Black History Month: Why Is It Needed? Extraordinary Black Contributors

Rosemarie said:
You have obviously never been to Africa. If you had, you would know that there are big differences between the two. I think it's very insulting to say they are the same, and it's one of the reasons why there is a problem with racism.
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Thank you for that, @Rosemarie! I wanted to say it but couldn't figure out a way to say so without sounding condescending. We live in a very diverse neighborhood, and just in our five-family cul de sac there is a black family and there are also two mixed-race families. Right next door is a mixed couple, he's black, she's white. One day he and I were talking about the treatment of one of their sons at the pool by an obvious racist couple, and he asked me what I see when I see him. I told him I see a black man because saying "I don't see your color" is insulting. His response was "Thank you for that!" He's black and proud, and I support that for sure.

The racist couple at the pool? They demanded to see his son's ID to prove he was allowed to be there. Whaaaaat?

Apparently, the couple at the pool didn't like the fact that our subdivision is diverse with families from South and Central America, Russia, Greece, Mexico, as well as families of lesbian and gay couples. The pool couple? They sold their house and moved with their seven kids to wherever. They haven't been missed.

Unfortunately, in this country we are still a long way from equality:(
 

JaniceM said:
No, the part I bolded in your post:
There were Africans who descended from royalty and those who were fierce warriors.
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Oh okay. Know what...I was thinking I'd bolded that part! Pardon me, my brain isn't working that great...not getting enough sleep. 🙄😴 Anyway...that's very cool that you know that about your ancestry.
 

This article is titled "The disturbing history of enslaved mothers forced to breastfeed white babies in the 1600s. This came about because children of slaves were healthy while many white babies fell into ill health and died. This practice called "wet nursing" was popular in Europe and then in America. Wet nursing also became the excuse White mothers used to avoid having to breastfeed their children and maintain their stature since women seen breastfeeding were thought of as uncultured, according to the article.
https://face2faceafrica.com/article...orced-to-breastfeed-white-babies-in-the-1600s
 
My historian friend posted this on Facebook:
"March 5th, 1959, 69 African American boys, ages 13 to 17, including Lawrence’s 15-year-old brother Lindsey Cross, were padlocked into their dormitory for the night at the ***** Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville. Around 4 a.m., a fire mysteriously ignited, forcing the boys to fight and claw their way out of the burning building. It's an event in history possibly forgotten or unknown by many, but it's that moment that claimed the life of 21 boys.
The boys in the school were committed for being orphaned, homeless or for committing offenses described as mischief and alleged petty crimes. The school and the treatment of the children became a fiery representation of segregation within the South during the Jim Crow Era. "A whole part of this is our history with white supremacy and the way African Americans have been discriminated against historically in Arkansas. It was never separate but equal, it was always unequal," said Stockely." Full article with video:
https://katv.com/news/local/wrightsville-21
 
john19485 said:
I'm going to start a white history month, an Indian history month, asian history month,
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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May)

ASIAN HERITAGE.jpg

www.npr.org/series/997876283/asian-american-annd-pacific-islander-heritage-month

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Pacific_American_Heritage_Month


African American History Month (February)

BLACK HISTORY MONTH.jpg

www.npr.org/2022/02/10/1075623826/why-is-february-black-history-month

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month


Haitian Heritage Month (May)

HAITIAN-2.jpg

www.npr.org/2016/10/11/497518303/to-be-an-american-says-haitian-american-means-you-have-a-voice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Heritage_Month


Hispanic Heritage month (September)

HISPANIC.jpg

www.npr.org/series/1035962806/hispanic-heritage-month

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hispanic_Heritage_Month


Irish-American History Month (March)

IRISH.jpg

www.npr.org/2014/03/17/290860502/st-patricks-day-beyond-kiss-me-signs-and-green-bagels

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish-American_Heritage_Month

 
This Frontline episode looks interesting:
Who killed Wharlest Jackson Sr.? In this feature-length documentary from FRONTLINE and Retro Report, an unsolved 1960s murder reveals an untold story of the civil rights movement and Black resistance.

I'm going to take a look at it this evening.
 
