I choose this article because it ties history with the present. Roy Veal's body was found hanging from a tree with a blue-flowered pillowcase over his head. Hunters came across his body in a wooded area in Wilkinson County. Veal's body was not far from his Ford F-150 pickup truck, where many of his personal papers were discovered. Alvin Blakes claimed that Roy Veal was his cousin and hinted that he may have been lynched because he was in court fighting to retain ownership of his family's land, which a white family had somehow laid claim to.
Karen Carrillo, New York Amsterdam news reporter, “The shocking news that a 55-year-old African American was found hanging from a tree near Woodville, Mississippi, April 23, 2004 has once again brought back memories of what many thought was that state's racist past.” This story easily relates to our class. We have seen numerous pictures, watched a short clip, and discussed in length the how lynching/hangings have shaped our countries northern and southern states. A lynching was used by the White people to keep black people in line in drastic measures, if a slave escaped, if a slave fooled around with a White girl, or just any black person they despised. “Vesey, and 35 other blacks were planning on burning Charleston, South Carolina, but we ratted out, and they were all hanged. Zinn (pg. 131)” That was in the past and those things were said to over after the civil war. That is why there are many uncertainties about the modes of this event. "A lot of stuff in that email was untrue," Oliver asserted. "Like, for instance, the email says his family's land had oil, but it was actually timber. And there were no marks of trauma on his body. That was not true." Oliver was the second police officer on the scene. “Wilkinson County has not had many racial incident cases recently, which is another reason Oliver is cautious about calling Veal's death a lynching. In fact, case evidence so far has led authorities to believe Veal committed suicide.” Even though this event maybe suicide, the fear of a lynching as haunted this town.
A thorough investigation is going and I would like to hear the final verdict of what exactly went on. I’m not sure what to think about this. I haven’t heard of a lynching in decades, but the south is known for them and I wouldn’t be surprised that these kinds of things go on uncaught. I have heard that the K.K.K. is still lingering around, so that is why I don’t doubt this is a lynching. It’s got all the makings, Black man fighting for his land back from a White family, and then he’s mysteriously found dead? No one can jump to conclusions but I think this is a done case.
SUMMARY
"A lynching and a regular hanging are two different incidents - if you didn't grow up in the South, you might not know the difference," he explained. "[Mr. [Roy Veal]'s] feet were only two to three inches from the ground. But in a lynching you would usually be at least six inches from the ground, and you would have a dark or colored hood cast over your head and your hands would be tied behind your back."
Wilkinson County has not had many racial incident cases recently, which is another reason [Byron Oliver] is cautious about calling Veal's death a lynching. In fact, case evidence so far has led authorities to believe Veal committed suicide. "It's tentative right now - we won't be able to say for sure until we get our evidence back from the [Mississippi] state crime lab - but we have evidence right now that he may have committed suicide," the deputy noted. "We have lots and lots and lots of literature that he sat in his truck and wrote - journals and paperwork that he wrote himself."
"Unless the family officially does something, unless there's an independent pathologist brought in there, it's going to be ruled a suicide," warns Ben Chaney of the James Earl Chaney Foundation. Ben is the younger brother of James Earl Chaney, who, along with civil rights workers Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, was killed by Mississippi policemen and local Klan members on June 21, 1964. In the 1990s the James Earl Chaney Foundation worked with the Mississippi Coalition for Justice to spearhead investigations into the suspicious hanging deaths of Black males in Mississippi. Under former Pres. Clinton, the Justice Department closed down four jails and ordered that 18 others be upgraded. But there has never been a decisive determination as to what has led to the "suicide" deaths of so many Black men in Mississippi.
AMSTERDAM NEWS
Locations: Woodville Mississippi
People: Veal, Roy
Document types: News
Publication title: New York Amsterdam News. New York, N.Y.: May 6-May 12, 2004. Vol. 95, Iss. 19; pg. 1
Source type: Newspaper
Document URL: http://0-proquest.umi.com.maurice.bgsu.edu:80/pqdweb?did=652772591&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=3340&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Jim Crow Cartoon
This picture is absolutely perfect for this class, it depicts exactly the kinds of things we’ve learned about and that is exactly why I have chose it to discuss and present. The picture practically defines racism. The Jim Crow Laws were state and local laws enacted in the Southern and border states of the United States and enforced between 1876 and 1965. They mandated "separate but equal" status for black Americans. In reality, this led to treatment and accommodations that were almost always inferior to those provided to the privileged White Americans. The Jim Crow period refers to the time during which this practice occurred.
