Not politics, but race.

[elisi]

I read a very thought-provoking article this afternoon by Ta-Nehisi Coates (contributing editor for The Atlantic), especially considered in the light of Racefail09:

History Through The Veil

We watch a lot of old movies in this house. It's an odd thing--you're watching these people live these lives in these places, and yet you know that, as a black person, they would have most likely thought of you as subhuman. It's something to watch The Heiress, and know that in both the time it was filmed, and the time it takes place, you were a less-than.

Go read the whole thing - it's not very long, but brings up a lot of points re. history, white privilege, race etc.

Comments

[gattara.livejournal.com]

You might be interested in this one:

http://rizalarchive.blogspot.com/2009/04/race-and-class-in-post-911-us-empire.html

[elisi]

Thank you, will check it out! :)

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I have so much I should be doing right now, and instead I'm reading through your links.

that was an interesting article, but I found the comments fascinating!

A good friend of my mom's was very involved in the civil rights movement-- she was one of the young idealists who worked for the southern poverty law association in the 60s. She was actually the secretary for Martin Luther King, senior (The famous one's father) boy does she have some stories to tell!

It just all seems to impossibly long ago, but Mississippi Burning is set in 1963. My parents were in college then! My parents tell about going to a grad school function in the late 60 when they were newly arrived in Texas. One of the grad students was black, and there were people at the party who were horribly offended that he and his wife were there.

George Will can be nostalgic all he wants, but in a lot of ways the world is a better place than it was in 1968.

[elisi]

I have so much I should be doing right now, and instead I'm reading through your links.
Oh I know *that* feeling!

that was an interesting article, but I found the comments fascinating!
*nods* He's an interesting guy, and his readers tend to have great discussions. Which I think is one of the best things about the internet - stories and articles can spawn dialogue that might not otherwise happen. (You saw this right?)

She was actually the secretary for Martin Luther King, senior (The famous one's father) boy does she have some stories to tell!
Wow!

but in a lot of ways the world is a better place than it was in 1968.
*nods* (Here's The Good Wife's Guide from 1955. Progress is a WONDERFUL thing. Sure it makes life more difficult, but that's a small price to pay, really.)