Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections Frances Perkins, above, graduated in 1902
By Zora Lotton-Barker ’25
Staff Writer & Copy Editor
America has a systemic issue of selective storytelling to make history more digestible. While simplicity has its place, loss of nuance can be incredibly damaging when attempting to reckon with our past. There often seems to be a collective forgetfulness when engaging in harsh truths about historical events or people. This tendency to celebrate and recognize redeemable parts of history compromises its authenticity.
Take my hometown of Lawrence, Kansas as an example. Lawrence, and more broadly the state of Kansas, prides itself on being founded on Free State principles. Despite what some citizens of Lawrence may think, the Free State movement is not the same as the Abolitionist movement. The National Geographic encyclopedia defines abolition as the crusade led by New England states who “viewed slavery as a shameful legacy with no place in modern society.” The term Free State, as described by the Kansas City Public Library’s website, refers to a Kansas coalition that “hoped to preserve an all-white society of yeoman farmers in the West, without slavery.”
The Civil War era is incredibly important in the history of my state, especially because Kansas chose to be a Free State, while Missouri, a neighboring state, was part of the confederacy. Lawrence, which sits only 45 minutes away from Kansas City, was raided several times by Missouri Ruffians, pro-slavery raiders who crossed the border to Kansas to incite violence. The Eldridge Hotel, a centerpiece of our downtown, was burned down three times when tensions rose and violent outbreaks increased across state lines between Missouri and Kansas.
You don’t have to enter too far into Lawrence, Kansas to understand how prevalent this idea of being a Free State is. Billboards along 23rd Street advertise Free State Dental, Free State Dermatology and the locally renowned Free State Brewery. If you go further into town, you’ll make it to Free State High School. The term Free State may be proudly plastered across Lawrence, but it is wrongly associated with actions of abolitionist leaders like John Brown.
Part of the reason Lawrencians ignore this history is because it isn’t widely known. Even though we are required to take a Kansas History course in 7th grade, I didn’t learn the true meaning of the term “Free State” until my AP United States History class. Even then, I can’t remember discussing it in relation to Lawrence.
This is not a phenomenon that is exclusive to my small college town in northern Kansas. It exists in all facets of U.S. history. Oftentimes when we as a society seek to highlight and share the accomplishments of certain influential people within our nation’s history, we are quick to excuse or downplay narratives that might put a blemish on the “hero” label.
Mount Holyoke College is not exempt from selective storytelling. The college actively perpetuates a narrative that Francis Perkins, the first female labor secretary and one of its most famous alumni, was a feminist icon who paved the way for women in government. Non-traditional age students at Mount Holyoke are addressed as Frances Perkins scholars. Our library coffee shop is named after her, and she is mentioned several times during application season and orientation.
After rising to a position no woman had before her, Francis Perkins then went on to say that gender equality is not attainable. According to the book, “The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II,” by William Chafe, Perkins argued that “Legal equality … between the sexes is not possible because men and women are not identical in physical structure or social function, and therefore their needs cannot be identical.”
These cannot be the words of a feminist trailblazer. Just because she was the first woman to hold a seat in a presidential cabinet does not mean that she should be spared from criticism. By ignoring the problematic stances she held, the truth of the story is damaged.
This sort of excusatory mentality is not only pervasive, it’s also very dangerous. When we don’t recognize our historical leaders as whole people, with many strengths and many faults, we fail to do our job. We create perfect human beings that never actually existed, and portray a false reality.