Column: Teach and learn from Black history, and act on those lessons

Black History Month shines a light on the need to teach a full and complete version of Black history and the importance of learning from and acting on its lessons, while portraying a complete version of all of our history.

We have seen attempts to limit what can be taught in our schools around the country about Black experiences and other aspects of history whether pushed by political leaders or organizations who have a desire to promote their limited, and often prejudicial, points of view.

We can only learn to do better and reduce divisions in our nation and make needed policy changes if we do not receive a distorted whitewashed version of our past.

I have much confidence in the open-mindedness of our younger generation. Minds are shaped by what they are exposed to or by what they have not seen or heard. We can learn from history, but if that history is not complete or accurate, the lessons and insight to be learned will be lost or hidden. We have much to be proud of as a nation, but we have warts and blemishes that tell a more complete story of how we got to this point. Masking that which we don't want to share is scarier than a truthful or honest approach.

If we do not have understanding, it makes it appear that those who are clamoring for change are just stirring the pot without good reason. It can lead to some ignoring them and others accusing them of causing baseless trouble. They may be causing "good trouble" to use the words of iconic Black congressman John Lewis, but without that foundation of knowledge based on complete historical facts, many would not or could not understand.

This knowledge gap can contribute to ongoing prejudices or indifference. When people year after year hear perspectives rooted in views that have been fostered by families and teachers that have been based on lack of complete and accurate information or distortions, those indifferent or prejudicial viewpoints become ingrained.

The only way to break this ongoing cycle of prejudice or indifference is to work to insure that people in all pockets of our nation are exposed to truthful, complete and inclusive versions of history. This is a process that will not effectuate changes in viewpoints like the flick of a switch. It will take a long-standing commitment to reverse ingrained perspectives.

Sadly, many states have proposed legislative bans on anti-racist teaching and training as being anti-American and unpatriotic. I could not disagree more. We need to have an understanding of how we got to this point in our history and have a better understanding of our complete and unfiltered history, blemishes and all. We should not be afraid to learn from our past. To me that is patriotic and positive. I hope you agree with me and push back on any attempts to curtail a full and complete approach to teaching of history.

The fight for voting rights is a big part of Black history in our nation. It makes me mad that some legislatures around the country are still trying to beat back hard-fought voting rights with a disproportionate adverse impact on many Black Americans and on many minority groups.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was critical in rolling back restrictions that reflected racial discrimination, and required that states with a history of racial discrimination could not impose voting restriction without prior clearance by the U.S. Dept of Justice. That part of the law was gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2013 in the Shelby County case.

Ever since then, there has been a proliferation of voter suppression actions which have made it harder to vote, especially for many Black Americans and minorities.

In the last Congress, the House took action to fight the onslaught of voter suppression. It passed HR1. It set national voter registration and mail-in voting standards, and standards for purging of voter rolls and many other steps to ensure citizens don't have their voting rights eroded. HR1 died in the Senate.

The last House also approved the John Lewis Voting Rights Act which restored voting protections which were eroded by the Supreme Court in 2013. Though the current Congress will be a struggle, we need to keep pushing until we see legislation protecting voting rights for all Americans and including the Black community.

Black history, including the current history we read about, too often includes use of excessive force by police against members of the Black community and minorities.

We were all horrified to see the brutality against Tyre Nichols by the group of policemen in Memphis. We have seen too many examples of this use of excessive force. We need to speak out and demand reforms at all levels of government with national standards from Congress.

We were fortunate to see Illinois pass some measures in Springfield that can and should have a positive impact. We are lucky that many of our communities have departments we can be proud of, and have many officers who understand how to do their jobs without escalating situations or using excess and inappropriate force. Regardless, that is not the case in too many communities and with too many officers.

Considering the magnitude and volume of situations we have seen and continue to see around the country, it is hard to not acknowledge that the problem is pervasive and needs action at the national level. We need more and better training. We need more and better vetting of officers. We need national standards on de-escalation of force and prohibition of certain methods of restraint that can lead to needless bodily injury or death. We need to rethink and improve on the type of personnel used in different situations, including mental health professionals and social workers either in lieu of or accompanying officers and need to provide proper and full funding for appropriate staffing for all of our police forces throughout the nation.

We can and must do better. Neither lethal or excessive force should be used by officers in apprehending people for nonlife-threatening offenses or if the offenders are not threatening officers with lethal force or weapons. We need to mandate training on racial, religious, ethnic and discriminatory profiling by police. We need accountability and appropriate standards for being able to proceed against officers who have acted wrongfully and need to revisit insulating them from liability in appropriate situations, so they know they will be held accountable.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act addressing these issues was passed by the House in the last Congress but never got approved in the Senate, and, as articulated by many in the wake of Tire's case, we must continue to push for enactment of a similar bill until we see it signed into law.

We need to insure that justice and law and order are addressed on a level playing field for all. Public safety is not a partisan issue and all communities including the Black community should not have to be fearful of those who are supposed to be protecting them.

There is much we can learn from Black history, and it is critical that we act on those lessons, to break down prejudice, to insure our sacred right to vote for all, and to make our communities safer for all Americans regardless of the color of their skin.

• Elliott Hartstein of Northbrook is an attorney and a former Buffalo Grove village president. If you are interested in possibly discussing this topic further over Zoom with Elliott and others, you can email him at elliotthartstein@yahoo.com.