 
Thanks @FastTrax for the various month things. I tried to find one for us rednecks and failed. I did find a definition in Wikipedia:

Redneck is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States. Its meaning stems from the sunburn found on farmers' necks dating back to the late 19th century. Its usage is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Texas, Georgia, and Florida), hillbilly (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks), and white trash (but without the last term's suggestions of immorality). In Britain, the Cambridge Dictionary definition states: "A poor, white person without education, esp. one living in the countryside in the southern US, who is believed to have prejudiced ideas and beliefs. This word is usually considered offensive." People from the white South sometimes jocularly call themselves "rednecks" as insider humor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redneck

I was surprised I never considered it derogatory, even though I are one... White trash is the derogatory term.
 
Just think this is dividing people, from what I have observed thru my 74 years, we have different colors of the rainbow in my family , we don't call Jack brown, nor do we ask for a special month called brown , just because the color of his skin,
 
Alligatorob said:
Thanks @FastTrax for the various month things. I tried to find one for us rednecks and failed. I did find a definition in Wikipedia:

Redneck is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States. Its meaning stems from the sunburn found on farmers' necks dating back to the late 19th century. Its usage is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Texas, Georgia, and Florida), hillbilly (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks), and white trash (but without the last term's suggestions of immorality). In Britain, the Cambridge Dictionary definition states: "A poor, white person without education, esp. one living in the countryside in the southern US, who is believed to have prejudiced ideas and beliefs. This word is usually considered offensive." People from the white South sometimes jocularly call themselves "rednecks" as insider humor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redneck

I was surprised I never considered it derogatory, even though I are one... White trash is the derogatory term.
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I are one, lololol. That reminds me of an AMTRAK PD recruitment poster in their NYP office that had a Black male, a White male, a Black female and an Asian male representing the next APD academy graduating class. Obviously some racist APD officer who let it be known that he being of Caucasian persuasion he disliked APD using Black males and females and White males and Asian males being arbitrarily selected so with tongue in cheek humor he added the Black male saying Last week I couldn't spell polis now I is one. The black female says where's mah gun? the Asian says \]/'\[[\/ and the White male looks up at the ceiling and says why me GOD? This is called sanity maintenance, nothing more, nothing less.
 
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Georgiagranny said:
Thank you for that, @Rosemarie! I wanted to say it but couldn't figure out a way to say so without sounding condescending. We live in a very diverse neighborhood, and just in our five-family cul de sac there is a black family and there are also two mixed-race families. Right next door is a mixed couple, he's black, she's white. One day he and I were talking about the treatment of one of their sons at the pool by an obvious racist couple, and he asked me what I see when I see him. I told him I see a black man because saying "I don't see your color" is insulting. His response was "Thank you for that!" He's black and proud, and I support that for sure.

The racist couple at the pool? They demanded to see his son's ID to prove he was allowed to be there. Whaaaaat?

Apparently, the couple at the pool didn't like the fact that our subdivision is diverse with families from South and Central America, Russia, Greece, Mexico, as well as families of lesbian and gay couples. The pool couple? They sold their house and moved with their seven kids to wherever. They haven't been missed.

Unfortunately, in this country we are still a long way from equality:(
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"Carding" Black people by racists who feel we shouldn't be (wherever) is all too common! I read about a Black woman and her friend who were approached while in the area of the AirBnB they rented because surely they weren't supposed to be there. Also recently, a Black man was approached at a gym that was for corporate people where he worked. He was treated as if he had no right to be there. I'm sure the feeling was "good riddance" when the racist couple and their children left.
 
19 Austin police officers indicted over protests​
A Texas grand jury indicted 19 Austin police officers on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for their actions during 2020 protests over racial injustice that spread nationwide following the killing of George Floyd, according to people familiar with the matter.​
...​
Word of the indictments came hours after Austin city leaders approved paying $10 million to two people injured by police in the protests, including a college student who suffered brain damage after an officer shot him with a beanbag round.​
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Prosecutors have not identified any of the officers facing charges. Texas law requires that an indictment remain secret until an officer has been arrested. Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, when committed by a public servant, could carry a sentence of up to life prison.​

Bad cops cost us a lot of money when we have to pay out settlements to their victims, yet they just keep on committing atrocities, often with impunity. I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the news with police officers shooting pepper bullets directly at reporters who were just doing their job covering the riots! And the cops were laughing about it!

The police union can be blamed for a lot of the problems within the police department because they make it so difficult to get rid of bad cops, much like the teacher's union makes it nearly impossible to get rid of bad teachers. And the current shortage of police will make it even more difficult. They may need to lower their standards to fill positions, which will lead to even more acts of police brutality, mainly towards Blacks, which will lead to more of our tax dollars being used to settle lawsuits.
 

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