Slavery is America’s ugliest silence, but not talking about it or writing about it will not make it go away. Silence is not neutral. It is dangerous.

In March, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” In it, he claimed that federal museums were “co-opted by divisive, race-centered ideology” and directed the Smithsonian and other agencies to “remove improper ideology” from exhibits and restore what he called balance to the nation’s story, according to the White House. That is not history. That is erasure.

Slavery was not a minor chapter. It was the beating, burning and breaking of Black bodies for profit and for entertainment. Black families were torn apart. Black lives were destroyed. To pretend otherwise is to lie to ourselves. And yet, we are told today that slavery should be downplayed, tucked away and forgotten.

But look around. Black people are still found hanging from trees, and officials claim they do not know how it happened. Cycles repeat. History does not vanish. It returns. And by erasing the truth, we invite it back.

Meanwhile, too many of us walk around as if we are hypnotized, pretending everything is fine. It is not fine. Our rights are being stripped in plain sight.. Black voices are being silenced, our narratives rewritten and our progress undone.

And yet, some of us stay distracted with TikTok trends, designer shoes and parties while our Black history is quietly dismantled. That is how oppression works. It thrives when people are not paying attention.

We cannot allow that silence. We cannot allow the cycle of denial to begin again. As Black people, we know what erasure looks like, and we know where it leads. The Willie Lynch letter warned of how to control enslaved Africans by dividing them, stripping them of language, family and trust in one another. The tactics may look different today, but the plan is the same. When Black people rise, there are always forces ready to put us back in check.

Here at the university, we carry a legacy of elevated excellence. We are Black history. We are where history is made. That is why we must stand up, wake up and stay aware of what is happening around us.

Get informed. Get involved. Stay engaged. If we do not fight for our Black history, we will lose it. And if we lose our Black history, we will lose ourselves.

Slavery is America’s ugly silence. And silence is not an option. We must not let history’s plan to divide and control us happen again.