Sen. Luchini introduces bill to require Maine schools to teach African-American history and the history of genocide

AUGUSTA – On Monday, Sen. Louie Luchini, D-Ellsworth, introduced a bill to require Maine schools to teach the history of genocide, including the Holocaust, and to require African-American studies to be included in the teaching of American history. LD 187, “An Act To Require Education about African-American History and the History of Genocide,” was the subject of a public hearing in front of the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

“The spike in hate crimes over the past year has underscored the importance of combating racism, bigotry and hate in our society,” said Sen. Luchini. “Children aren’t born with hate or bigotry; it is something that’s developed over time. That’s why education is so important. We must teach students early on the dangers of hate and intolerance, and the perils of inaction. We also must acknowledge the harm done to African-Americans and indigenous populations throughout our country’s history, as well as their many contributions that are often left out of our curriculum.”

The idea for LD 187 was brought forward by Heidi Omlor, a teacher of Holocaust and genocide studies at Ellsworth High School, and her students. Omlor and several students testified in support of the bill, as did Charles Rotmil, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who has spoken in Maine schools for the past 30 years. The FBI’s 2019 Hate Crime Statistics report details that 2019 saw the highest number of hate crimes in more than a decade, with more fatal attacks motivated by hate than ever. In September 2020, the Claims Conference released their study of Millennial and Gen Z knowledge of the Holocaust. It found that 62 percent of Mainers in these generations did not know that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and that 25 percent could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto.

“Since the Holocaust in the 1940s that claimed six million Jewish lives, there have been genocides in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan and Syria, and this is not a complete list,” said Omlor in her testimony. “Together, these genocides have claimed nearly another six million lives. Every day, there are headlines that remind us of the forces that are behind these acts of genocide, and the question remains of why do these acts keep happening? My belief is that the answer is education, and the fact that it is often severely lacking. As educators, we promote the idea that education is the key to many things: jobs, higher socioeconomic status, healthier lifestyles, and I would add genocide prevention. By studying the Holocaust and other genocides, students can begin to identify the warning signs of genocide: us vs them, discrimination, dehumanization, persecution, and its most extreme form, extermination.”

LD 187 faces further action in committee.