7 ms·

The racism those photos document is startling. Just 50 years ago? Though, in my private high school in Indiana, in 1999 I overheard kids more than once tellin

The racism those photos document is startling. Just 50 years ago? Though, in my private high school in Indiana, in 1999 I overheard kids more than once telling n*er jokes. I heard less overtly racists at the school saying things like "Yeah, it would be weird to have a black friend." These were the rich kids who parents owned the local businesses. I have a hard time believing the kids weren't getting it from the parents. It seemed so absurd at the time, but I guess it's less surprising if you remember segregation had only officially ended 37 years ago, then, and that the klan remained active in Indiana for decades after. That was 12 years ago, but I doubt it's all fixed since then. I know that school is still basically exclusively white despite the town being about 25% African American and 9% Latino. I fear the consequences of treating so many people as less than people will stick with us for a long time. Kind of naive to think they would all go away in just 50 years.

sliverstorm 14y ago
"Yeah, it would be weird to have a black friend." ... I have a hard time believing the kids weren't getting it from the parents. I know that school is still basically exclusively white I think this is a non sequitur. (IMO) the stuff about "people are colorblind until society teaches them otherwise" is ridiculous, so you put these kids in an environment with no black children? Of course they are going to see black children as strange- they haven't had the opportunity to interact and learn otherwise. It doesn't have to have anything to do with racist comments from their parents.
- Blunt 14y ago
  I think this is a non sequitur. (IMO) the stuff about "people are colorblind until society teaches them otherwise" is ridiculous, so you put these kids in an environment with no yellow children? Of course they are going to see yellow children as strange- they haven't had the opportunity to interact and learn otherwise. It doesn't have to have anything to do with racist comments from their parents. Labeling anyone of any color is racicst period. There is only one race called the Human Race! If everyone recognized this and stopped describing one another in terms of colors, we could end fucking bullshit!
  - sliverstorm 14y ago
    To say a child is black, is understood to mean they are of African descent. That's not a label, that's phylogeny. As for the rest, it is a simple fact that the different regions of the world are home to communities with distinct differences in phenotype. Combine that with the (very human) tendency to be cautious around unfamiliar peoples, and there you have it. I'm not saying it is Just, or Right, or any crap like that. I am only observing that there are simple explanations for why children might behave as described, other than "their parents must be hateful bigots".
    - Arelius 14y ago
      Yes, trying to be blind of people's traits, such as skin color, is indeed not the way to get beyond racism. We need to recognize that some people are different and that is a good thing, not that we should try to ignore the differences.
rmc 14y ago
The racism those photos document is startling. Just 50 years ago? Imagine what "Marriage is between one man and one woman" people will look like in 50 years.
- a-priori 14y ago
  Depending where you are and how old you are, it's already happened. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada for 7 years now, since 2005. My wife's a high school teacher, and when it was legalized her students were 8-9 years old -- too young to care about who can and can't marry whom. Same-sex marriage being legal is, to them, now the default. They don't see it as being a 'debate' and and don't really understand why it's such a big deal in the States. She says that homophobia in general is almost entirely a thing of the past. There's the odd student that says something homophobic, but all the other students look at them like they're weird. This is a complete 180 from when I was in high school 8 years ago.
joshuahedlund 14y ago
It may not be "all fixed," and it's certainly worse in some parts of the country in others, but I believe it's gotten better, getting better, and will always get better (small pockets of extreme deliberate resistance notwithstanding). When I watched the film Ray and learned about the life of Ray Charles, I was struck by how quickly (just 18 years, IIRC) Georgia's culture went from banning him for refusing to play a segregated concert to officially apologizing to him from the state government.
rmason 14y ago
As a young boy our family took a trip to Florida in 1966. At the time I-75 wasn't completed so we ended up having to detour through some small towns in the South. Even though that was two years after the civil rights act you could still see examples of segregation. Though they were no longer being used you could see separate bathrooms and drinking fountains for the different races. It left a lasting impression on this Detroit boy. I was too young to comprehend at the time but racism existed in Detroit, but it was just more subtle.
gonzo 14y ago
I was born on the same date that the last photo (with Jackie Kennedy) was taken. The racism was still quite real even in the early 70s.
protomyth 14y ago
Well, the Native American boarding schools which took children from their families and beat them for using their language didn't reach their peak for another 11 years. Some avoided this treatment, but quite a lot got caught up in it. The forced moving from reservations away from their families of some adults was yet to come. This resulted in a 90% suicide rate. AIM was in the 1970s. Nevermind the current problems with Indian Health Service. I get the feeling Reagan was right, we won't "fix" racism until there is another them.
Shivetya 14y ago
Well one take away from those pictures that many people tend to forget is that it was not an issue just for the South. It was just brought to the forefront in the South because it was far easier for people accept it was only a Southern problem. There are still bastions of hatred in many parts East of the Mississippi, its not just a Southern thing.
moldbug 14y ago
Wow, enlightened white people. We sure are good at patting ourselves on the back, aren't we? Reality check: in 1962, every American city, north or south, with a substantial black population had a thriving black business district and a commercial middle class. Example: Bronzeville in Chicago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas,_Chicago#Bronzeville http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas,_Chicago#Bronzeville Enlightened white people destroyed these worlds and the people who lived in them. The replacement was this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Taylor_Homes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Taylor_Homes In San Francisco those neighborhoods were Third Street and the Fillmore. Pictures of Third Street from the 1950s show fancy cars, fancy clothes, fancy shops, not a white face in sight. Pictures of Third Street today show someone about to sucker-punch the photographer and steal his camera. In 1962 there were no no-go zones anywhere in America. Today I could walk five miles from my home and be in a place where my life wasn't safe. Black America in 2012: http://tosh.comedycentral.com/video-clips/uncensored---video-breakdown---black-pool-party http://tosh.comedycentral.com/video-clips/uncensored---video... Upside: black people can vote. For the same party, every time. For a black (or, well, half-East-African) president whose campaign office looks as white as a Romney family reunion: http://freebeacon.com/minority-report/ http://freebeacon.com/minority-report/ I think the enlightened people of 1962 might be a little incredulous at all the back-patting going on in 2012. Nice job you've done of uplifting black America, 2012. With successes like this, who needs failures?
- jbooth 14y ago
  I can't believe this comment. Segregation and poll taxes were no big deal, right? Things were great for black people back when it was enshrined legal doctrine to treat them as a lower category of people. You want to know why black people vote for the same party every time? Because it's the alternative to your party.
  - gaius 14y ago
    The world is not that simple. Bush had Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, who did Bill Clinton have? Al Sharpton?
lifeisstillgood 14y ago
Apparently, white births are now a minority in US: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18100457 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18100457 I could not see this as a submission on its own but it seems relevant here. As the US (white) population ages, it seems that immigration has played an incredible part without anyone noticing - its less about race now, then about age, but the dividing lines might not be drawn that way. And we all know what can go wrong if you are looking at the wrong question for your answers. [edit - wanted to emphasise age context more]

