Yesterday, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon appeared before the House of Representatives’ education and workforce committee and scored an F on her knowledge of basic U.S. History.

When asked by Rep. Summer Lee whether teaching African American history would be considered “illegal DEI,” Secretary McMahon stated that African, Middle East, or Chinese studies would not be considered DEI if they are taught as part of the “total history package…giving the facts on both sides.”

What?

Rep. Lee responded that she was unsure what both sides of a Black history course would look like. Next, she asked McMahon if she knew what the Tulsa Massacre was — the single worst case of domestic terrorism in U.S. history, when a white mob attacked a thriving Black community known as Black Wall Street. The current U.S. Secretary of Education — the person charged with protecting America’s 60 million students — answered, “I’d like to look into it more.”

Our nation’s students deserve to know the facts as they truly happened, not some whitewashed version that mitigates hard-fought wins and struggles of Black and Latino Americans as they strived for equity and fairness.

Then, Lee asked her if she knew about Ruby Bridges, the 9-year-old girl who was the first Black student to integrate into an all-white school, following the landmark case of Brown v Board of Education in 1954. McMahon asked for a specific example. Lee cut her off and said, “That was an incredibly specific example.”

And when it came to recent U.S. history, McMahon was unable to answer whether teaching that Joe Biden won the 2020 election would be allowed. Oklahoma’s state superintendent recently introduced election conspiracy into the curriculum. And so, McMahon said that social students “should be taught accurately” and that “we should hear both sides.”

How does one teach “both sides” of racial discrimination, segregation, or even slavery? The notion of “viewpoint diversity” is a vague and convenient catchall phrase that deflects any responsibility to uphold the truths about American history.

U.S. history, just as any other country’s history, is filled with hard and complex truths. Among triumphs, there are also mistakes spanning centuries. It’s okay to admit them. History isn’t about making anyone feel bad. In fact, meet any young person, and you’ll see that their minds are naturally curious, always seeking knowledge and understanding. History can’t be erased. Our nation’s students deserve to know the facts as they truly happened, not some whitewashed version that mitigates hard-fought wins and struggles of Black and Latino Americans as they strived for equity and fairness.

Juneteenth is just a few weeks away. In 2021, the White House, under President Biden, commemorated the day that officially ended slavery by making it a national holiday. We don’t yet know what will happen this year, but If this pattern of sanitization continues, they will continue to promote ignorance of the truth about U.S. history. Our students deserve to be taught and to learn the truth, good and bad, about our country’s history — for the future well-being of our country.