This point of view implies that the events selected for inclusion by members of the dominant culture are significant to all people. Consequently, black history has been virtually excluded from U.S. history texts because white male writers and historians did not consider the accomplishments of blacks significant.
In Lesson, Jefferson's execution is a significant event in the black community. His impending death has a profound impact on the people in the quarter — from the students at Grant's school, to the members of Rev. Ambrose's church, to the patrons of the Rainbow Club. By focusing on the Afrocentric view of history, Gaines emphasizes the worth and dignity of everyday heroes like Jefferson, an uneducated black field worker, and Grant Wiggins, an educated black man whose education makes no difference to the white community, which treats him the same way that it treats uneducated blacks. Grant's education, however, makes him more aware of the disrespect toward blacks by the white community; thus, it is difficult for him to see how the education that he offers his students can have a positive impact on their lives. It is this realization that causes Grant to question his own life and fantasize a better future away from his home community rather than seek to counteract the influences that have worn it down.
