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Pupils in a classroom (symbolic image): What does slavery mean?
Photo: HANNAH BEIER / REUTERS
"Slavery is a system in which people are treated as the property of others," says the German Wikipedia.
And the Brockhaus defines: "Slavery describes a state of complete legal and economic dependence of one person (slave) on another (slave owner)."
In schools in the US state of Texas, that could have sounded very different in the future - if the proposal of a working group of nine educators had been accepted.
She had suggested to the Board of Education (SBOE) that slavery be described as “involuntary resettlement”.
This is reported by the newspapers "Texas Tribune" and the "Washington Post".
The educators' group reportedly suggested that students compare trips to America, "including voluntary Irish immigration and the involuntary resettlement of African populations during the colonial era."
During the colonial period, the slave trade was at its peak in world history.
Millions of Africans were captured and taken to America.
The choice of words "involuntary resettlement" seems like a deliberate trivialization.
You can read more about slavery at SPIEGEL History
Education Committee distances itself
The educators group, which includes teachers, social studies experts and a college professor, submitted the idea to the Texas Board of Education as part of the development of a new social studies curriculum.
This is updated every ten years to provide up-to-date instruction for children in the state's nearly 8,900 public schools.
However, the committee was critical of the proposal.
Board member Aicha Davis, a Democrat, reportedly raised concerns at a June 15 meeting.
The term is not an adequate description of the slave trade.
The committee returned the draft for revision and asked the educators group to "carefully review the language used to describe the events."
Davis told the Texas Tribune, "I can't say what their intention was, but that's unacceptable."
In light of the reports, the Education Committee publicly distanced itself from the educators' group's proposal.
The committee told the group it needed to change the wording: "Any allegation that the SBOE is considering downplaying the role of slavery in American history is completely untrue."
The Texas public education system has become heavily politicized in recent years.
Texas has passed legislation to regulate how schools teach about race and slavery.
A new law also stipulates that schools should keep topics out that could cause "discomfort" among students.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott rules Texas.
His party there has recently moved further to the right.
For example, she recently included in her program that the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States was illegal.
In their program, the Republicans also position themselves against homosexuality and transgender people.
ptz/AP