I still remember the horror I felt upon learning of the Tulsa Massacre, and the destruction of the Greenwood district. I was completely shocked that I had never heard of this event until the last year or two, and still also remember hearing about the remaining 3? living survivors of that terrible event.
It is good to know that Biden is moving forward with "actions to root out racial bias in home valuations to ensure that all hardworking families can realize the true value of their investment and have a fair shot at the American dream.”
Thanks, Dr Heather, for another LFAA that makes current events easier to understand, and relatable to past history. This country has a long way to go before the inequity inherent in the systems in place towards people of color are redressed.
It continues to surprise me (and not surprise me) how fickle our narratives of history have proven to be. The scale of human rights crimes in Tulsa marks the events as important to even a sketchy picture of the crimes, contortions, and contradictions that are part and parcel of our nation's history, and from which we have a duty to learn, and yet this is exactly the sort of thing the right wing insists be forgotten. I too am unaware of hearing any mention of this event until fairly recently. I still hold out hope of a more just and humane society if enough people embrace the possibility and the processes necessary to achieve it. That will involve confronting painful realities, but that's what it takes for things to improve.
I just finished a book called "Lay this Body Down". Written by Gregory A. Freeman.
The book describes one of the many "peonage" Plantations in the old South, well into the 20th Century, that still had full time "slaves" who were not permitted any freedoms and were locked up at night.
Apparently, after the Civil War, the word "peonage" was substituted for slavery and business as usual continued well into the 20th Century. The time frame of the book is the 20th Century, 1921 to be precise.
But, the book goes further. It describes how the Plantation Owner killed 11 of the slaves (again, in 1921!) with the full expectation that nothing would happen to him.
But, things were changing in America, albeit at less than a snails pace. The Plantation owner was convicted by an all white jury of his peers and tossed into prison for life.
His son, who also killed a couple slaves, escaped to Florida which had a "no extradition" thing going on so white criminals could go to Florida without fear (perhaps that is still in place and explains Trump's residence there).
At any rate, I, like you, continue to be amazed at my complete absence of knowledge of history about the Real United States of America.
I’m reading The Warmth if other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson, about the Black migration out of the Jim Crow south. Brilliant. For those who are CRT minded, read Caste, The 1619 Project, Just Mercy and Evicted. Most of us learned of the 1921 Tulsa massacre 2 years ago for the 100th anniversary, which is a sad and pathetic statement of our educational system.
Although that educational system (with I alternately loathed and loved in my youth) is a product of the constellation of power and awareness in our society, and the authoritarian and liberating forces that have always shaped it. If we open to the demanding awareness required to be a wise and thriving self-governing society, I think we would alter the priorities of of current educational system quite a bit. Republicans are already on that, but to suppress and control, not to liberate.
HRC has been indicted in Floriduh for openly teaching CRT. Says Mr 8th Day Ron, “if she ever takes the chance to visit Mouse World, I’ll slap in chains immediately. No need for a trial, I’ll pronounce her guilty by the power I invested in me”
Tulsa, OK has the distinction of being the first city to be attacked by aerial bombardment. Locals constructed home made firebombs and then used aircraft to drop them on the Greenwood neighborhood, resulting in multiple fires that devastated the area. In 1921 the use of aircraft in warfare was still relatively new. It was a massacre, for sure.
Yes. A terrible shame. It will end some day. Each generation is more aware. That’s why you see the haters scrambling to ban books and trying to limit.what history is being taught. They can’t stop progress…they may slow it down but not stop it.
Thank you for the book suggestion. I also suggest Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and Evicted by Matthew Desmond. I’m just starting Poverty also by Desmond. Both writers are superb.
I can relate. So much to digest with current affairs these days that I’m afraid reading all these truth telling books might cause me to have a brain melt down. I need to read fluff in between. 🫢
I can only take so much, both current and historical. I have a couple that I had to stop reading and haven't picked again yet. Right now I am reading a mystery set in Victorian England. Totally escapist.
There is more than a grain truth to the old truism, “History is written by the winners” than Americans understand. The history we teach our children has been written by the White AngloSaxon Protestant elite since our War of Independence. As we all know, we taught to believe that America is an ever virtuous “city on a hill” , a beacon for “truth , justice, and the American way”.
Governor DeSantis’s book censorship and his legislature’s revision of primary school and college curricula in Florida to emphasize the anodyne history the the WASP majority demands is nothing but a contemporary continuation of devotion to his need to erase the dark side of our history in order that no American every feel uncomfortable.
Just one suggested edit to your otherwise accurate assessment of DeSantis's need: "... to erase the dark side of our history in order than no WHITE HETEROSEXUAL CHRISTIAN American ever feel uncomfortable."
Science has enabled me to sit here with a box on my lap with which I can communicate across the globe, and that's because we have collectively paid a whole lot of attention to nature. Nature is never "conquered" or even successfully entreated, but will often let us hitch a ride if we play be "her" rules. That includes being as honest as we are willing and able to be with ourselves and our society. Sailing off with bogus charts and a defective compass is unlikely to go well.
"But, the book goes further. It describes how the Plantation Owner killed 11 of the slaves (again, in 1921!) with the full expectation that nothing would happen to him."
And hate crimes have been rising in frequency since hate speech has become more commonplace. Clearly the Jan 6th insurrectionists taking selfies for the prosecution were not expecting indictments. An atmosphere of corruption brings out the worst in many people, some of whom already lean toward criminal acts.
This is when you ask for a form or go online to request the library to purchase the book. It is possible that it was overlooked or stolen. As a retired librarian I know how difficult it can be to replace a book, especially if it is no longer being printed. Also, does your library have interlibrary loan whereby it could be ordered from another library? Just a thought.
And my knowledge of history is patchy. Science is a form of history, and worthwhile history is a kind of science, although history which travels on the edge of time lacks the precise constants and precisely repeatable observations afforded physical science. The history of anything, from a cake in the oven, to US politics today, developed in the flow of time, and we look to consistent patterns in that flow to make educated guesses, with varied degrees of confidence, about what will happen next; for example, how the cake will be experienced after exposed to X degrees of heat for Y minutes. And even then, the cake may not turn our exactly as anticipated.
And yet, even a seriously inaccurate guess, even some imaginary things, can be a stepping stone to better understanding if we don't get to stuck to them; if we keep our minds moving; if we look for the forest AND the trees; if we can keep our senses open to the ferment which is the flow of time.
"He (sic) who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy He who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity's sunrise. " - William Blake
I was born and raised in Berkeley, California during the 50’s/60’s. The history of slavery and racism was always a topic, but never once did I learn about the Tulsa massacre until probably one or two years ago. It is our duty to understand our past if for no other reason than to chart a better future for everyone.
If you haven't yet, get a copy of "Stony the Road" by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the book covering Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow. One of the main takeaways for me (I grew up in Jim Crow Texas in the 40's and 50's) is how implicit bias seeps into our thought processes. And, I just caught the first episode of The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones. Wow. This is the kind of material that DeSantis and the Republican legislators here in Florida want to exclude from textbooks. Suppress facts and cause division in the populace - these are the tactics of Fascists.
No surprise there. These are the same people who would have seen slavery as a good thing before the Civil War. And they would have fought to the death for it. Not good.
The first time I heard about Greenwood was from Beto when he was running for president (& I'm 70). I was very upset & dumbfounded that I had never heard of it before.
I heard of it first when I started "Watchmen" on HBO (although I didn't complete that series) and found out more when watching "Lovecraft Country" on HBO, which was terrific. Like you, I have been shocked as I learned about Tulsa and started to unearth so many horrors that my fellow Americans who are Black have had to endure that I was completely, utterly clueless about.
I’m sorry so many of us are in the same boat, but encouraging that so many are following the Chinese “proverb”: “Hunger is cured by food. Ignorance by study.”
What's the origin of the phrase 'A house is not a home'?
'No one is exactly sure of the first coinage of 'a house is not a home' but the first version known of in print comes from the American writer and women's rights advocate Margaret Fuller and it may well be that she coined it herself. Her early pro-feminist work Woman in the Nineteenth Century was published in 1845, containing this opinion:'
‘A house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.’ (ThePhraseFinder)
‘This sounds sort of in the weeds for administration action, I know, but it is actually an important move for addressing the nation’s wealth inequality.’
IN THE WEEDS? Today’s Letter from HCR is about inequality that impacts everything. It is MONUMENTAL.
‘In 2019 a study from the Federal Reserve showed that white American families had a median net worth of $188,100, Hispanic or Latino families had a net worth of $36,200, and Black American families had a median net worth of $24,100.’
‘Homeownership is the most important factor in creating generational wealth—that is, wealth that passes from one generation to the next—both because homeownership essentially forces savings as people pay mortgages, and because homes tend to appreciate in value.’ (Letter)
‘Housing was a key part of King’s vision for economic justice, but most black Americans don’t own homes.’
‘In 1966 at Chicago’s Soldier Field, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. expounded on this dream.’
“We are tired of living in rat-infested slums,” he said. “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children.”
‘Throughout the 20th century, realty associations and discriminatory financial institutions conspired to disenfranchise would-be black homeowners. Real estate agents, explains Morehouse professor Marc Lamont Hill, “followed an unwritten edict: Sell homes in white neighborhoods to black buyers and you will lose your license.”
'Even when some blacks were beginning to successfully build wealth, it was taken away. Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “slum clearance” measures spread rapidly throughout the country, leading to widespread demolitions of black middle-class homes. In the name of expanding public housing, many black families literally lost the roof over their heads.’
‘Thanks to predatory lending, black families lost three to four times as much wealth during the Great Recession as white families.’
‘More recently, subprime lending has emerged as the most dangerous attack on African-American homeowners. Thanks to predatory mortgage practices, black families lost three to four times as much wealth during the Great Recession as white families.'
'This may have been no accident. Federal investigations after the crash revealed that Wells Fargo loan officers referred to black customers as “mud people” and called black mortgages “ghetto loans.”
‘To reverse these trends, we need to create a housing boom for low-income and first-time minority homeowners, invest in financial literacy and career readiness programs, and bring middle-class and high-wage jobs into newly developed black neighborhoods.’
“A society has a moral obligation to make a large, aggressive investment,” President Obama said recently, “in order to close those gaps” between black and white Americans.’
‘A truly “aggressive investment” would ensure not only equity for African Americans in this country, but would also expand middle-class America, reduce crime in America’s major cities, and improve schools in urban communities.’
‘Without that, Dr. King’s dream is still deferred.’ (inequality.org)
…and now on June 1, 2023:
‘’The inequalities of the past have persisted in the home appraisal system, Harris said. “[B]ecause their homes are undervalued, Black and Latino people often pay more for their mortgage, receive less when they sell, and are less able to get access to home equity lines of credit—all of which widens the racial wealth gap and deepens longstanding financial inequities.”
“Today,” her Twitter account said, “our Administration is announcing new actions to root out racial bias in home valuations to ensure that all hardworking families can realize the true value of their investment and have a fair shot at the American dream.” (Letter)
'Here we go again!'...can be heard AGAIN for good reason. Withal, we must work together to cement each move toward equality and continue to progress forward.
The Oregonian has an article this week about a black area of Portland, not destroyed by mobs, but highways and other incursions. I had no idea about the Tulsa Massacre either and it represents another part of our repressed history. I note belong a post about the efforts of the party of death to continue this repression and keep the sanitized version of American history.
I lived in Tulsa in the 1980s and can report that white Tulsans then were not much improved over the ones who were killing black people with sniper fire from rooftops near Greenwood during the massacre. One acquaintance bragged that his father had been one of the snipers.
I can't "like" your post, but Judas Priest, what an outrageous, horrible thing about which to brag, even for a Sooner. (I was born in OK, so I can say that). 😱 🤬
Can't like this, so anger emoji. After reading A Fever in the Heartland, I wonder how many KKK members I knew. My dad would have been in high school, but he had a German last name, so on the black list. I did hear plenty of racist and anti-Catholic remarks growing up. And my dad did not like Rosie as he called FDR. Didn't like unions either or Ds in general.
Thank you HRC & thank you Just Janice. I am very interested in the Tech behind "fixing algorithms". Not only in racist home evaluations an/or "red lining" but, in the use & abuse of malevolent algorithms in many commercial actions -- everything from stocking & the pricing of grocery products to political advertisements. All refrences welcome --- the outing of programing techniques are needed as the "SF" ( actually Marin City) couple demonstrated.
