Today was a relatively quiet news day as the nation mourned the loss of Representative John Lewis, so you can ignore this post at will without feeling like you’re going to miss out. But for those of you who don’t mind a little history, today is an important historical anniversary.
President Obama posted a tribute to John Lewis. He said he told John Lewis at his first inauguration that he was standing on Lewis’ shoulders and would not be there if it weren’t for the sacrifices Mr. Lewis made. We also stand on the shoulders of these brave men as a nation! We have a lot of work to do, no doubt! But we have a lot of people to be grateful to! They made the ultimate sacrifice so we could move forward! Thank you for this lesson!
Skip this one? Not a chance. It brought me to tears. Please forgive the cliché, Dr. C-R, but you make history come alive. And I am so grateful to read about the history that was untold. We all need these truths to be self evident.
When I was a student at Oberlin College (I'm class of 1958) the women lived in dorms which were large houses. like boarding houses. Shaw House was named for Colonel Robert Shaw -- Oberlin was founded by Abolitionist preachers and preserved fragments of that history. I'm always touched to see that he has not been forgotten.
Thank you Prof. Richardson for another of your eloquent and moving evening posts. You are wellspring of insight, moral clarity and empathy---but you also make us face the ugly facts of today and yesterday---and think about action. Your tribute to John Lewis was a masterpiece. Apple has posted a photo of John Lewis with his "trouble" quote---I just put it on my Facebook Cover Photo---I hope many others do the same. Good night, all. Peace and Courage.
We often take our freedom for granted, but this story reminds us of just how dear it is.
Those men, only just beginning to taste the precious stuff of liberty, were willing to die so that others might know it too.
Hard to imagine a more fitting tribute to John Lewis and the many others who today have taken to the streets to stand their ground for that same cause.
Your Letters are an invaluable reminder of what matters.
Skip this one? I made it into a couple of memes to post on twitter & e-mail to family. In 2004, I had the pleasure of taking a rail trip from Miami to Washington DC with my 13-year-old grandson, where I got a pic of him next the the memorial sculpture of Robert Gould Shaw & the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Regiment at the National Gallery. I felt it nice that he should see the history of this racially divided nation that lasted into my lifetime. His grandmother and I hooked up in New Orleans in 1980 and moved to Florida. In either place that would have been illegal 14 years earlier. In 1981 we were targeted by racists on I-95 going thru South Carolina, the most frightening experience of our lives. And, unfortunately racism seems to be making a recurrence into the 21st Century, perhaps a backlash to thinking we had arrived with our first bi-racial president. So, it is nice to pause and take a look at the long road our nation has traveled in history and realize that the point that we are on will also be part of that history.
This is the kind of story that does need to be commemorated with a monument. I think when Biden wins (it keeps me sane to say that) we should appoint a citizen's commission-- including historians like you, to share these stories and figure out what new monuments we need, and what to do with the ones that need to be moved.
Imagine a monument to Sergeant William Harvey Carney the first African American to be awarded a Medal of Honor.
What was also driving these first "buffalo soldiers" in the war of secession apart from a justifiable degree of vengence seeking was that they often really had nowhere to go home to, no one waiting for them. They later earned great respect particularly from their Native American adversaries and the reputation as the most efficient, effective and disciplined troops in the US army
Stories about soldiers in battle and Civil Rights workers getting beaten, as John Lewis did, help ground us in the incredible courage of putting one's life on the line to make a better world for the rest of us. Thank you for the story.
That last line resonates deeply with me. Maybe I'm a "highly sensitive person" but being in the South, I definitely feel the blood in the earth, in the air, everywhere. It gives me chills. It's heavy and oppressive. It's all those people, their spirits, if you will. Not all are resting in peace. Yet.
Thank you for this deeply moving post. It gives me chills. It is important and humbling to be reminded of our shared history and the debt we owe our fellow Americans.
As always, I learn so much from reading what you offer to us. This time I've taken the opportunity to read what others say in the comments and again, I am heartened to know that thinking, caring people exist (the news is too full of thug mentality) and I am again educated by what those who comment offer, as well.
President Obama posted a tribute to John Lewis. He said he told John Lewis at his first inauguration that he was standing on Lewis’ shoulders and would not be there if it weren’t for the sacrifices Mr. Lewis made. We also stand on the shoulders of these brave men as a nation! We have a lot of work to do, no doubt! But we have a lot of people to be grateful to! They made the ultimate sacrifice so we could move forward! Thank you for this lesson!
