On Aug. 28, The Alpena News carried a column by Dr. Walter E. Williams headlined, ‘The beginning of US slavery was not beginning of democracy.” Then, two days later, the front-page headline reads: “Students struggle on social studies tests.” Is perhaps the cure of the latter in reading the former? It makes one wish that the social sciences in our schools were taught by those who actually know and understand history, especially U.S. history. If Williams’ columns were used by the schools, maybe some of the voids in current education could be filled and social studies scores soar.

Walter Edward Williams is black, an American economist, commentator, prolific author, and academic, with a long and sterling career! In his 8-28-19 Alpena News column, Williams details the currently common errors in understanding U.S. history. Maybe all classes in Northeast Michigan should start reading Williams’s writing.

Williams’s ideas are brilliant and thought-provoking — sometimes quite entertaining, too. For those who dislike reading, find some of the many YouTube videos online that make it easy to follow his logic and learn cool stuff. PBS documentaries on Williams can be found online, as well. Walter E. Williams’s books are available through our local library. In short, there is little excuse for our students to be performing poorly on social studies tests. I hope and pray that educators and students will take advantage of easy remedies by reading The Alpena News, especially the columns by Walter E. Williams.

KATI MEEK,

Alpena