Note, The "SF" couple was ALAN TATE & TENISHA TATE-ALLEN of Matin city in Marin County California who were the Plaintiffs. Marin City was an important site for WWII shipbuilding & is very close to Sausalito CA. The CA Superior Court in Marin County has very capable Judges, Staff & Jurors. Worked in both places many times.
Yup, Anne.Louise, well said! After the 2022 midterms - when the Red Tsunami failed to appear - I called the results A Pink Tinkle. When I look at the recent votes in the House and the Senate, I also see a Pink Tinkle. Poor Chip Roy...munching away on his Turd Sandwich....
It is so easy to trip and can happen to almost anyone. A number of years ago I was setting up on Sunday afternoon to teach a Blacksmithing class at the John C Campbell Folk School and tripped on a floor mat in front of the instructor's forge. No harm I was by myself.
During the week it happened again, this time with a class full of students. I crashed into a 350 pound anvil, that don't move, broke my glasses and not any thing else. I did get rid of that damn mat. Can happen to any of us.
AAaand no one is mentioning that he had been standing and speaking for a long time followed by ?95 minutes of hand-shaking and chat? with likely no water or liquids? He is phenomenally well. Let the media report that!
Like someone on another comments section remarked, if it had been T***p that tripped and fell he would've rolled a ways before it would've taken twice as many secret service personnel to haul his ass up. I'd like to find that bit of film that showed T***p going up stairs with what looked like a bit of toilet paper stuck to one of his shoes.
Like none of us has ever tripped before. You notice the RW nutters don't mention how often their orange hero has to be escorted down ramps and stairs, hold his cup with two hands and trails 'tp' behind him. Funny how THAT STUFF is never mentioned on RW programs and news.😣
I could not wonder whether Mr Biden staged his fall over a sandbag at the Airforce Academy graduation ceremony. Moved the Chatter-class from debt ceiling to Mr Biden's seeming frailness while the Senate passed the Biden-McCarthy agreement. Did Dark Brandon work his magic once again like he did in his State of the Union Address and got all those Republicans to vow to leave Medicare and Social Security in tack? Sly old fox, you think?
He's a selfless public servant. Not perfect...none of us are...but he's a real professional who cares about us. The contrast couldn't be more striking. There's a part of me that wants Trump to survive just enough to be the GOP nominee and get beaten worse than anyone in history...and for the GOP to lose the House by 20 seats and lose 5 seats in the Senate. Ike never got the credit he was due. He was a visionary...the Interstates...Atoms for Peace...
Several years ago we visited the underground command center on Malta where the control of the invasion of Sicily was based. Ike was in charge. For 5 days he never left the command center war room, there was a small "office" off the main room big enough for a folding army bunk, where Ike could catch an hour or two nap. Now that is leadership.
Those numbers are attainable. I apologize for repeating this urgent request but please go to this website and contribute to a remarkably effective nonpartisan group of Harvard students who are working hard to register high school seniors and college students (as well as women 18 to 44) to protect abortion rights, to legislate gun safety and to fight climate change at www.turnup.us/ We have to start now!
Tyler: thank you as they are extraordinarily competent in navigating paid social media in order to reach tens of thousands of women 18 to 44 as well as young men. My nonpartisan 501c3 foundation Inspire2Vote has registered 105,000 high school students but it has taken us 5 years to do it with paid staff on the ground in multiple states. We are now merging with Turnup because their success rate is extraordinary but we all need to support them at www.turnup.us/
Please help and your contribution will be tax deductible as Turnup is an entirely nonpartisan 501c3 charitable foundation! Thanks again all!
Once again, quiet unassuming Joe...goes about his business, and surgically removes the Republicans from the conversation...bam, done! My rub is not with what or how he accomplished it but the Democrats who voted against it...I believe they’ll rue the day the voted against it, really!
I dunno... often Democrats can't get out of their own way by letting the perfect get in the way of the good. Thankfully, the Republicans are much more adept at stepping on their own toes.
Now if we can only get R voters to point their noses away from Fact Free Fox and towards Centrist News Network.
I'm afraid it is horrifyingly true, that the BIG STORY isn't about Biden's accomplishment in the face of the fascists wishing to obstruct any good he is doing: it's all about his accident! All I need do is look at my sister-in-law's Facebook page to see how Biden is being portrayed by the right-wing media machine. It sickens me almost as much as her posting of Trump's last big rally in GA, during the height of Covid: she was SO THRILLED to be there! She posted his "amazing" dance moves so proudly, and I felt infuriated by her total lack of concern for my brother's health and well-being. She is SO fucking brainwashed, and will never change. I remember when she told me how much she loved Rush Limbaugh: that she'd listened to him since the first time he was on radio. I was mortified! Of course, she says, "I love black people!", and always has posts that get fed to her depicting a person of color who happens to be Republican, or who has done something heroic (but is usually MAGA!). She, and others like her, are completely ignorant about the Tulsa Massacre, and probably wouldn't believe it if someone them. I only learned about it myself about 10 years ago, but why? Our education system leaves much to be desired, and it doesn't look that's going to change anytime soon. All we can do is support the Dems and hope for change!
I recently cut ties with my cousin who was like a sister to me because I cannot stomach her hateful comments every time I share a LFAA on my Facebook page. Many of my friends say to just put politics aside but it becomes impossible when these brainwashed MAGAts start ranting about completely irrelevant things because they have no argument against factual history. She told me to stop posting if I don’t want to hear opposing views while insulting me for defending people who would spit on me in the street (in this case immigrants and LGBTQ+ communities). I can’t take the willful ignorance any longer and must admit that my stress level has gone down. I can only imagine the joy she is taking in sharing everything about POTUS falling and the comments and laughs from her terrifyingly large circle of like minded friends.
It’s more than “just politics”, as some people are willing to say to avoid the issue. Donald Trump didn’t create bigotry, misogyny, and hate, but he has exploited those horrific traits to gain a power base. When he claimed John McCain was not a war hero, when he mocked a disabled reporter, when he said he could do what he wanted to a woman’s body, and when he praised neo-Nazis, he went beyond politics. He created a movement based on hate, distrust, and bigotry and one third of our population has adopted that as their own. It cuts to the core of what these people believe, and it is beyond politics. If a friend or relative of mine is going to support trump in 2024, they are supporting hatred. That’s what he spews on daily basis. If they support that, they are no longer a part of my life.
A close friend, who's a pastoral counselor, says that what gives DT so much power is that he gives his followers complete permission to indulge their worst social impulses. They love him for that "freedom". I find that a profound and helpful insight.
The 2nd part of this equation, which fits with your comment, Marg, is that there will "always" be a deep well of fury in a society that has been through dramatic changes in who holds the political and cultural power, who's being finally listened to, etc. IMO, that is America post-1965. In all the U.S. history I've read, there's been no time in our past when so much change has happened so fast in the areas that most deeply affect peoples lives: race, gender, wealth, voting rights/who gets elected, deep systemic biases, how we view our environment, etc.
Some might say 60 years isn't fast at all! But I think this is where we liberals/progressives often have an important blind spot. By historical standards, the changes in those years have been INCREDIBLE. It's important we not lose sight of that, even as we work for greater justice. I believe it will come, as ever more people who grew up in a rigidly segregated and male-dominated America pass on. (I say that as a white male who grew up in the Deep South in the 1950s and '60s.)
We are doing, in fits, starts, and pitched battles, what all the generations before 1960 couldn't bring themselves to do (though many brave people tried hard) – create a multicultural and multiracial America that focuses much more on the underdogs. It ain't easy and it can't be done fast.
IMO, American conservatives always eventually accept social progress. They just do so as slowly as they can, often kicking and screaming. There's sure a lot of backlash and screaming going on at present! Trump leads their choir. But he'll be dead soon, and become the ultimate marker for cruel, white backlash. I believe he'll be remembered like George Wallace, Joe McCarthy, Hitler, and the many horribly racist southern politicians of the 1880-1930 era. (Google James Vardiman as a horrific example.)
It happened in mine, also with a cousin I grew up with and loved. She doesn't do social media, but she's isolated in her little bubble and apparently content to stay there. I decided she doesn't need my opinions as she won't listen anyway, and my blood pressure is the better for it.
Donna, do yourself a favor and block her from reading your posts on FB. I had to do that with our longtime dentist and his wife who grew up with my husband. We were both appalled at their responses. Your page, your posts!
I believe it’s time to quietly (or loudly) disconnect from all things MAGA. If we want happier society where people aren’t jubilant over people ( old or young) tripping rather than helping them get back up, we’re going to have to build it without these folks.
We get great recommendations here on the forum, I often saw suggestions to read "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson. Incredible book. Perhaps you could order it and have it sent to her.
I just finished that. Don’t know how I missed it before now. I grew up in The Region, NW Indiana, home of steel mills and oil refineries, right on Lake Michigan. My dad liked to remind me the area meant good jobs for lots of people. It was true.
OMG. That has got to be hard for you. Your visual about dance moves really creeped me out. What kind of person votes for somebody on the basis of dance moves? This sounds more like daytime tv. Thanks for sharing this, though. There are probably way more folks like your sister-in-law than we’d like to admit.
In answer to Ms. Doan: Not our education system in general--just the stuff that pertains to the rightful place of The Indigenous Peoples, Black, Brown and Asian Peoples in American (and World) History and how that void systemically affects almost everything else.
Real estate valuation is riddled with racism. Here’s a lesson I taught, where students used the 1940 Census to make a personal connection with historical redlining maps. "Mapping Inequality: Exploring Personal History in Redline Maps and the 1940 Census"
Very well done!! Your map is great! It shows the consequences of redlining.
I am associated, somewhat, with one of the leaders of the Anti-Racist movement in my town. That curriculum has implemented an anti-racist history in some parts of the town and teaches the history of FDR's Federal Housing Act which was ONLY for white people and set up permanent zones of disenfranchisement nationwide.
I had written a letter of support for that Anti-Racist curriculum to my own suburban school that my kids attended, but, so far, no luck. I think being educated about American reality as real history is absolutely critical to the long term function of our Democracy.
If, for example, one "believes" the sort of high level story about the formation of America by this bunch of good hearted white guys who had all of our best interests in mind (and, honestly, I believe that John Adams DID have our best interests in mind).....and...
IF one never learned even a single bit about the real FHA outcomes, the fact that the GI bill did not extend to black folks returning from WW II, or the fact that Slave Plantations existed well into the 20th Century in the South., then, of course, you will be Republican because OF COURSE, it was not systemic racism that caused black people to be uniformly poor in America, it is because they are lazy and inferior. I mean, I actually know people who believe that.
But, those same people were completely isolated from learning even a HINT of real American history, just like I was.
One difference between me and some of the folks I know is: When I caught a whiff of the truth, I followed the smell to the pile of shite that was giving off the smell.
And then I began to read and my first eye opening book was Isabella Wilkerson's immense: "The Warmth of Other Suns".
Since then, during the long winters here, I have read one real history after another associated with the United States.
My most recent one is a really obscure book that should be in every high school history class.
"Lay This Body Down" by Gregory Freeman. An eye popping account of a fully operational slave plantation in 1921 in Georgia!!
Thanks for the recommendation, Mike! I’ll add this to my reading list.
Speaking of eye-popping accounts about the inequality experienced by African Americans in this country, I have been listening to a Peabody Award-winning podcast by APM Reports about Curtis Flowers, the Black man from Winona, Mississippi, who was tried SIX TIMES for the same crime. The DA who wanted him executed suppressed evidence that would have exonerated Curtis from the start, fabricated confessions from fake witnesses and consistently struck potential Black jurors claiming false disqualifications. Racism is rampant in Mississippi, and as a result, Curtis, finally proven innocent with help from the Innocence Project, spent almost 21 years in JAIL!
"Junk Science" by M. Chris Fabricant is another good one. The author is also a part of the Innocence Project. The book is about how junk science (bite marks, burn patterns, hair comparisons, etc.) have put a lot of innocent people in prison and several who were put to death.
Wow, Mike S! I literally just recommended "The Warmth of Other Suns" a few comments above!
It is incredible, so vividly written that I felt despair for some of the people she wrote about! I know personally I wouldn't have the fortitude they had.
