Counter storytelling9/23/2023 Correspondingly, she finds that Abraham Lincoln’s concern did not stem from humanitarian regard for those enslaved as most might be inclined to believe. She clarifies that at their core, the problems between the North and South were economic, not moral in nature. For instance, in Assata (Shakur): An Autobiography, Shakur revisits the glorified dominant narrative surrounding Abraham Lincoln’s dedication to abolishing slavery. Moreover, counterstories can also take shape in autobiographies. Consequently, her writing opens a space for reflection on the subjugation of Indigenous peoples, one that renders a more holistic understanding of the atrocities their communities have been subject to. Rather than giving in to the belief that Manifest Destiny was inevitable and justifiable, Dunbar-Ortiz sees it as an excuse for genocide. The exclusion of such details pushes people to look past the dispossession of Native Americans so that we can revel in America’s accomplishments. She evaluates how the dominant narrative surrounding settler colonialism and the aforementioned doctrine omitted the gruesome violence and slaughter inflicted onto the Indigenous populations. Conversely, counter-storytelling reexamines America’s history in a manner that acknowledges and validates the current experiences of marginalized communities.Ĭounter-narratives can be found in historical texts such as An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, wherein author Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz provides an alternate view of Manifest Destiny. It was not until I came in contact with their counterstories that I realized how deficient these accounts were. For the longest time, I blindly believed narratives such as Manifest Destiny or the idea that the Civil War was fought solely over the immorality of slavery. I, for one, failed to recognize that the history I was taught was revisionist in nature. Traditionally, mainstream storytelling through mass media and academia has led people to internalize incomplete truths about American history. Effectively, counterstories unveil the realities of oppressed communities which have often been distorted or omitted altogether. Counter-storytelling is a method of communicating the experiences of racially and socially marginalized people-a direct contrast to the dominant narratives promulgated by those in a place of social and racial privilege.
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