Natasha Threthewey - Southern History lyrics

Before the war, they were happy, he said, quoting our textbook. (This was senior-year history cla**.) The slaves were clothed, fed, and better-off under a master's care. I watched the words blur on the page. No one raised a hand, disagreed. Not even me. It was late; we still had Reconstruction to cover before the test, and-luckily- three hours of watching Gone with the Wind. History, the teacher said, of the Old South- a true account of how things were back then. On screen a slave stood big as life: big mouth, bucked eyes, our textbook's grinning proof-a lie my teacher guarded. Silent, so did I.