Kudos for you work on Anti-racism in your community. Keep up the fight. I want to check out the Freeman book. Thanks for recommendation. Lucky you for having a Greek wife. Sadly for my mother, I never had one. Grin
No notes from this census-using HS English and history teacher.
One question, how do you prepare pupils to read cursive?
When I first started to use the census in my teaching in 2012, their frustration in understanding the documents surprised me. Obviously, I immediately added cursive-reading prep and/or used websites with printed versions of census pages.
Thanks Lee. The lesson was very popular with students. They felt like they were doing the work of historians. Interesting questions about “cursive.” But no one ever raised the issue
Guessing you taught college students who'd had some handwriting instruction as children. In 2012, any loss of cursive literacy may have been strictly a Maine problem.
That year, my students were high school freshman, a full decade after Maine started a one-to-one laptop program. In 2002, then Governor Angus King orchestrated a MacIntosh laptop for every Maine student in 7th grade and up. By the time this 2012 freshman class (HS graduating class of 2017) got to grammar school, most Maine middle school students used school-supplied iPads, and many of the state's elementary schools had all but abandoned handwriting instruction. About 20 percent of my 9th graders that year could translate cursive about as well as they could translate Old High German.
While much has been made of the loss of handwriting and handwritten document skills for the future of US historians, handwriting has not quite yet gone the way of cuneiform. By 2016, I taught at an impoverished New Mexico high school on the Mexican border. My students there still had uniformly legible cursive handwriting. A broadband desert in 2016, this SW New Mexico district had only just begun to introduce tablets and test so-called computer-based curricula in the high school.
When I pointed out some flaws in one of these programs to a shiny Pearson sales rep flogging an expensive buggy, beta curriculum to our English department, he called Maine "the sharp end of the spear" in digital device usage. Without more instruction, I suspect one of the casualties of that spear's nationwide spread will be fewer people who can read handwritten script. I'll leave it to actual historians to measure the consequences.
Peter, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your map and about your family. Your map really engaged your students. What weee their reactions when they found out about the blatant racism?
So very interesting about your family’s origins in San Francisco but not surprising. Many immigrants came to the Bay Area or NYC. * Side note: My best friend’s family was Greek and French. Her mother had 8 children, three sets of twins and 2 singular children. My girlfriend and her twin were the oldest. I say “were” because I lost her almost 2 years ago to cancer. Family name was Costopoulos.
Thanks, Marlene. My students were adult learners in a Masters in Teaching program. So racism was nothing new to them. But they did learn how to create a motivating lesson approach that can engage the learner. The lesson was also very fulfilling for them personally
I didn't enjoy learning about my own nasty, bigoted ancestors, but I'm glad I did.
I just finished reading Colin Woodards "American Nations" about the different regions (and the motives thereof) that colonists came from and how it dictated the style of government they put in place. Some eye-opening information in there about just how UN-righteous were the Pilgrims and Puritans and how horrid they were to the Indigenous peoples they met with (some of whom helped them survive, for cripes sake) and how hostile they were to those they judged "not Godly enough" to invite into their colony) Geez.
That’s a great book. I’m currently reading “How to Hide an Empire” by Daniel Immerwahr. A very readable “big history” of America’s appetite for expansion.
Let's call it what it is: Wealth disparity is the rough underbelly of a capitalistic society and in a sense has been institutionalized. Too few American families own the greatest percentage of our country's wealth and those who dominate it feel entitled to impose their political philosophy to control the purse strings. And as HCR aptly points out those who dominate it do the most damage by oppressing those in greatest need, usually people of color.
Critical Race Theory maintains that racism has been institutionalized and the Right has begun abolishing its teaching the --"real story" of our country's history--in classrooms across the country. They say they don't want our children to feel badly about themselves while white-washing historical facts. Of course it's simply cover for their fear of losing their foothold on power. It's a twisted argument based on self-preservation. Their suppression of the truth isn't fooling anyone.
I was shocked when I studied abroad in Germany in the 1980's. The airwaves were loaded with that country's admission of guilt for being hoodwinked by Hitler. Documentaries on the Holocaust were aired daily in the hope that this "cannot happen again." After the war, Germans showed the evils of Nazism and lifted the snake to examine for everyone to see.
Many right-wingers do whatever is necessary to stop capitalism's underbelly from being seen. To do so would make mostly white, male leaders to admit our ever-hidden guilt. They call transparency "woke." (I call it lies.) Germany owned theirs and is a better society for it.
Finally, I've been watching old documentaries on the Holocaust in which survivors answer this question: Why didn't you do something when the Nazi hammer fell on them. Most responded that no one imagined that early changes would end with The Final Solution. Changes to their freedoms and growing racism were gradual and many felt they would re-correct. From studying the evolution of fascism openly, Germany showed that this of course was wishful thinking.
The world is witnessing similar changes in American society. Voter suppression, racism, anti-gay and LGBTQ rights, women's right to choose and book banning, just to name a few, are opening salvos by the Right to create an extremist, our way or the highway, form of Christian Theocracy. It's happening right under our noses. What the logical extension will be is not pretty. Disenfranchisement based on race, mandating reciting the Lord's Prayer in public schools, eye for an eye deaths of women who choose to abort their fetuses, expulsion of the homeless, Civil War? How bad it will get is anyone's guess. The truth is that we are on a trajectory which will destroy democracy as we know it. When a lethal movement gains momentum, it never ends well.
I read that The Indicted One has also said on day one he would change the laws of citizenship via Executive Order: in other words, rewriting the Constitution
Great essay Randy! Although I appreciate being one of the first to read it, I think it would do well to be published in a more visible spot than the comment section of Letters from an American. Thank you for putting the current conditions of what's happening in our country in a way anyone can understand. I urge you to get this message out there!
In other words, Professor Heather, fascist racism governs today’s Republicans, 95% of American campuses, police departments, small and big communities, small and large banks, see JOYCE VANCE tonight on Substack, can we call it FASCISM, YET?
The McCarthy debt/budget charade ends with Cool Hand Joe being presidential and the speaker being pipsqueaky. Meanwhile there are strange sputters in the Republican presidential primary race.
Not so long ago pundits wrote about the Trump/DeSantis race. More recently Trump has been up in the polls and major endorsements, while DeSantis’s much hyped launch was a fiasco and his Floridazation message seems to have flopped nationally.
There is Nikki Haley, ex-South Carolina Governor and -/+ with Trump, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, some rich guy with a name starting with Y, ex-NJ Governor Christie [the only prospective candidate with a double digit Republican dislike poll], and other possibles, including ex-VP Pence.
Unless Trump stumbles badly (or possibly is jailed or has a major health issue], he seems likely to be the Republican presidential primary winner. The other candidates may seek their fifteen minutes of exposure, but the process is likely a hands down Trump coronation.
This is where the McCarthy blackmail fiasco becomes relevant. In 2020, for the first time in my memory, the Republican presidential convention presented no policy guidelines. This was because there was no clear policy guidance from a loose-cannon Trump. The same is likely at the 2024 Republican presidential convention.
McCarthy’s House horse shit reflects a policy of nihilism, where slogans rather than serious policies prevail.
I am heartened by the accomplishments of the Biden administration both domestically and in the global arena.
I am reassured by how presidential Biden has been in maintaining the ‘full faith and credit of the United States.’
I am confident that President Biden and the Democrats have a winning hand in the 2024 political game, if they can highlight their accomplishments as well as the nihilist vacuousness of their Trumpista opponents.
"Unless Trump stumbles badly (or possibly is jailed or has a major health issue"
Had I been a person who utilized social media back when The Indicted One was in office, I had a great idea I hoped would go viral: I thought we should all order Double Big Macs with cheese, large fries and Shakes and Door Dash them to the WH. Could The Indicted One resist the alluring scent of his favorite, artery clogging meal permeating the WH? I was always praying a fatal MI was just a hamberder away!!
Miselle And bottles of ketchup for wall decoration. Does he use a golf cart to go to dinner, since even on the putting green he uses a golf cart because he can’t walk that far.
Dominating the smallest minded (less than 10 brain cells) among us is the tip of the iceberg. We have tried 600 of those magats and now some of them are spreading there virus of hate into more legitimate centers of indoctrination, the churches, schools and local politics. It is a dangerous time we live in, when ignorance is paraded as truth.
As a (too) long time attendant in a Southern Baptist Church:
The most significant problem in the Baptist Church is specifically: Anyone (male) can take up the mantle of "preacher" and get an assignment to some "church" and start belting out whatever opinion he (only a he by the way) has.
No qualifications, no seminary needed, no education. Just a male body and a voice and a willingness to vocalize "what God wants".
So, every Sunday morning, in Southern Baptist Churches across America, a dude rolls out of bed and makes up a sermon from thin air and puts it out there for the folks in the congregation who grew up thinking that the preacher has a special connection to "God".
I remember wondering why God was telling the preacher what God thought but God never talked to me even as an 8 year old kid.
Later, of course, I left the Southern Baptist Church one morning, in the middle of some nutty sermon by some nutty dude who was outlining all the ways one can get to "Hail".
Anyway, I did find a good man with a good message in the Methodist Church at Texas A&M Jeri. A guy named Bob Waters. Amazing man of "God". He NEVER, not once, pretended to speak for "God".
He spoke practically, every Sunday, about our responsibility to others, about how we are our brothers keepers, about kindness, about love, about charity.
Not once, ever, did he pretend he knew what "God" wanted. But, he knew what people needed to be effective.
Love. Forgiveness. Kindness. Helpfulness.
You know, all that stuff Jesus taught that we all ignore all the time.
Mike, I like to switch between fiction and non-fiction. I am a huge fan of Roland Merullo (his "Buddha" series" is my very favorite). He wrote a satirical political novel entitled "American Savior" which I think you'd enjoy, the premise being that Jesus returns to earth to run for President. (And Merullo's Jesus came out of TX, which you might find interesting as well.) What really astounded me is that it nails politics TODAY although it was published in 2008.
I loved Breakfast with Buddha, Lunch with Buddha, Dinner with Buddha and I see that Dessert with Buddha is now available! I’ll reserve the one you suggested too. By the way, the author answers his emails!
I loved Dessert, and was delighted to see that Buddha makes a cameo in "Driving Jesus to Little Rock" and "The Delight of Being Ordinary"
I am very fortunate and excited that I am enrolled in his writer's mini-workshop next month. When I read his books, I feel the same camaraderie that I feel with so many of the good people here on the forum.
Lucky you, Miselle! How did you get a hold of Dessert? It just came out. Yes, I loved The Delight of Being Ordinary. The author told me via email that our wonderful team from the "...with Buddha" books make a cameo in Delight of Being Ordinary.
Mike S., This is a revealing post today. Your comment makes me realize that these crazy times we are living in are an opportunity (From god? Perhaps?) to stop being mindless, thoughtless. We may never get to the Promise Land, but we can lead the way for others “waking up to thought-FULL-ness”. I know the term “woke” has become a signaling word, and that is sad because your comment - your experience, of “thought-fully” recognizing an authentic servant of god, is so important. We need to Be the Change We Need, as well as recognize it in others. And lift each other up.
In 1970, the Soviet dissident, Andrei Amalrik, wrote an essay entitled "Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984?" As an outsider from Down Under that has followed US politics, especially since 2015, I wonder whether the US will survive 2024.
After the scare and remembering the reaction to the Dobbs decision (SCOTUS) there is hope that the Dems can take both houses and “rebalance” the court. If not,
May I suggest that it’s extremely unlikely the Biden administration will sell this accomplishment? Instead of sending a strong message to minority voters about the administration’s concern with undervalued minority-owned housing, they’ll tweet a couple of times from the White House and nobody will notice. Why do I think so? Because they sell their accomplishments so badly, so ineptly, as if they’ve never heard that advertising agencies exist, they sell their successes so badly that the average American has no idea what they’ve done. Add, on top of that, a media machine determined to paint Biden as incompetent and/or frail, and I don’t know why any of the powerhouses in the Democratic Party think he has a prayer of defeating Donald Trump. Trump can be indicted a dozen ways to Sunday and, again, a majority of Americans won’t care. Trump probably can be defeated — if, that is, the Democrats start selling now.
Of course Biden can defeat Trump. He’s done it once before, and given the avalanche of bad news for Trump, there’s no reason to think he can’t do it again. I’m not saying to be complacent, but please, don’t be defeatist either.
Very great points - the Dems do not have an effective saturated media machine that should be running all through the year. Fox News has validated and aggravated the harsh attitudes we see today.