That is why this picture is soo cool; not only is this picture from a newspaper in the mid 1900s when the Laws were still around and strong, this picture is a new version of racism. Instead of creating drawings of scary beastly black men or heavy-set black women this takes the racism to the level of the Crow. Which to me insinuates the fact that the whole Era was a joke to the White people. “Separate but equal” after this picture says that black people are equivalent to a crow. But wait! Not just any crow a crow from Australia that doesn’t even know how to speek correct English. According to Richard Wright said, “ It was assumed that after a Negro had imbided what scanty schooling the state furnished he had no further need for books.” “DE” “OB” I guess White people think that since the African Americans were very uneducated this was how they would pronounce the words “THE” and “OF”. This picture can’t get any more racist. Right? Wrong. Take a close look at the boys mouth, it’s a beak! Even his eyes are excatly the same as the crows. Much like the Jim Crow Laws we’ve learned about in Richard Wright this picture has no respect to the African American race. Richard Wright said, “ It was assumed that after a Negro had imbided what scanty schooling the state furnished he had no further need for books.”
I’m surprised we didn’t use this picture in class. I typed in pictures from the Jim Crow Era and this out of all the others that came up caught my eye immediately. I like this picture because of the different levels of racism all wrapped up in one picture. We should’ve used it in class. I know that the Jim Crow Era was suppose to create separate but equal amongst Americans, but we all know that this wasn’t the case and this picture is a proven fact.
www.positiveliberty.com/jimcrow.jpg
That is why this picture is soo cool; not only is this picture from a newspaper in the mid 1900s when the Laws were still around and strong, this picture is a new version of racism. Instead of creating drawings of scary beastly black men or heavy-set black women this takes the racism to the level of the Crow. Which to me insinuates the fact that the whole Era was a joke to the White people. “Separate but equal” after this picture says that black people are equivalent to a crow. But wait! Not just any crow a crow from Australia that doesn’t even know how to speek correct English. According to Richard Wright said, “ It was assumed that after a Negro had imbided what scanty schooling the state furnished he had no further need for books.” “DE” “OB” I guess White people think that since the African Americans were very uneducated this was how they would pronounce the words “THE” and “OF”. This picture can’t get any more racist. Right? Wrong. Take a close look at the boys mouth, it’s a beak! Even his eyes are excatly the same as the crows. Much like the Jim Crow Laws we’ve learned about in Richard Wright this picture has no respect to the African American race. Richard Wright said, “ It was assumed that after a Negro had imbided what scanty schooling the state furnished he had no further need for books.”
I’m surprised we didn’t use this picture in class. I typed in pictures from the Jim Crow Era and this out of all the others that came up caught my eye immediately. I like this picture because of the different levels of racism all wrapped up in one picture. We should’ve used it in class. I know that the Jim Crow Era was suppose to create separate but equal amongst Americans, but we all know that this wasn’t the case and this picture is a proven fact.
www.positiveliberty.com/jimcrow.jpg
Alabama Dancing Negro
I have chosen this video segment of a “Coon Jigger” for a few reasons. The broad reason I chose this toy is because the history and value this particular toy has. Even though on the side of this toy it says Alabama Dancing Negro this toy was actually made in New York. This antique was not made recently It was actually made in 1912 during the Jim Crow Era. So besides all the pictures and videos we’ve seen, now we get a look at what kind of toys the young, white, boys and girls played with.
In class we’ve learned much about the Jim Crow era and we also have learned much about racism through many articles including the book Kindred. This toy is unique all the way from the manufacturing location down to the details of the toy itself. The dancing antique has the facial features of a perceived black man such as: big red lips, extremely dark complexion, and last but not least the plain fact that it's calleda coon jigger. These features we’ve learned about during that video of Jim Crow. But one thing I thought was weird was the man had on a nice suit, pants, hat, and shoes. After our many debates of what White people thought of African Americans I would’ve never guessed that. Only a few blacks of that time had the money to buy those kinds of clothes; how could a toy that portrayed the average black man be so dressed up and sophisticated looking? This slightly contradicts our views. We’ve read in Kindred where all the slaves wore raggedy, torn, dirty clothes from working in the field and from being beaten. Did this toy resemble a free, educated black male? That is a question only the manufacturers or an owner of this toy can answer.