Skip this one? Not a chance. It brought me to tears. Please forgive the cliché, Dr. C-R, but you make history come alive. And I am so grateful to read about the history that was untold. We all need these truths to be self evident.
When I was a student at Oberlin College (I'm class of 1958) the women lived in dorms which were large houses. like boarding houses. Shaw House was named for Colonel Robert Shaw -- Oberlin was founded by Abolitionist preachers and preserved fragments of that history. I'm always touched to see that he has not been forgotten.
Thank you Prof. Richardson for another of your eloquent and moving evening posts. You are wellspring of insight, moral clarity and empathy---but you also make us face the ugly facts of today and yesterday---and think about action. Your tribute to John Lewis was a masterpiece. Apple has posted a photo of John Lewis with his "trouble" quote---I just put it on my Facebook Cover Photo---I hope many others do the same. Good night, all. Peace and Courage.
We often take our freedom for granted, but this story reminds us of just how dear it is.
Those men, only just beginning to taste the precious stuff of liberty, were willing to die so that others might know it too.
Hard to imagine a more fitting tribute to John Lewis and the many others who today have taken to the streets to stand their ground for that same cause.
Your Letters are an invaluable reminder of what matters.
Skip this one? I made it into a couple of memes to post on twitter & e-mail to family. In 2004, I had the pleasure of taking a rail trip from Miami to Washington DC with my 13-year-old grandson, where I got a pic of him next the the memorial sculpture of Robert Gould Shaw & the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Regiment at the National Gallery. I felt it nice that he should see the history of this racially divided nation that lasted into my lifetime. His grandmother and I hooked up in New Orleans in 1980 and moved to Florida. In either place that would have been illegal 14 years earlier. In 1981 we were targeted by racists on I-95 going thru South Carolina, the most frightening experience of our lives. And, unfortunately racism seems to be making a recurrence into the 21st Century, perhaps a backlash to thinking we had arrived with our first bi-racial president. So, it is nice to pause and take a look at the long road our nation has traveled in history and realize that the point that we are on will also be part of that history.
This is the kind of story that does need to be commemorated with a monument. I think when Biden wins (it keeps me sane to say that) we should appoint a citizen's commission-- including historians like you, to share these stories and figure out what new monuments we need, and what to do with the ones that need to be moved.
Imagine a monument to Sergeant William Harvey Carney the first African American to be awarded a Medal of Honor.
With gratitude for the tributes, there is still Portland.
What are the legal and pragmatic explanations for what is happening?
And what can be done?
Posse Comitatus Act does not apply, but what is the justification for DHS and the Border Patrol response to graffiti on federal buildings?
What is the Oregon Attorney General’s lawsuit against DHS and other agencies?
What happened to those people who were detained by these federal agents and disappeared into white vans?
What happens now that the Portland Police Association has declare a riot in response to the burning of its headquarters?
What are the interactions among the city, state, and federal levels of government?
What was also driving these first "buffalo soldiers" in the war of secession apart from a justifiable degree of vengence seeking was that they often really had nowhere to go home to, no one waiting for them. They later earned great respect particularly from their Native American adversaries and the reputation as the most efficient, effective and disciplined troops in the US army
Stories about soldiers in battle and Civil Rights workers getting beaten, as John Lewis did, help ground us in the incredible courage of putting one's life on the line to make a better world for the rest of us. Thank you for the story.
What a story! The courage and sacrifice for a higher cause, which John Lewis carried on.
That last line resonates deeply with me. Maybe I'm a "highly sensitive person" but being in the South, I definitely feel the blood in the earth, in the air, everywhere. It gives me chills. It's heavy and oppressive. It's all those people, their spirits, if you will. Not all are resting in peace. Yet.
Thank you for this deeply moving post. It gives me chills. It is important and humbling to be reminded of our shared history and the debt we owe our fellow Americans.
Another important history lesson most of us have never heard about. Thank you, Professor!
The Shaw Memorial now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC is among it’s finest masterpieces. Look it up “NGA.gov Shaw Memorial”
As always, I learn so much from reading what you offer to us. This time I've taken the opportunity to read what others say in the comments and again, I am heartened to know that thinking, caring people exist (the news is too full of thug mentality) and I am again educated by what those who comment offer, as well.