Robert I’ve trained some very smart people to give ‘the elevator speech.’ This is to express what is most important in 60 seconds or less. Initially they thought this difficult—even impossible. After an hour they had it down pat and were comfortable.
President Biden and the Biden administration should focus on their own ‘elevator speech.’ Make your points in 60 seconds. Remember the old saying; KISS (Keep it simple stupid).
Thank you. If only. If only they would write it and rehearse him. Because, seriously, if they don’t we’re likely doomed. When Reuben Warshofsky told Norma Rae that he had gotten all the words down to two syllables, she said, “One is better.“ Keep it simple, stupid. If only.
Editorial - "Republicans, deeply concerned about the electoral ramifications the party might suffer due to the spanking Biden gave the Freedom Caucus, are desperate to turn the attention of their base to literally anything else."
"Look! The old guy that in fact, did NOT just beat our asses tripped over a sandbag! He's not fit to beat our asses, er... govern!"
I do not know the details of that incident with the sandbag, but why was a sandbag there for anyone to trip over?? I wonder if anyone mentioned how many times TUMP tripped and stumbled over something??? These Fascist/NAZI/ GQP misfits make me sick... i despise all of them...the ignorant, low life creeps..
These days if tRump trips on a sandbag the MAGAts will instantly start screaming "Democrat plot!" and in less than 24 hours Gym Jordan will have opened a Congressional investigation into the "weaponization of sandbags" while James Comer makes appearances on Fox to speculate that the sandbag was made in China at the behest of the Biden family who profited off the tripping incident and there's documents about it that the FBI is hiding and the plot is mentioned on Hunter's laptop
I think it was there to stabilize one of the reflector devices that the speakers used to read their scripts which a teleprompter is scrolling as they speak. That is the only reason I can think of that a sandbag would be in an area where people were walking, those two reflecting devices were the only things out in front of the speaking podium, and that is where he was standing to greet the graduates. That’s what I thought I saw.
As an African American woman who's been around for more than 70 years I'm saddened by how little most Americans know about the history of racism in America. I noticed that most of the comments about today's letter are focused on the debt ceiling which we've been bantering about for weeks and Biden's fall which the GOP is capitalizing on as proof that he's too old to run again.
The remainder of HCR's narrative in this newsletter though is about the wealth disparities created by undervaluing property owned by African Americans. I get it-thinking and talking about racial issues is usually something we avoid until another Black person is murdered by police. The few comments today about racism seem to center around what a shame it is that the "real" history of America has not been taught in our schools or communities or the shame about how "minorities" are treated. It's great that the Tulsa story is getting so much attention but there's so much more to the story of African Americans, the violence perpetrated against us and our current state of affairs in America.
My father is a WWII veteran from Mississippi. He moved North for a better life after returning from the war where he guarded prisoners in Germany. He was denied entry into a construction workers union and not able to use the GI bill to purchase his first home. When I was 12 years old my family moved to an up and coming suburb in a New England city. We initially lived in a neighborhood of two family houses where there were people with white skin and people with darker skin. We were all neighbors and got along just fine. I don't recall any racial incidents as a child until we moved.
As soon as we moved into the "white" neighborhood the for sale signs went up all around us. Realtors were promoting block busting (scary and worthless Black people have moved into the neighborhood so you better sell now because your property values are going down). People shouted the "n" word at us and let us know we weren't wanted there. One female neighbor stopped my brother who was riding his bike and told him that he was a monkey and not welcome in the neighborhood. He was scarred by this and still talks about how it affected him in later life. When my mother explained that they didn't like us because of the color of our skin I was appalled. What's that got to do with anything?
What I witnessed and felt motivated me to learn more about what racism is all about and I've been studying American and world history since then. There's actually a lot that I didn't know either. I'm still learning. I've been most fascinated by the origins of race in America and the ways that propaganda has been used to divide and conquer people over centuries. It's also fascinating to see how much people buy into the idea of "race". It's a man-made concept that is not supported by science or religion even though people think the contrary.
As a result of "affirmative action" in the 1970s I earned several college degrees. I was also the "first" Black person to work in a number of corporate, government, education and nonprofit settings. Lots of stories to talk about there but I won't go on about it here. When I decided to purchase my first home in the 1980s I was told that I did not "qualify". Well, I decided to go to real estate school to figure out why I didn't qualify. Turns out the bank was misrepresenting the numerical calculations for determining my eligibility for a mortgage. I went back to the same bank and challenged them--long story short I was able to purchase a home after realtors steered me to the Black neighborhoods. The house I purchased was all boarded up and I didn't mind being someone who could help to improve the area by renovating my new home. Since then I've bought and sold a number of properties and helped others to do the same. Every time it's a battle-I learned long ago to remove any signs of my being Black when selling. I also counsel people about how to prepare for becoming a homeowner when faced with adversity. While about 73% of White people are homeowners, only about 44% of Black people are homeowners and most live in areas that are undervalued. It's not that we don't want "equity"-it's just not available to us in the same way it is for others.
Today I live in an "upscale" (White) neighborhood where once again neighbors were dismayed about us moving here. (There goes the neighborhood!) Several neighbors in close proximity have since sold their homes. Living, learning and working while Black in America is exhausting and dangerous. The MAGATs have created an environment today where I'm constantly looking over my shoulder for the mean and hateful people who love violence.
I don't think most people appreciate how much white supremacy has negatively affected the history, present day and viability of America. Trump/GOP supporters are not just concerned about economics-they come in all shapes, sizes and income from across the country. The fact that 95% of his supporters have white skin tells you everything about who they are-they're primarily concerned about the "browning of America" and they think Trump and the GOP can "save" them from the demographic changes which are inevitable because people are "mixing".
I'm happy to learn that more of you are seeking information about how race has shaped our entire society. (Thankful for CRT, Caste, the 1619 Project etc.) There would be no electoral college or filibusters or birthright citizenship or voting rights or 14th amendment or 13th amendment or (I can keep going), if there was no racism. We can lump "people of color" together but the history of America hinges on Black and White. (The categories in the first census in 1790 were "free white males and females", "slaves" and all other "free persons"-that's it. "Mulatto" was added in 1850 to identify "mixed race" people.)
If you don't know about the history of "Black people" in this country then you don't really know about the country's history. Since the 1960s especially there has been a wealth of documented truth about the rise of America and the role that African Americans have played along with the struggles we've had to endure just because of the color of our skin. I spent 7 years researching my genealogy and learned that my ancestors (not just Africans, but Europeans who "mixed" with us) have been here since the 1600s. Our contributions are not just our free manual labor-there's so much more. Remember every time you see a traffic light or use an ironing board or have peanut butter-I could go on-it's because an African who was in America invented it.
Forgive me for this long post but I'm convinced that if more people knew about how racism hurts all of us-not just people of color-then maybe we could move closer to the "more perfect union" that most of us want to experience. I write a newsletter to shine a spotlight on African American history. If you're someone who wants to learn more about racism as it pertains to African Americans, please check out talkaboutrace@substack.com. I share stories, resources and critical thinking questions each week. Also, check out the Zinn Education Project to learn more about a plethora of incidents like Tulsa and even more history that matters. https://www.zinnedproject.org/collection/massacres-us/
Thank you for indulging this too long post...I just think if we know more about racism then we can get to the heart of America and as Biden continually repeats--then we can save the soul of America. We have to stay "woke" and never let evil doers win...
I wholly concur with Ally in thanking you Gina, for your poignant post, which is as graceful and dignified a synopsis of our history as I have seen in quite a while.
I watched several videos of that short trip over a sandbag. Interesting that when it was broadcast by the right wing media, they repeated the audio of the roar of the crowd, which in fact stopped as soon as they saw he'd fallen, and commented falsely that the roar was just as loud or louder after the accident.
That man is so fit! He knows how to fall. Did you see how briskly he trotted up the steps of Air Force 1 (or 2, whichever), back straight, not a quiver? Another minor point, tfg's twitter on the subject was KIND! new strategy?
Thanks, Jen. I'm fine, despite being 72. My hip was sore for a few minutes, but it didn't slow me down. Several years ago, a friend showed me how to fall, and that's been handy!
I still remember the horror I felt upon learning of the Tulsa Massacre, and the destruction of the Greenwood district. I was completely shocked that I had never heard of this event until the last year or two, and still also remember hearing about the remaining 3? living survivors of that terrible event.
It is good to know that Biden is moving forward with "actions to root out racial bias in home valuations to ensure that all hardworking families can realize the true value of their investment and have a fair shot at the American dream.”
Thanks, Dr Heather, for another LFAA that makes current events easier to understand, and relatable to past history. This country has a long way to go before the inequity inherent in the systems in place towards people of color are redressed.
It continues to surprise me (and not surprise me) how fickle our narratives of history have proven to be. The scale of human rights crimes in Tulsa marks the events as important to even a sketchy picture of the crimes, contortions, and contradictions that are part and parcel of our nation's history, and from which we have a duty to learn, and yet this is exactly the sort of thing the right wing insists be forgotten. I too am unaware of hearing any mention of this event until fairly recently. I still hold out hope of a more just and humane society if enough people embrace the possibility and the processes necessary to achieve it. That will involve confronting painful realities, but that's what it takes for things to improve.
JL, regarding "our nation's history".
I just finished a book called "Lay this Body Down". Written by Gregory A. Freeman.
The book describes one of the many "peonage" Plantations in the old South, well into the 20th Century, that still had full time "slaves" who were not permitted any freedoms and were locked up at night.
Apparently, after the Civil War, the word "peonage" was substituted for slavery and business as usual continued well into the 20th Century. The time frame of the book is the 20th Century, 1921 to be precise.
But, the book goes further. It describes how the Plantation Owner killed 11 of the slaves (again, in 1921!) with the full expectation that nothing would happen to him.
But, things were changing in America, albeit at less than a snails pace. The Plantation owner was convicted by an all white jury of his peers and tossed into prison for life.
His son, who also killed a couple slaves, escaped to Florida which had a "no extradition" thing going on so white criminals could go to Florida without fear (perhaps that is still in place and explains Trump's residence there).
At any rate, I, like you, continue to be amazed at my complete absence of knowledge of history about the Real United States of America.
10 -1 they banned that book in Florida!
I'm shocked!
I’m reading The Warmth if other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson, about the Black migration out of the Jim Crow south. Brilliant. For those who are CRT minded, read Caste, The 1619 Project, Just Mercy and Evicted. Most of us learned of the 1921 Tulsa massacre 2 years ago for the 100th anniversary, which is a sad and pathetic statement of our educational system.
Although that educational system (with I alternately loathed and loved in my youth) is a product of the constellation of power and awareness in our society, and the authoritarian and liberating forces that have always shaped it. If we open to the demanding awareness required to be a wise and thriving self-governing society, I think we would alter the priorities of of current educational system quite a bit. Republicans are already on that, but to suppress and control, not to liberate.
Dave Fake News Exclusive
HRC has been indicted in Floriduh for openly teaching CRT. Says Mr 8th Day Ron, “if she ever takes the chance to visit Mouse World, I’ll slap in chains immediately. No need for a trial, I’ll pronounce her guilty by the power I invested in me”
🤣🤣🤣 Hey, Dave! Even with "Fake News" in the title of your post, it's still so close to reality that tge satire is easy to miss!
It's great though! Good exercise for a lazy brain.👍
Thx, proclaiming it “fake” gives me license to make up whatever I want and put the “hyper” into “perboly”
Hyper Perboly.
I like it!!
Tulsa, OK has the distinction of being the first city to be attacked by aerial bombardment. Locals constructed home made firebombs and then used aircraft to drop them on the Greenwood neighborhood, resulting in multiple fires that devastated the area. In 1921 the use of aircraft in warfare was still relatively new. It was a massacre, for sure.
Heartbreaking. And yet, it didn’t break their spirit or their resolve. White Supremacy my a$$!
People of color are harassed in OK in modern times, as well. Hatred and fear stain permanently it seems. What a shame.
Yes. A terrible shame. It will end some day. Each generation is more aware. That’s why you see the haters scrambling to ban books and trying to limit.what history is being taught. They can’t stop progress…they may slow it down but not stop it.
Thank you for the book suggestion. I also suggest Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and Evicted by Matthew Desmond. I’m just starting Poverty also by Desmond. Both writers are superb.
