.

Oliver pushes back against the argument that history lessons shouldn’t be politicized by addressing slavery. He cites efforts to “downplay the horrors of slavery” as influencing education since the Civil War. And the people who learned those warped lessons are now running businesses or holding elected office.

To fix these issues, or at least come close to fixing them, Oliver highlights three areas that can be improved. Acknowledging white supremacy, changing the perception of history’s arc as a constant progression, and connecting the past to the present are ways Last Week Tonight points to as how history lessons can be accurate.

Oliver admits that this kind of change to American education won’t be easy. Nor does he think it is as simple as the presentation he gave in 30 minutes. But Last Week Tonight shows that there is a blueprint to making history lessons more factual and that in turn can start to undo some of the wrongs that have been present for centuries.

What did you think of this segment from John Oliver? Share your thoughts in the comment section. Keep checking Last Night On for more from Last Week Tonight and the rest of late-night television.