Tom Hanks penned an essay about the Tulsa race massacre and the whitewashing of American history, which he concedes has happened in a number of his past films.
In The New York Times essay, Hanks calls for more education about Tulsa race massacre, which occurred on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when a white mob descended upon the historically Black neighbourhood, Greenwood in Tulsa Oklahoma. The mob burnt down Greenwood, looted the district and attacked residents. It is estimated that 300 people were killed.
"By my recollection, four years of my education included studying American history," Hanks wrote. "Since then, I’ve read history for pleasure and watched documentary films as a first option. Many of those works and those textbooks were about white people and white history. The few black figures – Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr – were those who accomplished much in spite of slavery, segregation and institutional injustices in American society.
"But for all my study, I never read a page of any school history book about how, in 1921, a mob of white people burned down a place called Black Wall Street, killed as many as 300 of its black citizens and displaced thousands of Black Americans who lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma."
"My experience was common," reflects Hanks. "History was mostly written by white people about white people like me, while the history of black people – including the horrors of Tulsa – was too often left out."
"Until relatively recently, the entertainment industry, which helps shape what is history and what is forgotten, did the same. That includes projects of mine," he writes. "I knew about the attack on Fort Sumter, Custer's last stand and Pearl Harbour but did not know of the Tulsa massacre until last year, thanks to an article in The New York Times."
Hanks concludes his essay: "Should our schools now teach the truth about Tulsa? Yes, and they should also stop the battle to whitewash curriculums to avoid discomfort for students.
"America’s history is messy but knowing that makes us a wiser and stronger people ... Each of these lessons chronicles our quest to live up to the promise of our land, to tell truths that, in America, are meant to be held as self-evident."
Poacher
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
More on animal trafficking
MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Brighton, Sunday, 6pm UAE
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat
Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press
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