I have Poverty on my shelf waiting to be read. I just finished A Fever in the Heartland and am taking a break with a mystery.
I can relate. So much to digest with current affairs these days that I’m afraid reading all these truth telling books might cause me to have a brain melt down. I need to read fluff in between. 🫢
I can only take so much, both current and historical. I have a couple that I had to stop reading and haven't picked again yet. Right now I am reading a mystery set in Victorian England. Totally escapist.
There is more than a grain truth to the old truism, “History is written by the winners” than Americans understand. The history we teach our children has been written by the White AngloSaxon Protestant elite since our War of Independence. As we all know, we taught to believe that America is an ever virtuous “city on a hill” , a beacon for “truth , justice, and the American way”.
Governor DeSantis’s book censorship and his legislature’s revision of primary school and college curricula in Florida to emphasize the anodyne history the the WASP majority demands is nothing but a contemporary continuation of devotion to his need to erase the dark side of our history in order that no American every feel uncomfortable.
Just one suggested edit to your otherwise accurate assessment of DeSantis's need: "... to erase the dark side of our history in order than no WHITE HETEROSEXUAL CHRISTIAN American ever feel uncomfortable."
Science has enabled me to sit here with a box on my lap with which I can communicate across the globe, and that's because we have collectively paid a whole lot of attention to nature. Nature is never "conquered" or even successfully entreated, but will often let us hitch a ride if we play be "her" rules. That includes being as honest as we are willing and able to be with ourselves and our society. Sailing off with bogus charts and a defective compass is unlikely to go well.
More history I did not learn! Thanks for the book recommendation, Mike S. I am going to the library today.
"But, the book goes further. It describes how the Plantation Owner killed 11 of the slaves (again, in 1921!) with the full expectation that nothing would happen to him."
And hate crimes have been rising in frequency since hate speech has become more commonplace. Clearly the Jan 6th insurrectionists taking selfies for the prosecution were not expecting indictments. An atmosphere of corruption brings out the worst in many people, some of whom already lean toward criminal acts.
Thank you for sharing this story. It helps to be made aware of this history...disgraceful and heartbreaking as it is.
Interesting, I just searched my library network and they don't have book.
This is when you ask for a form or go online to request the library to purchase the book. It is possible that it was overlooked or stolen. As a retired librarian I know how difficult it can be to replace a book, especially if it is no longer being printed. Also, does your library have interlibrary loan whereby it could be ordered from another library? Just a thought.
And my knowledge of history is patchy. Science is a form of history, and worthwhile history is a kind of science, although history which travels on the edge of time lacks the precise constants and precisely repeatable observations afforded physical science. The history of anything, from a cake in the oven, to US politics today, developed in the flow of time, and we look to consistent patterns in that flow to make educated guesses, with varied degrees of confidence, about what will happen next; for example, how the cake will be experienced after exposed to X degrees of heat for Y minutes. And even then, the cake may not turn our exactly as anticipated.
And yet, even a seriously inaccurate guess, even some imaginary things, can be a stepping stone to better understanding if we don't get to stuck to them; if we keep our minds moving; if we look for the forest AND the trees; if we can keep our senses open to the ferment which is the flow of time.
"He (sic) who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy He who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity's sunrise. " - William Blake
I was born and raised in Berkeley, California during the 50’s/60’s. The history of slavery and racism was always a topic, but never once did I learn about the Tulsa massacre until probably one or two years ago. It is our duty to understand our past if for no other reason than to chart a better future for everyone.
I grew up in Tulsa and never learned about it until I was in my thirties. Unconscionable and horrific!
If you haven't yet, get a copy of "Stony the Road" by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the book covering Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow. One of the main takeaways for me (I grew up in Jim Crow Texas in the 40's and 50's) is how implicit bias seeps into our thought processes. And, I just caught the first episode of The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones. Wow. This is the kind of material that DeSantis and the Republican legislators here in Florida want to exclude from textbooks. Suppress facts and cause division in the populace - these are the tactics of Fascists.
The 500 page book 1619 is a must-read, btw.
Thank you. It seems to me that among the divisions in the USA, one is those who know or want to learn more about our past, and those who don't.
Bu bu but....it makes White people feel bad! We can't have that!
Yeah. WPT(white people trauma). New red state disease discovered.
Poor babies.
No surprise there. These are the same people who would have seen slavery as a good thing before the Civil War. And they would have fought to the death for it. Not good.
Tulsa and so many others...
Not isolated, others just not as graphically illustrated. Glad there was the evidence of the carnage but the deniers have no eyes or ears
The first time I heard about Greenwood was from Beto when he was running for president (& I'm 70). I was very upset & dumbfounded that I had never heard of it before.
I heard of it first when I started "Watchmen" on HBO (although I didn't complete that series) and found out more when watching "Lovecraft Country" on HBO, which was terrific. Like you, I have been shocked as I learned about Tulsa and started to unearth so many horrors that my fellow Americans who are Black have had to endure that I was completely, utterly clueless about.
I’m sorry so many of us are in the same boat, but encouraging that so many are following the Chinese “proverb”: “Hunger is cured by food. Ignorance by study.”
Racially influenced “undervaluing” housing evaluations. Its a thing. CRT Would teach us more about this but “da white folk is ‘fraid to learn”
What's the origin of the phrase 'A house is not a home'?
'No one is exactly sure of the first coinage of 'a house is not a home' but the first version known of in print comes from the American writer and women's rights advocate Margaret Fuller and it may well be that she coined it herself. Her early pro-feminist work Woman in the Nineteenth Century was published in 1845, containing this opinion:'
‘A house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.’ (ThePhraseFinder)
‘This sounds sort of in the weeds for administration action, I know, but it is actually an important move for addressing the nation’s wealth inequality.’
IN THE WEEDS? Today’s Letter from HCR is about inequality that impacts everything. It is MONUMENTAL.
‘In 2019 a study from the Federal Reserve showed that white American families had a median net worth of $188,100, Hispanic or Latino families had a net worth of $36,200, and Black American families had a median net worth of $24,100.’
‘Homeownership is the most important factor in creating generational wealth—that is, wealth that passes from one generation to the next—both because homeownership essentially forces savings as people pay mortgages, and because homes tend to appreciate in value.’ (Letter)
‘Housing was a key part of King’s vision for economic justice, but most black Americans don’t own homes.’
‘In 1966 at Chicago’s Soldier Field, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. expounded on this dream.’
“We are tired of living in rat-infested slums,” he said. “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children.”
‘Throughout the 20th century, realty associations and discriminatory financial institutions conspired to disenfranchise would-be black homeowners. Real estate agents, explains Morehouse professor Marc Lamont Hill, “followed an unwritten edict: Sell homes in white neighborhoods to black buyers and you will lose your license.”
'Even when some blacks were beginning to successfully build wealth, it was taken away. Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “slum clearance” measures spread rapidly throughout the country, leading to widespread demolitions of black middle-class homes. In the name of expanding public housing, many black families literally lost the roof over their heads.’
‘Thanks to predatory lending, black families lost three to four times as much wealth during the Great Recession as white families.’
‘More recently, subprime lending has emerged as the most dangerous attack on African-American homeowners. Thanks to predatory mortgage practices, black families lost three to four times as much wealth during the Great Recession as white families.'
'This may have been no accident. Federal investigations after the crash revealed that Wells Fargo loan officers referred to black customers as “mud people” and called black mortgages “ghetto loans.”
‘To reverse these trends, we need to create a housing boom for low-income and first-time minority homeowners, invest in financial literacy and career readiness programs, and bring middle-class and high-wage jobs into newly developed black neighborhoods.’
“A society has a moral obligation to make a large, aggressive investment,” President Obama said recently, “in order to close those gaps” between black and white Americans.’
‘A truly “aggressive investment” would ensure not only equity for African Americans in this country, but would also expand middle-class America, reduce crime in America’s major cities, and improve schools in urban communities.’
‘Without that, Dr. King’s dream is still deferred.’ (inequality.org)
…and now on June 1, 2023:
‘’The inequalities of the past have persisted in the home appraisal system, Harris said. “[B]ecause their homes are undervalued, Black and Latino people often pay more for their mortgage, receive less when they sell, and are less able to get access to home equity lines of credit—all of which widens the racial wealth gap and deepens longstanding financial inequities.”
“Today,” her Twitter account said, “our Administration is announcing new actions to root out racial bias in home valuations to ensure that all hardworking families can realize the true value of their investment and have a fair shot at the American dream.” (Letter)
'Here we go again!'...can be heard AGAIN for good reason. Withal, we must work together to cement each move toward equality and continue to progress forward.
This is what the ruby red states of the south and elsewhere are so busy outlawing.
Do you know how the data differs in each state and the contexts elucidating the numbers?
The Oregonian has an article this week about a black area of Portland, not destroyed by mobs, but highways and other incursions. I had no idea about the Tulsa Massacre either and it represents another part of our repressed history. I note belong a post about the efforts of the party of death to continue this repression and keep the sanitized version of American history.
I lived in Tulsa in the 1980s and can report that white Tulsans then were not much improved over the ones who were killing black people with sniper fire from rooftops near Greenwood during the massacre. One acquaintance bragged that his father had been one of the snipers.
I can't "like" your post, but Judas Priest, what an outrageous, horrible thing about which to brag, even for a Sooner. (I was born in OK, so I can say that). 😱 🤬
Can't like this, so anger emoji. After reading A Fever in the Heartland, I wonder how many KKK members I knew. My dad would have been in high school, but he had a German last name, so on the black list. I did hear plenty of racist and anti-Catholic remarks growing up. And my dad did not like Rosie as he called FDR. Didn't like unions either or Ds in general.
Thank you HRC & thank you Just Janice. I am very interested in the Tech behind "fixing algorithms". Not only in racist home evaluations an/or "red lining" but, in the use & abuse of malevolent algorithms in many commercial actions -- everything from stocking & the pricing of grocery products to political advertisements. All refrences welcome --- the outing of programing techniques are needed as the "SF" ( actually Marin City) couple demonstrated.
Note, The "SF" couple was ALAN TATE & TENISHA TATE-ALLEN of Matin city in Marin County California who were the Plaintiffs. Marin City was an important site for WWII shipbuilding & is very close to Sausalito CA. The CA Superior Court in Marin County has very capable Judges, Staff & Jurors. Worked in both places many times.
Must say - I thought Biden out maneuvered the republicans on the debt ceiling negotiations!
Well, they really don't know what they're doing, whereas he really does know what he's doing.
Yup, Anne.Louise, well said! After the 2022 midterms - when the Red Tsunami failed to appear - I called the results A Pink Tinkle. When I look at the recent votes in the House and the Senate, I also see a Pink Tinkle. Poor Chip Roy...munching away on his Turd Sandwich....
Nicely put and put the first smile on my face this am.
That’s very funny. Thanks 😊
Knowledge and skill are neither dirt nor four-letter words.
His EXPERIENCE is what made the difference!
The fact that he has it.
He did.
He totally did, but it won't matter. Because sandbag.
/s
It is so easy to trip and can happen to almost anyone. A number of years ago I was setting up on Sunday afternoon to teach a Blacksmithing class at the John C Campbell Folk School and tripped on a floor mat in front of the instructor's forge. No harm I was by myself.
During the week it happened again, this time with a class full of students. I crashed into a 350 pound anvil, that don't move, broke my glasses and not any thing else. I did get rid of that damn mat. Can happen to any of us.
Exactly!
Yes now we know what the term “sandbagged”. Actually means!
Bad, really bad.
Very apropos!
AAaand no one is mentioning that he had been standing and speaking for a long time followed by ?95 minutes of hand-shaking and chat? with likely no water or liquids? He is phenomenally well. Let the media report that!
Like someone on another comments section remarked, if it had been T***p that tripped and fell he would've rolled a ways before it would've taken twice as many secret service personnel to haul his ass up. I'd like to find that bit of film that showed T***p going up stairs with what looked like a bit of toilet paper stuck to one of his shoes.
I just don’t want to see that creep ever again period.
It’s out there. Check out The Lincoln Project on You Tube either yesterday or the day before.
They have to make caricatures of Rambo Trump to obscure their dear one's poor health.
Sandbag will ensure that GQP will continue to underestimate Biden's abilities and acumen, and he will continue to outmaneuver them.
