…US history is not segregated from black history.

No, Black history is segregated from US history.

“If the teaching of American history ends up with equating the roles of Oprah Winfrey and Benjamin Franklin, there’s something seriously wrong with the way that American history is being taught.”

Exactly, hence the “I’d be worried.” Furthermore, pulling black figures from pop culture and sticking them next to luminaries like Franklin and Edison screams “forced” and strongly implies that black contributions to more “respected” fields like science, mathematics, literature and politics are minimal with no in-depth, complete explanation as to why. Kids can and do pick up on this. Many, many people, young and old, are walking around today with the perception that black Americans have made only meager contributions to society as a group (largely in the realm of entertainment), and this is one of the major reasons why.

I wonder if there’s a real solution. Obviously the BHM things need to be taught, but how to do it best?

We could mandate that these things be taught as part of the traditional linear instruction, couldn’t we? I.e. get the same stuff before the students, and keep it in the mainstream? I’m guessing there’s some reason that that wouldn’t work, but I don’t know what it is…?

If the teaching of American history ends up with equating the roles of Oprah Winfrey and Benjamin Franklin, there’s something seriously wrong with the way that American history is being taught. I don’t criticize stating that the success and impact of Oprah Winfrey on popular culture is significant as a symbol of what changes have come in how race and sex are dealt with in our culture, but Benjamin Franklin - the only person to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution and our ambassador to our strongest foreign ally during the Revolutionary War - was far more than a symbol.

I think the point of the link, though, was that the cultural environment that kids are growing up in is not nearly as white-male-dominated as it used to be. School is only part of that, of course.