‘I hate slavery, too’: a systemic functional linguistics analysis of pragerU’s history-based children’s programing

We frame our study in a period of increased partisanship and polarization. This study examines Leo and Layla’s History Adventures, a web series produced by PragerU – a right-wing media organization approved for use in public schools in eleven U.S. states. Focusing on four episodes about enslavement and Reconstruction, we use Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to analyze how verb processes position actors and ideologies within the narratives. Our findings reveal that adult voices dominate and are positioned as credible and knowledgeable figures, while child characters serve primarily to affirm authority and advance the narrative. Specifically, verb processes normalize, rationalize, and downplay the system of enslavement, portray white participants as moral agents, and minimize Black intellectual contributions. These narratives obscure systemic brutality and reproduce ideological distortions of U.S. history. We discuss implications to help students engage in language awareness in order to challenge historical narratives.