Like none of us has ever tripped before. You notice the RW nutters don't mention how often their orange hero has to be escorted down ramps and stairs, hold his cup with two hands and trails 'tp' behind him. Funny how THAT STUFF is never mentioned on RW programs and news.😣
Shhh!
McCarthy may have an inkling, now, how deficient his intellectual competence is, relative to peple of Biden’s caliber.
Well - that would require self-reflection!
I could not wonder whether Mr Biden staged his fall over a sandbag at the Airforce Academy graduation ceremony. Moved the Chatter-class from debt ceiling to Mr Biden's seeming frailness while the Senate passed the Biden-McCarthy agreement. Did Dark Brandon work his magic once again like he did in his State of the Union Address and got all those Republicans to vow to leave Medicare and Social Security in tack? Sly old fox, you think?
I like this President more every day. Now we can all do our work. Thank you Joe.
Indeed. Biden may be the best of all...
He's a selfless public servant. Not perfect...none of us are...but he's a real professional who cares about us. The contrast couldn't be more striking. There's a part of me that wants Trump to survive just enough to be the GOP nominee and get beaten worse than anyone in history...and for the GOP to lose the House by 20 seats and lose 5 seats in the Senate. Ike never got the credit he was due. He was a visionary...the Interstates...Atoms for Peace...
Ike was a decent person. He saw up close the horrors of war. That will bend a person's mind toward peace.
Yes, if you're a sane and humane person it will. Others seem to relish the chaos.
Several years ago we visited the underground command center on Malta where the control of the invasion of Sicily was based. Ike was in charge. For 5 days he never left the command center war room, there was a small "office" off the main room big enough for a folding army bunk, where Ike could catch an hour or two nap. Now that is leadership.
Hey, the Orange One hid in the WH bunker during BLM protests--doesn't that count?????
The cool thing about the under ground Whitehouse bunker is that where they are going to hang the official #45 portrait. /s
Hopefully, right over the commode.....
I saw his office/bedroom vehicle that he used in Europe at a military vehicle event. I thought if those walls could talk…
I LIKE IKE...
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Once again, quiet unassuming Joe...goes about his business, and surgically removes the Republicans from the conversation...bam, done! My rub is not with what or how he accomplished it but the Democrats who voted against it...I believe they’ll rue the day the voted against it, really!
Those votes were largely symbolic. Had they been needed they would have been there.
I dunno... often Democrats can't get out of their own way by letting the perfect get in the way of the good. Thankfully, the Republicans are much more adept at stepping on their own toes.
Now if we can only get R voters to point their noses away from Fact Free Fox and towards Centrist News Network.
I get fed up those people too. Hardly anyone gets exactly what they want on to first try.
I'm afraid it is horrifyingly true, that the BIG STORY isn't about Biden's accomplishment in the face of the fascists wishing to obstruct any good he is doing: it's all about his accident! All I need do is look at my sister-in-law's Facebook page to see how Biden is being portrayed by the right-wing media machine. It sickens me almost as much as her posting of Trump's last big rally in GA, during the height of Covid: she was SO THRILLED to be there! She posted his "amazing" dance moves so proudly, and I felt infuriated by her total lack of concern for my brother's health and well-being. She is SO fucking brainwashed, and will never change. I remember when she told me how much she loved Rush Limbaugh: that she'd listened to him since the first time he was on radio. I was mortified! Of course, she says, "I love black people!", and always has posts that get fed to her depicting a person of color who happens to be Republican, or who has done something heroic (but is usually MAGA!). She, and others like her, are completely ignorant about the Tulsa Massacre, and probably wouldn't believe it if someone them. I only learned about it myself about 10 years ago, but why? Our education system leaves much to be desired, and it doesn't look that's going to change anytime soon. All we can do is support the Dems and hope for change!
Willful and weaponized ignorance are epidemic, fueled by Fox and clones. But I repeat myself ad nauseam…
Jeri, it needs to be repeated until it is HEARD!!! 💙
I recently cut ties with my cousin who was like a sister to me because I cannot stomach her hateful comments every time I share a LFAA on my Facebook page. Many of my friends say to just put politics aside but it becomes impossible when these brainwashed MAGAts start ranting about completely irrelevant things because they have no argument against factual history. She told me to stop posting if I don’t want to hear opposing views while insulting me for defending people who would spit on me in the street (in this case immigrants and LGBTQ+ communities). I can’t take the willful ignorance any longer and must admit that my stress level has gone down. I can only imagine the joy she is taking in sharing everything about POTUS falling and the comments and laughs from her terrifyingly large circle of like minded friends.
It’s more than “just politics”, as some people are willing to say to avoid the issue. Donald Trump didn’t create bigotry, misogyny, and hate, but he has exploited those horrific traits to gain a power base. When he claimed John McCain was not a war hero, when he mocked a disabled reporter, when he said he could do what he wanted to a woman’s body, and when he praised neo-Nazis, he went beyond politics. He created a movement based on hate, distrust, and bigotry and one third of our population has adopted that as their own. It cuts to the core of what these people believe, and it is beyond politics. If a friend or relative of mine is going to support trump in 2024, they are supporting hatred. That’s what he spews on daily basis. If they support that, they are no longer a part of my life.
A close friend, who's a pastoral counselor, says that what gives DT so much power is that he gives his followers complete permission to indulge their worst social impulses. They love him for that "freedom". I find that a profound and helpful insight.
The 2nd part of this equation, which fits with your comment, Marg, is that there will "always" be a deep well of fury in a society that has been through dramatic changes in who holds the political and cultural power, who's being finally listened to, etc. IMO, that is America post-1965. In all the U.S. history I've read, there's been no time in our past when so much change has happened so fast in the areas that most deeply affect peoples lives: race, gender, wealth, voting rights/who gets elected, deep systemic biases, how we view our environment, etc.
Some might say 60 years isn't fast at all! But I think this is where we liberals/progressives often have an important blind spot. By historical standards, the changes in those years have been INCREDIBLE. It's important we not lose sight of that, even as we work for greater justice. I believe it will come, as ever more people who grew up in a rigidly segregated and male-dominated America pass on. (I say that as a white male who grew up in the Deep South in the 1950s and '60s.)
We are doing, in fits, starts, and pitched battles, what all the generations before 1960 couldn't bring themselves to do (though many brave people tried hard) – create a multicultural and multiracial America that focuses much more on the underdogs. It ain't easy and it can't be done fast.
IMO, American conservatives always eventually accept social progress. They just do so as slowly as they can, often kicking and screaming. There's sure a lot of backlash and screaming going on at present! Trump leads their choir. But he'll be dead soon, and become the ultimate marker for cruel, white backlash. I believe he'll be remembered like George Wallace, Joe McCarthy, Hitler, and the many horribly racist southern politicians of the 1880-1930 era. (Google James Vardiman as a horrific example.)
Nicely written, Mr. Taylor! Kudos to you.
Donna, you are not alone. This is happening in many families. Misinformation comes wrapped in rant and delivered with insult.
It happened in mine, also with a cousin I grew up with and loved. She doesn't do social media, but she's isolated in her little bubble and apparently content to stay there. I decided she doesn't need my opinions as she won't listen anyway, and my blood pressure is the better for it.
Donna, do yourself a favor and block her from reading your posts on FB. I had to do that with our longtime dentist and his wife who grew up with my husband. We were both appalled at their responses. Your page, your posts!
I believe it’s time to quietly (or loudly) disconnect from all things MAGA. If we want happier society where people aren’t jubilant over people ( old or young) tripping rather than helping them get back up, we’re going to have to build it without these folks.
We get great recommendations here on the forum, I often saw suggestions to read "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson. Incredible book. Perhaps you could order it and have it sent to her.
I just finished that. Don’t know how I missed it before now. I grew up in The Region, NW Indiana, home of steel mills and oil refineries, right on Lake Michigan. My dad liked to remind me the area meant good jobs for lots of people. It was true.
Miselle, your reading suggestion ("....America's Great Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson) will be one of my next choices. Thank you!!!
Ditto. I'm adding it to my list now!
Marvelous book, probably banned in Florida!
Likely so...
Interesting recommendation. Thank you. Just ordered it for my audible collection. Gives me an excuse to walk and listen.
Wonderful title🙏
Joe said he was sandbagged, and laughed.
Love our President, SB!
Joe’s laughter says it all.
OMG. That has got to be hard for you. Your visual about dance moves really creeped me out. What kind of person votes for somebody on the basis of dance moves? This sounds more like daytime tv. Thanks for sharing this, though. There are probably way more folks like your sister-in-law than we’d like to admit.
In answer to Ms. Doan: Not our education system in general--just the stuff that pertains to the rightful place of The Indigenous Peoples, Black, Brown and Asian Peoples in American (and World) History and how that void systemically affects almost everything else.
Real estate valuation is riddled with racism. Here’s a lesson I taught, where students used the 1940 Census to make a personal connection with historical redlining maps. "Mapping Inequality: Exploring Personal History in Redline Maps and the 1940 Census"
https://peterpappas.com/2020/11/mapping-inequality-exploring-personal-history-in-redline-maps-and-the-1940-census.html
Peter,
Very well done!! Your map is great! It shows the consequences of redlining.
I am associated, somewhat, with one of the leaders of the Anti-Racist movement in my town. That curriculum has implemented an anti-racist history in some parts of the town and teaches the history of FDR's Federal Housing Act which was ONLY for white people and set up permanent zones of disenfranchisement nationwide.
I had written a letter of support for that Anti-Racist curriculum to my own suburban school that my kids attended, but, so far, no luck. I think being educated about American reality as real history is absolutely critical to the long term function of our Democracy.
If, for example, one "believes" the sort of high level story about the formation of America by this bunch of good hearted white guys who had all of our best interests in mind (and, honestly, I believe that John Adams DID have our best interests in mind).....and...
IF one never learned even a single bit about the real FHA outcomes, the fact that the GI bill did not extend to black folks returning from WW II, or the fact that Slave Plantations existed well into the 20th Century in the South., then, of course, you will be Republican because OF COURSE, it was not systemic racism that caused black people to be uniformly poor in America, it is because they are lazy and inferior. I mean, I actually know people who believe that.
But, those same people were completely isolated from learning even a HINT of real American history, just like I was.
One difference between me and some of the folks I know is: When I caught a whiff of the truth, I followed the smell to the pile of shite that was giving off the smell.
And then I began to read and my first eye opening book was Isabella Wilkerson's immense: "The Warmth of Other Suns".
Since then, during the long winters here, I have read one real history after another associated with the United States.
My most recent one is a really obscure book that should be in every high school history class.
"Lay This Body Down" by Gregory Freeman. An eye popping account of a fully operational slave plantation in 1921 in Georgia!!
ps.... my wife is Greek!
Thanks for the recommendation, Mike! I’ll add this to my reading list.
Speaking of eye-popping accounts about the inequality experienced by African Americans in this country, I have been listening to a Peabody Award-winning podcast by APM Reports about Curtis Flowers, the Black man from Winona, Mississippi, who was tried SIX TIMES for the same crime. The DA who wanted him executed suppressed evidence that would have exonerated Curtis from the start, fabricated confessions from fake witnesses and consistently struck potential Black jurors claiming false disqualifications. Racism is rampant in Mississippi, and as a result, Curtis, finally proven innocent with help from the Innocence Project, spent almost 21 years in JAIL!
https://features.apmreports.org/in-the-dark/season-two/
P.S. I wish you much luck fostering that anti-racism curriculum in your school district! Keep us posted, please.
Yes,
The book "Just Mercy" is another life changer whose author is the originator of the Innocence Project.
"Just Mercy". Another book that should be mandatory reading for high school history students.
It was a great movie as well.
"Junk Science" by M. Chris Fabricant is another good one. The author is also a part of the Innocence Project. The book is about how junk science (bite marks, burn patterns, hair comparisons, etc.) have put a lot of innocent people in prison and several who were put to death.
Thanks, Mike. I will look for this one too.
Rose, A local man was just sent back to prison in Fl. Such a tragedy…
https://www.pbs.org/news-hour/show/crosley-green-returns-to-prison-maintains-innocence-after-murder-conviction-reinstated
Wow, Mike S! I literally just recommended "The Warmth of Other Suns" a few comments above!
It is incredible, so vividly written that I felt despair for some of the people she wrote about! I know personally I wouldn't have the fortitude they had.
Wilkerson is a powerful storyteller and writer.
Miselle.
Life change book, no doubt. At least for the ignorant like I am/was.
