This week, white people took their boldness to another level and delivered us a white version of what was said to be the true Queen Nefertiti. Expedition Unknown’s Josh Gates showed up to the Today show to share a bust he worked on with Egyptologist Aidan Dodson. And that’s exactly where things got awkward, you see, because that Nefertiti was clearly white.
Whitewashing history is certainly a dangerous phenomenon that has clouded the way in which many students even learn about black history. According to a study by the Southern Poverty Law Center, only 8 percent of high school seniors in America know that slavery caused the Civil War. We need to do better. Slavery is the most painful part of America’s makeup, but it’s also one of this country’s most important pieces of history.
As is Nefertiti for Egyptian history. News flash for all those who think that Nefertiti’s skin was as white as the freshly fallen snow: It was not. Can we all agree to stop trying to make Egyptians European?
Check out this week’s Judge of Characters as I dig into America’s bold track record of whitewashing black history.