There has been an unexpected twist in the burning cross incident that occurred 10 days ago in Chicago’s Grant Park. After surveillance photos of “a person of interest” were distributed, Merlin Lu — a 21-year-old college student from Naperville, IL — contacted NBC5 reporter Chuck Goudie and confessed. Lu admitting setting the cross on fire, but said that he had no idea of the history of cross-burning or the connection to racial intimidation. He claimed that he set the cross on fire to protest the Trump administration. As evidence, he pointed out that he had placed a MAGA hat at the top of the cross before setting it ablaze. Lu has since turned himself into the Chicago police. Lu has been charged with a felony hate crime.

If Lu is telling the truth that he didn’t have a clue, I’m still disturbed that he was so ignorant. He graduated in 2022 from Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville–a public high school that has been recognized for its academic excellence and is listed among the top 400 high schools in the nation with a graduation rate of 96%! In 2017, the school received the National Blue Ribbon Award from the US Department of Education in recognition of student achievement. So, I checked out the Social Studies curriculum at Neuqua Valley to get a sense of what Lu probably had been exposed to. According to the current course of study, he would have been required to take a course on US history in his Sophomore year. The curriculum lists Civil Rights as a focus in the second semester. Of course, that does not mean that the history of cross-burning by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is included in the instruction. But even if it was, Lu may not have been in class the day it was taught.

However, there was something else I learned while going down the rabbit hole. On the first day of the 2015-2016 academic year, a student came to Neuqua Valley High School wearing a Confederate Flag T-shirt, igniting a firestorm on social media and setting off a debate about freedom of speech.. While this occurred two years before Mr. Lu entered high school, controversies like the display of a Confederate Flag usually don’t die down quickly or without ramifications. One would think (or at least hope) that the Social Studies department would have been instructed to address Civil Rights more thoroughly so that students would understand the triggering nature and power of symbols.

Maybe the department did address hate symbols and racism. Maybe it didn’t. Either way, let’s be honest: we’ve never done a very good job teaching students US History generally or Civil Rights history specifically. And we are losing ground as we prepare to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the United States. Museums have been told to “adjust” their displays to reflect only the greatness of American history. The National Park Service has been ordered to remove plaques that portray the founders in a negative light (most of them were enslavers). Web sites have been scrubbed. DEI initiatives have been rolled back. Critical Race Theory has been vilified. New history curriculum has espoused new interpretations of the past–like slavery was beneficial for African-Americans. (That gem comes out of PraegerU, a curriculum that is being used in a growing number of schools across the nation–including elementary schools.)

Was Mr. Lu ignorant of the symbolism of a burning cross? If he was ignorant, there are probably thousands of 21-year-olds (or older) that are equally uninformed. But, in my opinion, even if he was ignorant of the symbolism, charging him with a felony hate crime does not teach him much. He has admitted his offense and recognized its impact.. It would be so much better to sentence him to community service hours with an organization like NAACP (or a similar group) that would help him to understand our national racist past and give him the opportunity to connect to those he triggered when he lit the match.

And let’s be honest: it’s not likely that you will see (or light) a burning cross , but there is plenty of racism all around us (and in too many of us). I find it very disturbing that many of the same people who condemned a burning cross have been silent after Josh Hoykit (age 28), praised Jesus in one breath and in the next declared, “Michelle Obama is a man,” following his victory at #47’s birthday UFC cage fight. He needs community service hours and a re-education too.

Come to think of it, maybe we all need to be re-educated–especially on this Juneteenth holiday. Community service would benefit us all too.