In this video you see a White person owns this toy and many people have commented negatively about the race of this object, so clearly it was meant for a young White child. This toy is meant to be racist in the fact that the way the toy dances is clearly not how anyone dances, only through the dance of the sambo that Jim Crow made up is this relatively close. This dance he made was to mock the black people and entertain the Whites. To make a toy out of it only farther deepens the kind of humor that White people had for African Americans.
I find this toy to be very fascinating. In all my years of playing with toys as a kid and seeing the toys my dad and my grandparents have played with I have never came across such an interesting item. I researched the value for this toy and it is rare. There were only a few hundred made and if you find one today in mint condition you are sitting on about a $350+ item. These things are being auctioned for by many different organization and also many collectors. I only wish I had one to bring into class for demonstration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P34Ua4z3qug
In class we’ve learned much about the Jim Crow era and we also have learned much about racism through many articles including the book Kindred. This toy is unique all the way from the manufacturing location down to the details of the toy itself. The dancing antique has the facial features of a perceived black man such as: big red lips, extremely dark complexion, and last but not least the plain fact that it's calleda coon jigger. These features we’ve learned about during that video of Jim Crow. But one thing I thought was weird was the man had on a nice suit, pants, hat, and shoes. After our many debates of what White people thought of African Americans I would’ve never guessed that. Only a few blacks of that time had the money to buy those kinds of clothes; how could a toy that portrayed the average black man be so dressed up and sophisticated looking? This slightly contradicts our views. We’ve read in Kindred where all the slaves wore raggedy, torn, dirty clothes from working in the field and from being beaten. Did this toy resemble a free, educated black male? That is a question only the manufacturers or an owner of this toy can answer.
In this video you see a White person owns this toy and many people have commented negatively about the race of this object, so clearly it was meant for a young White child. This toy is meant to be racist in the fact that the way the toy dances is clearly not how anyone dances, only through the dance of the sambo that Jim Crow made up is this relatively close. This dance he made was to mock the black people and entertain the Whites. To make a toy out of it only farther deepens the kind of humor that White people had for African Americans.
I find this toy to be very fascinating. In all my years of playing with toys as a kid and seeing the toys my dad and my grandparents have played with I have never came across such an interesting item. I researched the value for this toy and it is rare. There were only a few hundred made and if you find one today in mint condition you are sitting on about a $350+ item. These things are being auctioned for by many different organization and also many collectors. I only wish I had one to bring into class for demonstration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P34Ua4z3qug
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
American Jew
When I was looking for a picture that describes how “Jews Became White Folks” this picture automatically caught my eye. This picture symbolizes all of America’s colors, stripes, and stars. This picture also represents Jews in the sense that it is shaped as the Star of David.
In class we studied all of the ways different races have become a form of the American community: Japanese, Asians, Mexicans, Africans, Jews, etc. In one of our recent classes we have read an article by Karen Brodkin called “How Jews Became White Folks.” We’ve discussed their travels, their hardships, and their struggle for the American Dream. Karen wrote, “It is certainly true that the United States has a history of anti-Semitism and of beliefs that Jews are members of an inferior race.” To overcome this belief is mind boggling. The American Dream for a person of Jewish decent is to survive in the United States while maintaining their culture. For a Jewish person to be successful he not only needs to endure the racism, hardships, and labor, he needs to bring his family and heritage into this melting pot of a country. That is where this picture comes into play. The all-known Jewish symbol mixed with the colors and stars of the American flag covers the American Dream with a little bit of Jewish culture thrown in.
I literally typed in American Jew and this picture came up. That tells you right there what people think about when they think about Jewish Americans. And another quick fact is that someone had to draw this picture. That means that in someone’s mind the combination of the American flag the number one representation of the American Dream mixed with the Star of David equals an American Jew. But as far as struggling for the dream I believe that the Jews had the least hardest time. They already had the white skin pigmentation they just came from another country and had a slightly different religious belief. But none-the-less they were discriminated against over and over. I think that racism will never end but hope is still alive.
alexandrusantu.files.wordpress.com
In class we studied all of the ways different races have become a form of the American community: Japanese, Asians, Mexicans, Africans, Jews, etc. In one of our recent classes we have read an article by Karen Brodkin called “How Jews Became White Folks.” We’ve discussed their travels, their hardships, and their struggle for the American Dream. Karen wrote, “It is certainly true that the United States has a history of anti-Semitism and of beliefs that Jews are members of an inferior race.” To overcome this belief is mind boggling. The American Dream for a person of Jewish decent is to survive in the United States while maintaining their culture. For a Jewish person to be successful he not only needs to endure the racism, hardships, and labor, he needs to bring his family and heritage into this melting pot of a country. That is where this picture comes into play. The all-known Jewish symbol mixed with the colors and stars of the American flag covers the American Dream with a little bit of Jewish culture thrown in.