Kudos for you work on Anti-racism in your community. Keep up the fight. I want to check out the Freeman book. Thanks for recommendation. Lucky you for having a Greek wife. Sadly for my mother, I never had one. Grin
Bravo! Terrific lesson.
No notes from this census-using HS English and history teacher.
One question, how do you prepare pupils to read cursive?
When I first started to use the census in my teaching in 2012, their frustration in understanding the documents surprised me. Obviously, I immediately added cursive-reading prep and/or used websites with printed versions of census pages.
Thanks Lee. The lesson was very popular with students. They felt like they were doing the work of historians. Interesting questions about “cursive.” But no one ever raised the issue
Guessing you taught college students who'd had some handwriting instruction as children. In 2012, any loss of cursive literacy may have been strictly a Maine problem.
That year, my students were high school freshman, a full decade after Maine started a one-to-one laptop program. In 2002, then Governor Angus King orchestrated a MacIntosh laptop for every Maine student in 7th grade and up. By the time this 2012 freshman class (HS graduating class of 2017) got to grammar school, most Maine middle school students used school-supplied iPads, and many of the state's elementary schools had all but abandoned handwriting instruction. About 20 percent of my 9th graders that year could translate cursive about as well as they could translate Old High German.
While much has been made of the loss of handwriting and handwritten document skills for the future of US historians, handwriting has not quite yet gone the way of cuneiform. By 2016, I taught at an impoverished New Mexico high school on the Mexican border. My students there still had uniformly legible cursive handwriting. A broadband desert in 2016, this SW New Mexico district had only just begun to introduce tablets and test so-called computer-based curricula in the high school.
When I pointed out some flaws in one of these programs to a shiny Pearson sales rep flogging an expensive buggy, beta curriculum to our English department, he called Maine "the sharp end of the spear" in digital device usage. Without more instruction, I suspect one of the casualties of that spear's nationwide spread will be fewer people who can read handwritten script. I'll leave it to actual historians to measure the consequences.
Peter, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your map and about your family. Your map really engaged your students. What weee their reactions when they found out about the blatant racism?
So very interesting about your family’s origins in San Francisco but not surprising. Many immigrants came to the Bay Area or NYC. * Side note: My best friend’s family was Greek and French. Her mother had 8 children, three sets of twins and 2 singular children. My girlfriend and her twin were the oldest. I say “were” because I lost her almost 2 years ago to cancer. Family name was Costopoulos.
Thanks, Marlene. My students were adult learners in a Masters in Teaching program. So racism was nothing new to them. But they did learn how to create a motivating lesson approach that can engage the learner. The lesson was also very fulfilling for them personally
I imagine it opened up a whole new world for them. You gave them a gift.
Wonderful lesson, Peter. Your students are truly fortunate to have you as their teacher. Bravo!!!
Thanks Martha - I’ve been teaching for over 50 years. Hope to keep “bringing it.”
I’m sure you do and will! Keep on keeping on!
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Incredible lesson we ALL should learn. Thank You Peter.
"Infiltration of Subversive Races has occurred. Foreign-born families 35%; Orientals 750 Chinese, 250 Japanese, 35 Filipinos, Negro 30%..." 1940, Portland, Oregon housing report.
All four of my grandparents emigrated from Greece in early 1900s. They were considered a “subversive race” by redliners.
CRT! Fake news!
Stop trying to make white people feel bad!
Think of the (white) children!
Guess some people don’t want their kids to find out about how racist their ancestors were.
I didn't enjoy learning about my own nasty, bigoted ancestors, but I'm glad I did.
I just finished reading Colin Woodards "American Nations" about the different regions (and the motives thereof) that colonists came from and how it dictated the style of government they put in place. Some eye-opening information in there about just how UN-righteous were the Pilgrims and Puritans and how horrid they were to the Indigenous peoples they met with (some of whom helped them survive, for cripes sake) and how hostile they were to those they judged "not Godly enough" to invite into their colony) Geez.
That’s a great book. I’m currently reading “How to Hide an Empire” by Daniel Immerwahr. A very readable “big history” of America’s appetite for expansion.
Let's call it what it is: Wealth disparity is the rough underbelly of a capitalistic society and in a sense has been institutionalized. Too few American families own the greatest percentage of our country's wealth and those who dominate it feel entitled to impose their political philosophy to control the purse strings. And as HCR aptly points out those who dominate it do the most damage by oppressing those in greatest need, usually people of color.
Critical Race Theory maintains that racism has been institutionalized and the Right has begun abolishing its teaching the --"real story" of our country's history--in classrooms across the country. They say they don't want our children to feel badly about themselves while white-washing historical facts. Of course it's simply cover for their fear of losing their foothold on power. It's a twisted argument based on self-preservation. Their suppression of the truth isn't fooling anyone.
I was shocked when I studied abroad in Germany in the 1980's. The airwaves were loaded with that country's admission of guilt for being hoodwinked by Hitler. Documentaries on the Holocaust were aired daily in the hope that this "cannot happen again." After the war, Germans showed the evils of Nazism and lifted the snake to examine for everyone to see.
Many right-wingers do whatever is necessary to stop capitalism's underbelly from being seen. To do so would make mostly white, male leaders to admit our ever-hidden guilt. They call transparency "woke." (I call it lies.) Germany owned theirs and is a better society for it.
Finally, I've been watching old documentaries on the Holocaust in which survivors answer this question: Why didn't you do something when the Nazi hammer fell on them. Most responded that no one imagined that early changes would end with The Final Solution. Changes to their freedoms and growing racism were gradual and many felt they would re-correct. From studying the evolution of fascism openly, Germany showed that this of course was wishful thinking.
The world is witnessing similar changes in American society. Voter suppression, racism, anti-gay and LGBTQ rights, women's right to choose and book banning, just to name a few, are opening salvos by the Right to create an extremist, our way or the highway, form of Christian Theocracy. It's happening right under our noses. What the logical extension will be is not pretty. Disenfranchisement based on race, mandating reciting the Lord's Prayer in public schools, eye for an eye deaths of women who choose to abort their fetuses, expulsion of the homeless, Civil War? How bad it will get is anyone's guess. The truth is that we are on a trajectory which will destroy democracy as we know it. When a lethal movement gains momentum, it never ends well.
https://open.substack.com/pub/joycevance/p/can-we-call-it-fascism-yet?r=16nvk&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Thank you for the link, Sandy!
I read that The Indicted One has also said on day one he would change the laws of citizenship via Executive Order: in other words, rewriting the Constitution
to his own liking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_il5VlcAP8
Vance has rapidly become one of my favorite writers on Substack.
Thank you for the link Mr. Lewis! I just subscribed to Ms. Vance's substack column.
She’s the best where it matters most: JUSTICE...
Indeed.
Great essay Randy! Although I appreciate being one of the first to read it, I think it would do well to be published in a more visible spot than the comment section of Letters from an American. Thank you for putting the current conditions of what's happening in our country in a way anyone can understand. I urge you to get this message out there!
In other words, Professor Heather, fascist racism governs today’s Republicans, 95% of American campuses, police departments, small and big communities, small and large banks, see JOYCE VANCE tonight on Substack, can we call it FASCISM, YET?
As an aside, Mr Lewis, do you know what the Fed is up to? I was told they are pulling in bank reserves to slow down runs on them.
The McCarthy debt/budget charade ends with Cool Hand Joe being presidential and the speaker being pipsqueaky. Meanwhile there are strange sputters in the Republican presidential primary race.
Not so long ago pundits wrote about the Trump/DeSantis race. More recently Trump has been up in the polls and major endorsements, while DeSantis’s much hyped launch was a fiasco and his Floridazation message seems to have flopped nationally.
There is Nikki Haley, ex-South Carolina Governor and -/+ with Trump, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, some rich guy with a name starting with Y, ex-NJ Governor Christie [the only prospective candidate with a double digit Republican dislike poll], and other possibles, including ex-VP Pence.
Unless Trump stumbles badly (or possibly is jailed or has a major health issue], he seems likely to be the Republican presidential primary winner. The other candidates may seek their fifteen minutes of exposure, but the process is likely a hands down Trump coronation.
This is where the McCarthy blackmail fiasco becomes relevant. In 2020, for the first time in my memory, the Republican presidential convention presented no policy guidelines. This was because there was no clear policy guidance from a loose-cannon Trump. The same is likely at the 2024 Republican presidential convention.
McCarthy’s House horse shit reflects a policy of nihilism, where slogans rather than serious policies prevail.
I am heartened by the accomplishments of the Biden administration both domestically and in the global arena.
I am reassured by how presidential Biden has been in maintaining the ‘full faith and credit of the United States.’
I am confident that President Biden and the Democrats have a winning hand in the 2024 political game, if they can highlight their accomplishments as well as the nihilist vacuousness of their Trumpista opponents.
"Unless Trump stumbles badly (or possibly is jailed or has a major health issue"
Had I been a person who utilized social media back when The Indicted One was in office, I had a great idea I hoped would go viral: I thought we should all order Double Big Macs with cheese, large fries and Shakes and Door Dash them to the WH. Could The Indicted One resist the alluring scent of his favorite, artery clogging meal permeating the WH? I was always praying a fatal MI was just a hamberder away!!
Miselle And bottles of ketchup for wall decoration. Does he use a golf cart to go to dinner, since even on the putting green he uses a golf cart because he can’t walk that far.
Dominating the smallest minded (less than 10 brain cells) among us is the tip of the iceberg. We have tried 600 of those magats and now some of them are spreading there virus of hate into more legitimate centers of indoctrination, the churches, schools and local politics. It is a dangerous time we live in, when ignorance is paraded as truth.
I have watched as it went from Fox, to businesses, to social media, to churches, to our own MSM, etc. the rot goes deep.
Jeri,
As a (too) long time attendant in a Southern Baptist Church:
The most significant problem in the Baptist Church is specifically: Anyone (male) can take up the mantle of "preacher" and get an assignment to some "church" and start belting out whatever opinion he (only a he by the way) has.
No qualifications, no seminary needed, no education. Just a male body and a voice and a willingness to vocalize "what God wants".
So, every Sunday morning, in Southern Baptist Churches across America, a dude rolls out of bed and makes up a sermon from thin air and puts it out there for the folks in the congregation who grew up thinking that the preacher has a special connection to "God".
I remember wondering why God was telling the preacher what God thought but God never talked to me even as an 8 year old kid.
Later, of course, I left the Southern Baptist Church one morning, in the middle of some nutty sermon by some nutty dude who was outlining all the ways one can get to "Hail".
Anyway, I did find a good man with a good message in the Methodist Church at Texas A&M Jeri. A guy named Bob Waters. Amazing man of "God". He NEVER, not once, pretended to speak for "God".
He spoke practically, every Sunday, about our responsibility to others, about how we are our brothers keepers, about kindness, about love, about charity.
Not once, ever, did he pretend he knew what "God" wanted. But, he knew what people needed to be effective.
Love. Forgiveness. Kindness. Helpfulness.
You know, all that stuff Jesus taught that we all ignore all the time.
Mike, I like to switch between fiction and non-fiction. I am a huge fan of Roland Merullo (his "Buddha" series" is my very favorite). He wrote a satirical political novel entitled "American Savior" which I think you'd enjoy, the premise being that Jesus returns to earth to run for President. (And Merullo's Jesus came out of TX, which you might find interesting as well.) What really astounded me is that it nails politics TODAY although it was published in 2008.
I recommend it to you and the entire forum.
I will put it on hold at the library and thank you for the recommendation Miselle!!
I just did too
I loved Breakfast with Buddha, Lunch with Buddha, Dinner with Buddha and I see that Dessert with Buddha is now available! I’ll reserve the one you suggested too. By the way, the author answers his emails!
I loved Dessert, and was delighted to see that Buddha makes a cameo in "Driving Jesus to Little Rock" and "The Delight of Being Ordinary"
I am very fortunate and excited that I am enrolled in his writer's mini-workshop next month. When I read his books, I feel the same camaraderie that I feel with so many of the good people here on the forum.
Lucky you, Miselle! How did you get a hold of Dessert? It just came out. Yes, I loved The Delight of Being Ordinary. The author told me via email that our wonderful team from the "...with Buddha" books make a cameo in Delight of Being Ordinary.
