Some friends of ours were told by a Baltimore schools administrator that their history curriculum begins with the civil rights movement. Color me not surprised by this.
The civil rights movement began with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
One of America's significant accomplishments on the path of abolishing slavery occurred on January 1, 1808 when Jefferson signed landmark legislation to end the profitable international slave trade prohibiting from that time on the importation of African slaves to the United States.
America prohibited slave trade in less than twenty years after America created a constitutional body of legislators who could legislate for the entire country.
In less than eighty years, America abolished slavery forever with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
I have often wondered why the black community in America does not celebrate these events if not celebrated by the entire nation.