sliverstorm 14y ago

"Yeah, it would be weird to have a black friend." ... I have a hard time believing the kids weren't getting it from the parents. I know that school is still basically exclusively white I think this is a non sequitur. (IMO) the stuff about "people are colorblind until society teaches them otherwise" is ridiculous, so you put these kids in an environment with no black children? Of course they are going to see black children as strange- they haven't had the opportunity to interact and learn otherwise. It doesn't have to have anything to do with racist comments from their parents.

Blunt 14y ago
I think this is a non sequitur. (IMO) the stuff about "people are colorblind until society teaches them otherwise" is ridiculous, so you put these kids in an environment with no yellow children? Of course they are going to see yellow children as strange- they haven't had the opportunity to interact and learn otherwise. It doesn't have to have anything to do with racist comments from their parents. Labeling anyone of any color is racicst period. There is only one race called the Human Race! If everyone recognized this and stopped describing one another in terms of colors, we could end fucking bullshit!
- sliverstorm 14y ago
  To say a child is black, is understood to mean they are of African descent. That's not a label, that's phylogeny. As for the rest, it is a simple fact that the different regions of the world are home to communities with distinct differences in phenotype. Combine that with the (very human) tendency to be cautious around unfamiliar peoples, and there you have it. I'm not saying it is Just, or Right, or any crap like that. I am only observing that there are simple explanations for why children might behave as described, other than "their parents must be hateful bigots".
  - Arelius 14y ago
    Yes, trying to be blind of people's traits, such as skin color, is indeed not the way to get beyond racism. We need to recognize that some people are different and that is a good thing, not that we should try to ignore the differences.

rmc 14y ago

The racism those photos document is startling. Just 50 years ago? Imagine what "Marriage is between one man and one woman" people will look like in 50 years.

