Black History Month (In America, Anyway)

Calamity Jane

Martin Luther King Jr.


A member of the clergy, and practitioner of peaceful protest still revered today. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. You might remember him as the man who marched on Washington in 1963 and dropped the legendary "I Have A Dream" speech.

He was a Baptist, he received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and was assassinated by some fool in 1968.

Malcolm X


A human rights activist, and advocate for the black man. Martin Luther King Jr. might have been the open hand, but X was the clenched fist. A member of the Nation of Islam, and Muslim minister, he spoke of a "By Any Means Necessary" approach of freedom. He founded Muslim Mosque, Inc and Organization of Afro-American Unity. After leaving Nation of Islam, three members assassinated him in 1965.

Not doing my standard "America" fare here. Please feel free to share any stories of the Civil Rights movement or any other figures of revolution!

George Fornby Grill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4grgEo4ZUk

Garlic Bread

Why isn't there a white history month?

Al_wat

Keith wrote:

Why isn't there a white history month?

every other month

Umaro

Why isn't there a White Entertainment Television channel.

Johnny Fabulous

Keith wrote:

Why isn't there a white history month?

http://wheniswhitehistorymonth.tumblr.com/

Al_wat

Back when I was in highschool black history month consisted of free style battles and break dancing competitions every lunch in the cafeteria

also dominos, which I dunno if you've ever played before, but is some kind of competition where whoever slams them down the hardest wins

superjoe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s

FirmSkater

Is there a good Malcolm X biography?

facetious

On the one hand, a month celebrating black history is cool. On the other hand, it's kinda sad that we need it. Why does it have to be marginalised the rest of the time?

Anyway, this was linked on facebook earlier: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/letter-freed-slave-former-master-draw-attention-151653952.html

BYToady

Al_wat wrote:

also dominos, which I dunno if you've ever played before, but is some kind of competition where whoever slams them down the hardest wins

Sounds like a plot to an anime.

nightmarenny

A natural rule of the internet: If anybody posts a story involving white people being racist someone will say "You know other races are racist, too!"

Antimatter

FirmSkater wrote:

Is there a good Malcolm X biography?

http://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Alex-Haley/dp/0345350685

Tam

Antimatter wrote:

FirmSkater wrote:

Is there a good Malcolm X biography?

http://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Alex-Haley/dp/0345350685

yeah seriously what
who ain't heard of

mensch-o-matic

why isnt there a bet history month

FirmSkater

Tam wrote:

Antimatter wrote:

FirmSkater wrote:

Is there a good Malcolm X biography?

http://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Alex-Haley/dp/0345350685

yeah seriously what
who ain't heard of

Me

sorry.

Tam

mensch-o-matic wrote:

why isnt there a bet history month

well bookmaking is thought of as a fairly unsavory business

BYToady

Tam wrote:

mensch-o-matic wrote:

why isnt there a bet history month

well bookmaking is thought of as a fairly unsavory business

Google and Wikipedia really cut into betting on historical events.

Goose!

superjoe wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s

I thought this was going to be just a video of his last parole meeting in Shawshank, but that was much better.

tugga

Umaro wrote:

Why isn't there a White Entertainment Television channel.

http://www.cmt.com/

MrMonroe

Dayton, Ohio,

August 7, 1865

To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.

I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy,—the folks call her Mrs. Anderson,—and the children—Milly, Jane, and Grundy—go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated. Sometimes we overhear others saying, "Them colored people were slaves" down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.

As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor's visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams's Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.

In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve—and die, if it come to that—than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.

Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.

From your old servant,

Jourdon Anderson.

I thought this was really cool.

TrippyJing

BYToady wrote:

Al_wat wrote:

also dominos, which I dunno if you've ever played before, but is some kind of competition where whoever slams them down the hardest wins

Sounds like a plot to an anime.

He has *gasp* the touch of God!

Pharezon

Goose! wrote:

superjoe wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s

I thought this was going to be just a video of his last parole meeting in Shawshank, but that was much better.

The whole ignoring race is moronic.

TankHammer

MrMonroe wrote:

I thought this was really cool.

This is awesome.