I literally typed in American Jew and this picture came up. That tells you right there what people think about when they think about Jewish Americans. And another quick fact is that someone had to draw this picture. That means that in someone’s mind the combination of the American flag the number one representation of the American Dream mixed with the Star of David equals an American Jew. But as far as struggling for the dream I believe that the Jews had the least hardest time. They already had the white skin pigmentation they just came from another country and had a slightly different religious belief. But none-the-less they were discriminated against over and over. I think that racism will never end but hope is still alive.
alexandrusantu.files.wordpress.com
We serve White’s only no Spanish or Mexicans
I chose this picture because it represents much discrimination not only to race but ethnicity. We serve White’s only no Spanish or Mexicans. First of all, no one is “Spanish.” A person may speak Spanish or maybe they came from Spain, but their racial background is not Spanish. This shows the lack of respect white people had for the Mexican race/ethnicity in the early 19th century. That leads me to how this picture ties into our class material.
In Takaki chapter 12 “El Norte: The borderland of Chicano America” we discussed the many mechanisms of social construction. From education where many Mexican Americans were denied jobs because they were perceived as lazy, poorly dressed, dirty, ill educated, and thieves; To limited education and the know-how only of how to work and survive in the fields picking corn. In the end, many Mexican men and their entire families worked in the fields, farms, and ranches and their children did the same with little or no education. This sign surprisingly is written in correct English there were no “purposeful” mistakes making fun of the Mexicans for their lack of education, but that’s only one step up. For this sign emotionally scars Mexican people in other ways. It brings them down to the level of the Blacks. Both the Mexicans and Blacks had to eat with their “own-colored people.” Having the skin color of black was a more of a disgrace than having a lighter so-called tanner color. For as we discussed in class the darker your skin tone the lower class level you were in. There is an example on page 326 chapter 12 of Takaki saying, “A group of us Mexicans who were all dressed once went to a restaurant in Amarillo, and they (white people) told us that if we wanted to eat we should go to the special department where it said ‘For Colored People’. I told my friend that I would rather die from starvation than to humiliate myself before the Americans by eating with the Negroes.” This quote depicts the exact conversation we had in class. Mexicans were offended to eat with black people and this humiliated them. That is why this sign is very cruel. Not only do the Whites discriminate the “Spanish or Mexicans” they are overall telling them that because of their color they are thought of as inferior just the same as the Negroes were. They even go one notch in up and make fun of their nationality. Like I said before “Spanish” is not an ethnicity or a race it is a language. Maybe White people thought if they put Spanish and Mexican on the sign they could avoid all people who looked Mexican or spoke Spanish I’m not sure.
I think this sign is very unique. You don’t see any signs saying We Serve White’s only no hood or blacks. I’m not sure what a good example would be there but I think you get my point. I’m not surprised that these kinds of signs were put up keeping people who are not white out of a restaurant, but this is my first sign I’ve seen specifically excluding Spanish or Mexicans. I’ve gone through many history classes learning about segregation of blacks in restaurants and other places, this is my first really full learning of how much more discrimination and separation there is in America.
www.somosprimos.com/sp2007/spfeb07/weserve.jpg
In Takaki chapter 12 “El Norte: The borderland of Chicano America” we discussed the many mechanisms of social construction. From education where many Mexican Americans were denied jobs because they were perceived as lazy, poorly dressed, dirty, ill educated, and thieves; To limited education and the know-how only of how to work and survive in the fields picking corn. In the end, many Mexican men and their entire families worked in the fields, farms, and ranches and their children did the same with little or no education. This sign surprisingly is written in correct English there were no “purposeful” mistakes making fun of the Mexicans for their lack of education, but that’s only one step up. For this sign emotionally scars Mexican people in other ways. It brings them down to the level of the Blacks. Both the Mexicans and Blacks had to eat with their “own-colored people.” Having the skin color of black was a more of a disgrace than having a lighter so-called tanner color. For as we discussed in class the darker your skin tone the lower class level you were in. There is an example on page 326 chapter 12 of Takaki saying, “A group of us Mexicans who were all dressed once went to a restaurant in Amarillo, and they (white people) told us that if we wanted to eat we should go to the special department where it said ‘For Colored People’. I told my friend that I would rather die from starvation than to humiliate myself before the Americans by eating with the Negroes.” This quote depicts the exact conversation we had in class. Mexicans were offended to eat with black people and this humiliated them. That is why this sign is very cruel. Not only do the Whites discriminate the “Spanish or Mexicans” they are overall telling them that because of their color they are thought of as inferior just the same as the Negroes were. They even go one notch in up and make fun of their nationality. Like I said before “Spanish” is not an ethnicity or a race it is a language. Maybe White people thought if they put Spanish and Mexican on the sign they could avoid all people who looked Mexican or spoke Spanish I’m not sure.
