“The First Step” — illustration depicting methods used to seduce young women into the “white slavery” of prostitution. So much for PizzaGate…all along it’s been ice cream parlors and fruit stores that are dens of iniquity!When schools starts teaching American, I might even try to learn it.We all know xenophobia and racism are not new in this country, despite the ongoing “this isn’t who we are” hand-wringing. It continues to astound me that each new expression of hate, ignorance, and ugliness that comes from 45* and his cult is so often met with shock and surprise, as if these are somehow new to him, to the Right, or to the country. I wish I knew what the formula was for breaking the desire for upholding and maintaining white supremacy. I wish I knew what it would take to wake up white voters in this country and convince them that it’s not our history that makes us great; it is in overcoming that white-centered history that our potential for greatness exists. And since I have no magic answers, I continue with what I know: sharing the history that is rarely found in our textbooks; highlighting the connections between then and now; challenging the assumptions I was raised with; and seeking, searching, and questioning. Today, because of the work schedule I’ve had over the past few days, just some glimpses of our history from period posters and illustrations; Thursday, a story of what happens when xenophobia, corporate greed, and willing puppets intersect. Guess the year (or at least the decade; no search engines allowed!)
Always blameless, never to blame (the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898)
Before #VoteLikeBlackWomen
A broadside urging “The White Women of Kentucky” to vote and offset the Republican bloc of African-Americans who had already registered for the vote. This might have been a part of a campaign undertaken by Mrs. Herbert T. Ottenheim of Louisville, Kentucky who was president of the Kentucky League of Women Voters in 1922.
Zero sum racism
An Irishman (identifiable by his dialect) asks a young black child if the building they are both standing outside is a tavern; the child replies that it is clearly labeled as a school, and asks if the Irishman cannot read. The Irishman scornfully declares that if he could read, he would be brought down to the level of black people; 15 May 1875.
Remember the children. Because these children probably weren’t.
Orphaned and “criminal” children in 1903, leased as prison labor to private parties.
These are the folks who now think they’re going to make America great [again].
St. Cloud, Minnesota, February 23, 2013: About 300 people gathered in St. Cloud, Minnesota to support gun rights and call for no new gun control laws. (I had to provide the caption, because it would be hard to know this was a gun rights gathering otherwise.)And regarding my opening question? The answer is 1950. But don’t be surprised if you see something similar for 2020, because there’s no dog whistling anymore.
Now a Michigander, by way of Ohio, Illinois, Scotland, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. Gardener. Sewer. Democrat. Resister.
5 Comments
{{{DoReMI}}} – like you, I wish I had answers. All I can do is keep learning & spread the word where I can. Which isn’t very far now that I’m retired – there was a definite benefit to being one of two like-minded people in an academic office. I didn’t talk about racism or white supremacy regularly, but whenever a conversation with a student (or small group of students) could be pushed in that direction we went there.
The Deplorables have always been here. And they are always working to get the power to be “loud and proud” about it. The owners of the MSM spent a couple of decades convincing Americans that the president is running everything. That’s how we got back to the evil state we’re currently in. In a sense it’s surprising it took them that long. Our Founders got the Declaration of Independence passed and ratified by first changing the target from Parliament to the King and it only took them a couple of years to do it. But it means not only do we concentration on presidential elections & ignore everything else, but it means they can put up front man after front man and we think we’ve accomplished something when we manage to take down their front men. Meanwhile they just keep amassing power and wealth while we’re distracted. It’s not the person we have to change but the policy – and to do that we’ve got to change more than just a person. We have to change from Deplorables to Decents at all levels. I’ve watched this since I started paying attention – 1960. I’ve worked every election in some way or another since before I could vote. I don’t know where the point of no return is. We may have reached, may have passed, it already. Faith, Hope, and Charity/Love – and keeping on keeping on.
Thanks for an interesting post, DoReMI. Ugh, I’d be ashamed to even think such sentiments, let alone utter them or enshrine them in print.
Ice cream parlors! LOL! After I learned that the life of an enslaved person working on the sugar plantations of the West Indies was seven years, it put me off sugar for a while.
All we can do is to work to make things better, remembering the words of Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of determined, thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
And here I thought the evils to be found in ice cream parlors were related to caloric intake and fat content. But white womanhood is so infinitely fragile that I should have known better!
Rather it was white men’s fragility and insistence on controlling women. The old teacher contracts from back in the day had nothing to do with training, experience, or ability to teach and everything about non-teaching duties (like cleaning the schoolroom) and restrictions on off-time life. Those contracts specified the places a female teacher could live, what she should wear, and among other things dealing with her off-duty time stated that she could not go to ice cream parlors except in the company of her father or brother.
I should also note that the planned post for Thursday is not going to happen after all. I’m just going to push it to next Tuesday and hope that my ongoing internet connectivity problems finally get resolved.
{{{DoReMI}}} – like you, I wish I had answers. All I can do is keep learning & spread the word where I can. Which isn’t very far now that I’m retired – there was a definite benefit to being one of two like-minded people in an academic office. I didn’t talk about racism or white supremacy regularly, but whenever a conversation with a student (or small group of students) could be pushed in that direction we went there.
The Deplorables have always been here. And they are always working to get the power to be “loud and proud” about it. The owners of the MSM spent a couple of decades convincing Americans that the president is running everything. That’s how we got back to the evil state we’re currently in. In a sense it’s surprising it took them that long. Our Founders got the Declaration of Independence passed and ratified by first changing the target from Parliament to the King and it only took them a couple of years to do it. But it means not only do we concentration on presidential elections & ignore everything else, but it means they can put up front man after front man and we think we’ve accomplished something when we manage to take down their front men. Meanwhile they just keep amassing power and wealth while we’re distracted. It’s not the person we have to change but the policy – and to do that we’ve got to change more than just a person. We have to change from Deplorables to Decents at all levels. I’ve watched this since I started paying attention – 1960. I’ve worked every election in some way or another since before I could vote. I don’t know where the point of no return is. We may have reached, may have passed, it already. Faith, Hope, and Charity/Love – and keeping on keeping on.
Thanks for an interesting post, DoReMI. Ugh, I’d be ashamed to even think such sentiments, let alone utter them or enshrine them in print.
Ice cream parlors! LOL! After I learned that the life of an enslaved person working on the sugar plantations of the West Indies was seven years, it put me off sugar for a while.
All we can do is to work to make things better, remembering the words of Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of determined, thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
And here I thought the evils to be found in ice cream parlors were related to caloric intake and fat content. But white womanhood is so infinitely fragile that I should have known better!
Rather it was white men’s fragility and insistence on controlling women. The old teacher contracts from back in the day had nothing to do with training, experience, or ability to teach and everything about non-teaching duties (like cleaning the schoolroom) and restrictions on off-time life. Those contracts specified the places a female teacher could live, what she should wear, and among other things dealing with her off-duty time stated that she could not go to ice cream parlors except in the company of her father or brother.
I should also note that the planned post for Thursday is not going to happen after all. I’m just going to push it to next Tuesday and hope that my ongoing internet connectivity problems finally get resolved.