Zibblsnrt

Al_wat wrote:

Keith wrote:

Why isn't there a white history month?

every other month

All of which just happen to be rather longer than February as well, mind.

Raijin Quickfoot

I demand a Blue History Month.

Just a month for all of the sad things in history.

Sweeney Tom

Raijin Quickfoot wrote:

I demand a Blue History Month.

Just a month for all of the sad things in history.

With guest performances by the Blue Man Group

And The Smurfs On Ice

Comahawk

Pharezon wrote:

Goose! wrote:

superjoe wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s

I thought this was going to be just a video of his last parole meeting in Shawshank, but that was much better.

The whole ignoring race is moronic.

It is a weak part of his argument, but what he is saying isn't entirely flawed. I agree with his stance, in the sense of not making race such an important issue. The black history is American history made me laugh though, because, you know, there are only black people in the U.S. who struggled and had to deal with racial issues.

I'm not sure, I find the idea of black history month flawed in general, but I get what they are trying to accomplish with it. To me, there seems like there has to be a better way to accomplish that goal. Also, this is apparently spreading to Canada, the local news announced the other day that it was black history month, which I thought was mostly an American thing.

Al_wat

I recently found out some of my ancestors owned slaves.

I did not like learning this fact.

edit: Ok I wasn't going to post that but I forgot it saved as a draft, I guess I will just leave it now. It did make me feel really uncomfortable when I found it out.

Zibblsnrt wrote:

Al_wat wrote:

Keith wrote:

Why isn't there a white history month?

every other month

All of which just happen to be rather longer than February as well, mind.

Hey now. Once every 100 years we allow them to have a 30 day month. What are they complaining about?!

UnbrokenEva

uhhh as a Canadian I can say that Black History Month was part of my school curriculum as far back as I can remember.

The Lovely Bastard

look comahawk is just a huge racist

Peter Ebel

So, what kinda shit goes down in black month?

Raijin Quickfoot

Sweeney Tom wrote:

Raijin Quickfoot wrote:

I demand a Blue History Month.

Just a month for all of the sad things in history.

With guest performances by the Blue Man Group

And The Smurfs On Ice

and Eiffel 65

Abracadaniel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGmNT62Tiwg

mensch-o-matic

MrMonroe wrote:

HOLY SHIT

I thought this was really cool.

This was amazing and I love Letters of Note

Peter Ebel

mensch-o-matic wrote:

MrMonroe wrote:

HOLY SHIT

I thought this was really cool.

This was amazing and I love Letters of Note

In addition to black history, this also counts as boss history.

Wren

superjoe wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s

hahaha love this

Comahawk

Fearghaill wrote:

uhhh as a Canadian I can say that Black History Month was part of my school curriculum as far back as I can remember.

How old are you?
As a Canadian I can say Black History Month was never a part of my education.

The Lovely Bastard wrote:

look comahawk is just a huge racist

Yep, hate them other races!

My point is more along the line of: Isn't Black History Month just a more "acceptable" version of being racist than being overtly racist? Effecitvely, you are creating a special month, wherein everyone must pay attention to the plight of one specific group in history. In a way, it is like some sort of positive racism.

Kind of along the line of "We were mean to them in the past, therefore we will make up for that by pointing to what makes them special and different from the standard culture." Not to mention the issues of highlighting racism towards blacks over the other ethic and cultural groups that suffered and continue to suffer said racism, and historically have actually suffered worse than African Americans.

I feel like I am digging this hole deeper, but in my personal view, Black History Month is a flawed idea that could probably be done a lot better and more equally. Perhaps a Racism Awareness Month? Then again, as I study history, I find the idea of "apology history" based on historical discourse to be extremely problematic and misleading.

mensch-o-matic

hahaha

hahahahhaha nope haha

Raijin Quickfoot

I always assumed it's about awareness. Maybe a chance for someone who doesn't know how rich and deep black history is to have a chance to learn something new.

Dark Raven X

I'm with Mr. Freeman here.

But then, I am sorta against anything promoting any one group of people, as by their very nature they are encouraging segregation. And it's not a case of equilibrium; I don't want straight pride festivals or white history months either.

That said, Black History Month gave us the peanut butter episode of American Dad. So thanks for that, Black History Month!