Mike S., This is a revealing post today. Your comment makes me realize that these crazy times we are living in are an opportunity (From god? Perhaps?) to stop being mindless, thoughtless. We may never get to the Promise Land, but we can lead the way for others “waking up to thought-FULL-ness”. I know the term “woke” has become a signaling word, and that is sad because your comment - your experience, of “thought-fully” recognizing an authentic servant of god, is so important. We need to Be the Change We Need, as well as recognize it in others. And lift each other up.
BINGO
In 1970, the Soviet dissident, Andrei Amalrik, wrote an essay entitled "Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984?" As an outsider from Down Under that has followed US politics, especially since 2015, I wonder whether the US will survive 2024.
After the scare and remembering the reaction to the Dobbs decision (SCOTUS) there is hope that the Dems can take both houses and “rebalance” the court. If not,
It’s over. Stupidity takes over.
Stupidity + cupidity.
50/50, watch Ohio.
May I suggest that it’s extremely unlikely the Biden administration will sell this accomplishment? Instead of sending a strong message to minority voters about the administration’s concern with undervalued minority-owned housing, they’ll tweet a couple of times from the White House and nobody will notice. Why do I think so? Because they sell their accomplishments so badly, so ineptly, as if they’ve never heard that advertising agencies exist, they sell their successes so badly that the average American has no idea what they’ve done. Add, on top of that, a media machine determined to paint Biden as incompetent and/or frail, and I don’t know why any of the powerhouses in the Democratic Party think he has a prayer of defeating Donald Trump. Trump can be indicted a dozen ways to Sunday and, again, a majority of Americans won’t care. Trump probably can be defeated — if, that is, the Democrats start selling now.
Isn’t it up to the rest of us to talk up his accomplishments? Every accomplishment is highlighted thru the Whitehouse.gov.
Biden is focused on getting as much good done as he possibly can in the time he has.
What we know about bullies is that rubbing their faces in their own losses drives them deeper into their shame and denial of the truth.
As others have said, turn away from the pissing contests and keep putting one foot forward to reach the goal.
Biden is the wise elder, exactly opposite from the bloviating shell of a creature that has to make others smaller to see himself as larger.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/25/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-highlights-accomplishments-on-anniversary-of-historic-executive-order-to-advance-effective-accountable-policing-and-strengthen-public-safety/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/06/fact-sheet-u-s-strategy-on-countering-corruption/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/22/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-historic-agreement-to-protect-colorado-river-system/
Of course Biden can defeat Trump. He’s done it once before, and given the avalanche of bad news for Trump, there’s no reason to think he can’t do it again. I’m not saying to be complacent, but please, don’t be defeatist either.
Very great points - the Dems do not have an effective saturated media machine that should be running all through the year. Fox News has validated and aggravated the harsh attitudes we see today.
Robert I’ve trained some very smart people to give ‘the elevator speech.’ This is to express what is most important in 60 seconds or less. Initially they thought this difficult—even impossible. After an hour they had it down pat and were comfortable.
President Biden and the Biden administration should focus on their own ‘elevator speech.’ Make your points in 60 seconds. Remember the old saying; KISS (Keep it simple stupid).
Thank you. If only. If only they would write it and rehearse him. Because, seriously, if they don’t we’re likely doomed. When Reuben Warshofsky told Norma Rae that he had gotten all the words down to two syllables, she said, “One is better.“ Keep it simple, stupid. If only.
"...the debt ceiling crisis already forgotten."
Editorial - "Republicans, deeply concerned about the electoral ramifications the party might suffer due to the spanking Biden gave the Freedom Caucus, are desperate to turn the attention of their base to literally anything else."
"Look! The old guy that in fact, did NOT just beat our asses tripped over a sandbag! He's not fit to beat our asses, er... govern!"
I do not know the details of that incident with the sandbag, but why was a sandbag there for anyone to trip over?? I wonder if anyone mentioned how many times TUMP tripped and stumbled over something??? These Fascist/NAZI/ GQP misfits make me sick... i despise all of them...the ignorant, low life creeps..
You get old, you trip. Carry on.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Ii_rvk9Z1kc?feature=share
I’m sure that’s how I’m going to die …
On Twitter, a stage hand responded that it is common to have sand bags on stage for stabilization.
Sad that it happened to our president and hope he is feeling okay today.
These days if tRump trips on a sandbag the MAGAts will instantly start screaming "Democrat plot!" and in less than 24 hours Gym Jordan will have opened a Congressional investigation into the "weaponization of sandbags" while James Comer makes appearances on Fox to speculate that the sandbag was made in China at the behest of the Biden family who profited off the tripping incident and there's documents about it that the FBI is hiding and the plot is mentioned on Hunter's laptop
I think it was there to stabilize one of the reflector devices that the speakers used to read their scripts which a teleprompter is scrolling as they speak. That is the only reason I can think of that a sandbag would be in an area where people were walking, those two reflecting devices were the only things out in front of the speaking podium, and that is where he was standing to greet the graduates. That’s what I thought I saw.
IMHO, once again the GOP shoots themselves in the foot: if a "doddering old guy" was able to so easily outfox them, what does that say about THEM!?!?
LOL
As an African American woman who's been around for more than 70 years I'm saddened by how little most Americans know about the history of racism in America. I noticed that most of the comments about today's letter are focused on the debt ceiling which we've been bantering about for weeks and Biden's fall which the GOP is capitalizing on as proof that he's too old to run again.
The remainder of HCR's narrative in this newsletter though is about the wealth disparities created by undervaluing property owned by African Americans. I get it-thinking and talking about racial issues is usually something we avoid until another Black person is murdered by police. The few comments today about racism seem to center around what a shame it is that the "real" history of America has not been taught in our schools or communities or the shame about how "minorities" are treated. It's great that the Tulsa story is getting so much attention but there's so much more to the story of African Americans, the violence perpetrated against us and our current state of affairs in America.
My father is a WWII veteran from Mississippi. He moved North for a better life after returning from the war where he guarded prisoners in Germany. He was denied entry into a construction workers union and not able to use the GI bill to purchase his first home. When I was 12 years old my family moved to an up and coming suburb in a New England city. We initially lived in a neighborhood of two family houses where there were people with white skin and people with darker skin. We were all neighbors and got along just fine. I don't recall any racial incidents as a child until we moved.
As soon as we moved into the "white" neighborhood the for sale signs went up all around us. Realtors were promoting block busting (scary and worthless Black people have moved into the neighborhood so you better sell now because your property values are going down). People shouted the "n" word at us and let us know we weren't wanted there. One female neighbor stopped my brother who was riding his bike and told him that he was a monkey and not welcome in the neighborhood. He was scarred by this and still talks about how it affected him in later life. When my mother explained that they didn't like us because of the color of our skin I was appalled. What's that got to do with anything?
What I witnessed and felt motivated me to learn more about what racism is all about and I've been studying American and world history since then. There's actually a lot that I didn't know either. I'm still learning. I've been most fascinated by the origins of race in America and the ways that propaganda has been used to divide and conquer people over centuries. It's also fascinating to see how much people buy into the idea of "race". It's a man-made concept that is not supported by science or religion even though people think the contrary.
As a result of "affirmative action" in the 1970s I earned several college degrees. I was also the "first" Black person to work in a number of corporate, government, education and nonprofit settings. Lots of stories to talk about there but I won't go on about it here. When I decided to purchase my first home in the 1980s I was told that I did not "qualify". Well, I decided to go to real estate school to figure out why I didn't qualify. Turns out the bank was misrepresenting the numerical calculations for determining my eligibility for a mortgage. I went back to the same bank and challenged them--long story short I was able to purchase a home after realtors steered me to the Black neighborhoods. The house I purchased was all boarded up and I didn't mind being someone who could help to improve the area by renovating my new home. Since then I've bought and sold a number of properties and helped others to do the same. Every time it's a battle-I learned long ago to remove any signs of my being Black when selling. I also counsel people about how to prepare for becoming a homeowner when faced with adversity. While about 73% of White people are homeowners, only about 44% of Black people are homeowners and most live in areas that are undervalued. It's not that we don't want "equity"-it's just not available to us in the same way it is for others.
Today I live in an "upscale" (White) neighborhood where once again neighbors were dismayed about us moving here. (There goes the neighborhood!) Several neighbors in close proximity have since sold their homes. Living, learning and working while Black in America is exhausting and dangerous. The MAGATs have created an environment today where I'm constantly looking over my shoulder for the mean and hateful people who love violence.
I don't think most people appreciate how much white supremacy has negatively affected the history, present day and viability of America. Trump/GOP supporters are not just concerned about economics-they come in all shapes, sizes and income from across the country. The fact that 95% of his supporters have white skin tells you everything about who they are-they're primarily concerned about the "browning of America" and they think Trump and the GOP can "save" them from the demographic changes which are inevitable because people are "mixing".
I'm happy to learn that more of you are seeking information about how race has shaped our entire society. (Thankful for CRT, Caste, the 1619 Project etc.) There would be no electoral college or filibusters or birthright citizenship or voting rights or 14th amendment or 13th amendment or (I can keep going), if there was no racism. We can lump "people of color" together but the history of America hinges on Black and White. (The categories in the first census in 1790 were "free white males and females", "slaves" and all other "free persons"-that's it. "Mulatto" was added in 1850 to identify "mixed race" people.)
If you don't know about the history of "Black people" in this country then you don't really know about the country's history. Since the 1960s especially there has been a wealth of documented truth about the rise of America and the role that African Americans have played along with the struggles we've had to endure just because of the color of our skin. I spent 7 years researching my genealogy and learned that my ancestors (not just Africans, but Europeans who "mixed" with us) have been here since the 1600s. Our contributions are not just our free manual labor-there's so much more. Remember every time you see a traffic light or use an ironing board or have peanut butter-I could go on-it's because an African who was in America invented it.
Forgive me for this long post but I'm convinced that if more people knew about how racism hurts all of us-not just people of color-then maybe we could move closer to the "more perfect union" that most of us want to experience. I write a newsletter to shine a spotlight on African American history. If you're someone who wants to learn more about racism as it pertains to African Americans, please check out talkaboutrace@substack.com. I share stories, resources and critical thinking questions each week. Also, check out the Zinn Education Project to learn more about a plethora of incidents like Tulsa and even more history that matters. https://www.zinnedproject.org/collection/massacres-us/
Thank you for indulging this too long post...I just think if we know more about racism then we can get to the heart of America and as Biden continually repeats--then we can save the soul of America. We have to stay "woke" and never let evil doers win...
I wholly concur with Ally in thanking you Gina, for your poignant post, which is as graceful and dignified a synopsis of our history as I have seen in quite a while.
I look forward to checking out your substack.
Thank you for sharing, Gina. Just followed your substack.
Here is the link for others who would like to follow you: https://talkaboutrace22.substack.com/
Thanks for your post, Gina. Racism does indeed hurt all of us.
Daily, the GOP is out to sandbag our nation. Tommie Tuberville's brother Charles even wrote: “Please don’t confuse my brother with me.”
Bravo President Biden! I would have tripped too and am much younger. Right wing media is nothing but a joke.
I watched several videos of that short trip over a sandbag. Interesting that when it was broadcast by the right wing media, they repeated the audio of the roar of the crowd, which in fact stopped as soon as they saw he'd fallen, and commented falsely that the roar was just as loud or louder after the accident.
That man is so fit! He knows how to fall. Did you see how briskly he trotted up the steps of Air Force 1 (or 2, whichever), back straight, not a quiver? Another minor point, tfg's twitter on the subject was KIND! new strategy?
Lol-I don’t need a sandbag to trip...🤷🏻♀️
Me either. I have 4 cats who are ever right at hand if I am in the kitchen ("Food?!!")
Miselle, I wish I had an excuse. The truth is, I’m simply a klutz! I own it! 😊🤗
Just my dog, who likes to lie lengthwise in the doorway. The better to keep an eye on us, I think.
💙
Me neither. I have a dog -- who knocked me down at the dog park yesterday.
Yikes-are you ok????? I’m over 60 now-and feel it more when I trip. Hope you are recovered!!
Thanks, Jen. I'm fine, despite being 72. My hip was sore for a few minutes, but it didn't slow me down. Several years ago, a friend showed me how to fall, and that's been handy!
You are so right, the Right wing media are a joke and a disgrace to the whole nation.
Next it'll be a pie in somebody's face. That's what The Party That Need Not Be Named wants to lower political discourse down to. 🙄