Our Story Poem by Jim Yerman

It's the study of our past,
the entirety of events that made us who we've come to be…
but I've come to think we made a mistake by calling it ‘History'.

History is not only the good…but the bad we've done…
for there is a lesson to be learned from each…
and no one person or group
should get to pick and choose which history we teach.

When men and women choose to omit from our history books
events they don't want us to know…
how will we ever learn from our mistakes…
how will we ever grow?

When a man chronicling past events
decides to omit parts because he has the power…
essentially what we're learning is his rendition of the past…
His story…not ours

And history should not just be his story…
it's your story, it's her story, it's their story…it's mine…
It's everything experienced by everyone…
since the dawn of time.

Our history is not only filled with triumphs and joy…
it's filled with sorrow, abuses and fear…
These should also be taught
even though….NO precisely because…they are so hard to hear.

If we don't teach how onto our fellow humans
we've inflicted pain, suffering and heartbreak
there is a real possibility (just look around!)
future generations will make the same mistakes.

So, I think we should change the name from His-story to Our-story
The story of our country…
every group…
every religion…
every person…
every race…
not the way some think it should be taught…
but what actually took place