I think this sign is very unique. You don’t see any signs saying We Serve White’s only no hood or blacks. I’m not sure what a good example would be there but I think you get my point. I’m not surprised that these kinds of signs were put up keeping people who are not white out of a restaurant, but this is my first sign I’ve seen specifically excluding Spanish or Mexicans. I’ve gone through many history classes learning about segregation of blacks in restaurants and other places, this is my first really full learning of how much more discrimination and separation there is in America.
www.somosprimos.com/sp2007/spfeb07/weserve.jpg
Friday, November 2, 2007
Sadakas
On December 20, 1906, a group of Filipino sugar plantation workers, known as Sadakas, arrived in Honolulu, marking the first major wave of Filipino migration to what is now the United States. Sadakas came here much the same as Japanese people. They came here on hopes and dreams of success, money, and a new free life, little did they know they were being brought here for hard labor and to segregate the workers of the sugar plantations. These Filipino workers first earned 10 cents working 12 hours a day in the cane fields a god awful amount of income that no one could survive on. The Sadakas suffered from stooped backs gnarled fingers, and cauliflower ears inflamed by bundles of sugar cane being carried on his shoulders. This was not the life they hoped for; these were not the conditions in-which they heard about before the came to Hawaii. These traumatic events are exactly why I chose this article. We discussed the travels and hardships of the Japanese people, but we kind of over looked a group of people who endured the exact same conditions only a few years later.
Much like the Japanese we read about in Takaki’s Chapter 10 “Pacific Crossings: Seeking the Land of Money Trees”, Filipino workers endure long tough back breaking work-days. Also, the sadakas were lead astray from their so-called “poverty living” homelands to this place where they could restart their life and have great success and equality amongst other people of the land. All these instances seemed like a painful mistake. What did they get themselves into? Was the opportunity of a new life the optimum choice for the Sadakas? That is a question only they could answer. They had small privileges of bringing some of their home culture to Hawaii with them such as: food, decorations, lifestyles, and living ways. Apparently they weren’t, as the Filipino’s went on strike along with all the other Asian decent people to demand better living conditions and higher wages. In the end they got what they asked for, but still there was no sign of pure equality.
These occurrences in America’s past are something everyone looks down on. Plantation owners did what they had to to keep their income flowing and their profits growing. Workers did what they could to stay alive and yet keep some dignity to their name. I believe that everyone has to start somewhere. When you do something for the first time you don’t necessarily know how to do it the “right” way. You learn from your mistakes and you move on. America is still learning and growing, and because we had a rough start doesn’t mean we can’t try to make things right in the future.
http://starbulletin.com/2002/06/07/news/story2.html
Much like the Japanese we read about in Takaki’s Chapter 10 “Pacific Crossings: Seeking the Land of Money Trees”, Filipino workers endure long tough back breaking work-days. Also, the sadakas were lead astray from their so-called “poverty living” homelands to this place where they could restart their life and have great success and equality amongst other people of the land. All these instances seemed like a painful mistake. What did they get themselves into? Was the opportunity of a new life the optimum choice for the Sadakas? That is a question only they could answer. They had small privileges of bringing some of their home culture to Hawaii with them such as: food, decorations, lifestyles, and living ways. Apparently they weren’t, as the Filipino’s went on strike along with all the other Asian decent people to demand better living conditions and higher wages. In the end they got what they asked for, but still there was no sign of pure equality.
These occurrences in America’s past are something everyone looks down on. Plantation owners did what they had to to keep their income flowing and their profits growing. Workers did what they could to stay alive and yet keep some dignity to their name. I believe that everyone has to start somewhere. When you do something for the first time you don’t necessarily know how to do it the “right” way. You learn from your mistakes and you move on. America is still learning and growing, and because we had a rough start doesn’t mean we can’t try to make things right in the future.
http://starbulletin.com/2002/06/07/news/story2.html
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