February is Black History Month. To be honest, I always thought this was kind of stupid to have a whole month for black history. I have never understood how their heritage and culture was so different from ours. Ok yes, they were slaves but that was like 150 years ago. And really, isn't history the same for us all no matter what color our skin? We all live in the same place and see the same things in the news and all around us, right? WRONG. My eyes have been opened for the first time--I mean really opened. I get it now for two reasons.
1. Deanna randomly gave me this book to read called, Life Is So Good by George Dawson. George is a black man from Marshall, Texas who was born in 1898 and lived to be over a hundred. He has an astonishing memory. He can recall just about every conversation he's ever had. He learned to read at the age of 98 and then went on to write this book to recount his history. It's the most amazing thing I've ever read.
2. I netflixed this movie called The Great Debaters a few weeks back and it just happened to come this month. It was produced by Oprah (hate her right now but that's another story) and directed by Denzel. It's about these black kids from Marshall, Texas in the late 1920's and early 1930's who gained this impressive reputation and were invited to debate white teams. They were the first black debate team to do this. It's all a true story.
So here I am reading this book that takes place part of the time in Marshall and then watching a movie that takes place in Marshall. It was totally random that it all happened in the same week but I learned so much. I learned that there is a very large difference between black and white history. The papers were not telling the whole story especially in the south where the Jim Crow laws were extremely prominent. Blacks and Whites were very much segregated. I never really thought about how that would affect history. The blacks had their own thing goin on because they couldn't be a part of the white culture. Black history was all about staying out of the way. They had little to no protection from the law. White people demanded respect and subservience in the most cruel manner and would lie and cheat them because they knew they could get away with it. There were no consequences. Usually the consequences came down on the black man's shoulders. If he did not 'behave' he could be lynched, beaten, burned, tortured. The law just looked the other way. It sickens me.
I'm just brushing the surface here. I guess it makes me more grateful for Martin Luther King Jr. and the equal rights movement in the 1960's. (one more reason I love the 60's!) I can't imagine living in a world where people are treated cruelly because of the color of their skin--or for any other stupid reason. I'm so glad I missed all that and that I was born in to a time or rather a country where all are given equal rights. God loves us all. And even though I hate Oprah right now, I have to get over it and love her no matter what she airs on her show. I want to be like God--and God is love.
5 comments:
Your funny. What did Oprah do now?? did YOU not get a car? I was at a family reunion once for Deon's Dad's family in North Carolina. His great uncle sat & talked to me FOREVER, about being black & growing up in the south. I asked him tons of questions and he was so open with me, it was nice, but at the same time I just wanted to cry. I almost felt so guilty for being sooo amazingly white in that room. This poor little boy couldn't even sit on a curb outside his house and eat an ice cream. It was terrible. I can't even begin to imagine how it would be to live in those days. I just hope that I wouldn't have been like all the other whites at that time.
Now I understand your Facebook status where you celebrated Black History month! That is awesome that you have been able to learn more and spread the word.
So, what was on Oprah that ticked ya off?
When I think of segregation and trying to get equal rights I always think of Remember the Titans. I love that movie!
Dude, you should be thankful that you live in California because it is still very much a struggle in the South. Jaci lived in Texas, for for ballet, and she said that the racism on both sides, black and white, is absolutely ridiculous. We don't see that kind of stuff in the melting pot that is California. Not even back in the 60's was California as bad as the rest of the country.
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