I'm a 54-year-old White guy in the USA and I have to infer that there must have been -- at one time not too long ago -- racist codes for "let the White person go first". I was never taught them, but I have to infer this from a few decades now of observing the following:
When I am standing in a small family-run store checkout line, and elderly Black people are in front of me, if I have a cough or need to clear my throat, something very strange happens. All eyes swivel backwards to look at me, and the elderly Black people in front of me all but fall over themselves to waive me to the FRONT OF THE LINE. Sometimes if I lock eyes with the shop keeper at the register, HE waives me forwards. At this point, there is NO POLITE GETTING OUT OF IT. I can try saying "I'm so sorry, I have a cold", or "you are clearly in front of me, please proceed", and none of it will work. Instead, I am given excuses to help ME feel better about myself. "Oh, no, I'm in no hurry", or "I have not quite decided if I have everything yet", or "the shopkeeper and I were just talking, we will be awhile, so please checkout first".
To be clear, I'm not the one being hurt (they are), but I AM mortified and embarrassed.
I've had to develop special procedures to combat this. I always stand a little further back in line, NEVER make eye contact with anyone, look intently at merchandise while waiting to checkout, and UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ever clear my throat no matter how much I may need to.
I was reminded of this today when I (with plenty of room) passed an older Black woman in an aisle and merely nodded hello. She said "excuse me" and stepped backwards to give me more space. Huh.
Younger Black people don't do this (happily). Older Black people sometimes seem startled, like they have not encountered a White person coughing behind them in a long time -- but then their automatic training kicks in...
When I think about racism, I usually think about the more egregious examples (lynchings, denial of voting rights) but I have to wonder -- what was it like to just go on a mundane daily shopping trip in 1960?
QUESTION: Older folks reading this. Did/does this cough/throat-clear signal actually exist??
The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth
This sweeping survey of Black history shows how Black humanity has been erased and how its recovery can save the humanity of us all.
Using history as a foundation, The Humanity Archive uses storytelling techniques to make history come alive and uncover the truth behind America's whitewashed history.
In 1917, 110 of the Buffalo Soldiers, the all-Black U.S. Army regiment, were convicted of crimes such as murder and mutiny after clashes with white civilians and police officers. 19 of the soldiers were executed. On Monday, officials announced they were overturning all those convictions on the basis that the soldiers were wrongly treated because of their race. The AP has all the details.
A post from February:
Charles Henry Turner was a pioneer in entomology - and he couldn't get a job in higher ed, so he taught high school biology.
"Across his distinguished 33-year career, Turner authored 71 papers and was the first African American to have his research published in the prestigious journal Science."
His simple but elegant experiments in public parks revolutionized understanding of bees.
“For Black people, education was in and of itself an act of active resistance against racial disenfranchisement….
Black teachers used classrooms to not only impart the lessons of history, but also to encourage students to be actively involved in the fight for racial equity.”
You can still reserve a spot for the next "At Home with 19th Century Dress & Textiles" (free) online event on Sunday, October 29!
This time, the speakers will be sharing "hidden, overlooked and marginalised histories."
Programme:
🧵 Lisa Bowyer - The Rachel Barrett sampler, Halifax's African school (1836-1855) and the recouping of identity
🧵 Chris Evans - Clothing the Enslaved in the Age of Atlantic Slavery
🧵 Ruth Battersby - Personal and Political: Selected Textiles from the Norwich Costume and Textile Collections
While figures like Martin Luther King Jr. & Rosa Parks are well-known, there were countless local leaders who galvanized their communities. People like
Fannie Lou Hamer (MS), Ella Baker (VA), and Amelia Boynton (Selma AL), who emphasized the importance of grassroots organizing, were pivotal to the success of the Civil Rights Movement in America.
Image: Amelia Boynton knocked unconscious during Bloody Sunday.
When Dangerfield Newby, a member of John Brown’s heroic but ill-fated effort to institute a slave rebellion, was killed and mutilated by vengeful townspeople, the events did not immediately change the fortunes of his wife, Harriet Newby, and her children, and the rest of his family. Their sacrifice , like so many millions of others, was only just beginning.
While history often remembers John Brown’s assault on the Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, it forgets 5 Black Americans who joined him, including a man named Dangerfield Newby. Dangerfield Newby’s motivation for joining Brown was rooted in his love for his family,. His story id a powerful reminder of the enduring struggle for freedom by ordinary people. They are worthy of remembering.
The March on Washington was the product of a long and arduous journey. Each moment built upon the previous one, generating momentum and solidarity among civil rights activists. By the time the march occurred in 1963, it stood on the shoulders of decades of activism, struggle, and resilience.
Discover Jerry Lawson, the genius who transformed gaming, in this picture-book biography 🎮📚
From inventing swappable cartridges to founding the country's first African American-owned video game company, his journey reshaped the industry forever🕹️
The March on Washington did not happen, spontaneously. It grew out of decades of interconnected efforts by myriad civil rights stakeholders. Among these were the founding of the NAACP, the flowering of the movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, and the monumental court case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
60 years ago this week, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, delivered “I Had a Dream” at a seminal event in American history. The idea of a march of thousands of people united in the search for justice, equality, and equal opportunity percolated in the minds of organizers for decades. Years before Black Americans had been thinking and strategizing.
Rodney King suffered a fractured skull and cheekbone after being beaten by 4 Los Angeles, CA police officers, who were charged with a number of offenses. Many Angelenos felt certain of a conviction. After all, there was irrefutable proof in the form of a video captured by George Holliday, then, blasted across the airwaves. Wrong! Not guilty!
Although sparked by the acquittal of 4 white police officers who beat Rodney King, the roots of the 1992 Los Angeles riots can be traced back through decades of racial, economic, & political tensions. Therefore, to understand the magnitude & depth of anger that fueled the riots, one must consider the historical context that set the stage for this tumultuous event.
On July 15, 1944, in Bristol England, the "Park Street Riot" occurred as 400 Black soldiers confronted 120 MPs over pub access. Observers later recounted that locals rooted for the Black troops. Like the Battle of Bamber Bridge a year earlier, this event underscored the racism Black troops faced as well as the disconnect between how they were treated overseas vs in their own country.
In WW2, the movement of millions of American troops to Britain, known as the “friendly invasion,” brought to light stark differences concerning racial segregation. Many Britons struggled to understand or accept the institutionalized discrimination that Black soldiers faced in White America, leading to tensions between the two allied nations on the matter of civil rights.