After the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,
you heard variations of this line: “This is not who we are.” On Inauguration Day, you heard variations of this line: “Now is a time for unity.”
Not so fast, say Bates social scientists who spoke on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Bates.
The idea that “this isn’t who we are,” that “white supremacy and democracy have not been in fundamental contest for at least the past 150 years, is just a dangerous misconception,” said Assistant Professor of History Andrew Baker.
Assistant Professor of History Andrew Baker (center) teaches “Black Resistance in U.S. History” in 2019. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)