a-priori 14y ago
Depending where you are and how old you are, it's already happened. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada for 7 years now, since 2005. My wife's a high school teacher, and when it was legalized her students were 8-9 years old -- too young to care about who can and can't marry whom. Same-sex marriage being legal is, to them, now the default. They don't see it as being a 'debate' and and don't really understand why it's such a big deal in the States. She says that homophobia in general is almost entirely a thing of the past. There's the odd student that says something homophobic, but all the other students look at them like they're weird. This is a complete 180 from when I was in high school 8 years ago.

joshuahedlund 14y ago

It may not be "all fixed," and it's certainly worse in some parts of the country in others, but I believe it's gotten better, getting better, and will always get better (small pockets of extreme deliberate resistance notwithstanding). When I watched the film Ray and learned about the life of Ray Charles, I was struck by how quickly (just 18 years, IIRC) Georgia's culture went from banning him for refusing to play a segregated concert to officially apologizing to him from the state government.

rmason 14y ago

As a young boy our family took a trip to Florida in 1966. At the time I-75 wasn't completed so we ended up having to detour through some small towns in the South. Even though that was two years after the civil rights act you could still see examples of segregation. Though they were no longer being used you could see separate bathrooms and drinking fountains for the different races. It left a lasting impression on this Detroit boy. I was too young to comprehend at the time but racism existed in Detroit, but it was just more subtle.

gonzo 14y ago

I was born on the same date that the last photo (with Jackie Kennedy) was taken. The racism was still quite real even in the early 70s.

protomyth 14y ago

Well, the Native American boarding schools which took children from their families and beat them for using their language didn't reach their peak for another 11 years. Some avoided this treatment, but quite a lot got caught up in it. The forced moving from reservations away from their families of some adults was yet to come. This resulted in a 90% suicide rate. AIM was in the 1970s. Nevermind the current problems with Indian Health Service. I get the feeling Reagan was right, we won't "fix" racism until there is another them.

Shivetya 14y ago

Well one take away from those pictures that many people tend to forget is that it was not an issue just for the South. It was just brought to the forefront in the South because it was far easier for people accept it was only a Southern problem. There are still bastions of hatred in many parts East of the Mississippi, its not just a Southern thing.

moldbug 14y ago

Wow, enlightened white people. We sure are good at patting ourselves on the back, aren't we? Reality check: in 1962, every American city, north or south, with a substantial black population had a thriving black business district and a commercial middle class. Example: Bronzeville in Chicago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas,_Chicago#Bronzeville http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas,_Chicago#Bronzeville Enlightened white people destroyed these worlds and the people who lived in them. The replacement was this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Taylor_Homes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Taylor_Homes In San Francisco those neighborhoods were Third Street and the Fillmore. Pictures of Third Street from the 1950s show fancy cars, fancy clothes, fancy shops, not a white face in sight. Pictures of Third Street today show someone about to sucker-punch the photographer and steal his camera. In 1962 there were no no-go zones anywhere in America. Today I could walk five miles from my home and be in a place where my life wasn't safe. Black America in 2012: http://tosh.comedycentral.com/video-clips/uncensored---video-breakdown---black-pool-party http://tosh.comedycentral.com/video-clips/uncensored---video... Upside: black people can vote. For the same party, every time. For a black (or, well, half-East-African) president whose campaign office looks as white as a Romney family reunion: http://freebeacon.com/minority-report/ http://freebeacon.com/minority-report/ I think the enlightened people of 1962 might be a little incredulous at all the back-patting going on in 2012. Nice job you've done of uplifting black America, 2012. With successes like this, who needs failures?

jbooth 14y ago
I can't believe this comment. Segregation and poll taxes were no big deal, right? Things were great for black people back when it was enshrined legal doctrine to treat them as a lower category of people. You want to know why black people vote for the same party every time? Because it's the alternative to your party.
- gaius 14y ago
  The world is not that simple. Bush had Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, who did Bill Clinton have? Al Sharpton?

lifeisstillgood 14y ago

Apparently, white births are now a minority in US: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18100457 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18100457 I could not see this as a submission on its own but it seems relevant here. As the US (white) population ages, it seems that immigration has played an incredible part without anyone noticing - its less about race now, then about age, but the dividing lines might not be drawn that way. And we all know what can go wrong if you are looking at the wrong question for your answers. [edit - wanted to emphasise age context more]