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Category: Social Justice February Page 1 of 3

This quote from Ijeoma Oluo reads, “Even the most virulent American racist has to wrestle with the fact that the United States would not exist were it not for people of color.”

What Black History Month means to me

At the coldest, bleakest time of each year in the United States, we observe first Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in late January, and then Black History Month in February.

I know there are non-racist reasons for this scheduling. Dr. King’s birthday is January 15. February was chosen by a Black historian for Black History Month (originally Black History Week) because Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass both were born in February (Feb. 12 and 14, respectively).

But I sometimes feel as if this is a way white people accepted so they could seem “enlightened,” get them over with early, and then move on. Like maybe they won’t have to think about Black people the rest of the year.

This quote from Chris Rock says, “Black History Month is in the shortest month of the year, and the coldest—just in case we want to have a parade.”
(AZ Quotes)

Thinking about Black people all year

In recent years I’ve observed Black History Month annually on Artdog Adventures. But we cannot relegate any aspect of our history and national culture to a shadowed corner for ten and a half months of the year.

It’s impossible to live an honest life in today’s world without acknowledging Black people’s pervasive contributions to all aspects of our society, and the incredible depth of their talent pool. Simply put, Black people make our country a better place to live.

This quote from Yvette Clarke says, “We must never forget that Black History is American History. The achievements of African Americans have contributed to our nation’s greatness.”
(AZ Quotes)

Like other meaningful annual observations, Black History Month should be a time of renewing our understanding and deepening our knowledge. The only way to truly grow in our antiracist understanding is to go back to the well of clear-eyed understanding with open-hearted empathy.

Black History Month at a unique moment in US history

If 2020 taught us anything, it should have taught us that way too many of us white folks are clueless and insensitive at best, can often be racist jerks, and may even be violent white supremacists at worst. It should have taught us to respect the massive contributions to our lives by our communities of color.

These groups disproportionately provided the essential workers who’ve kept the rest of us alive—at great personal cost. They came out to vote in huge numbers, overcoming sometimes-daunting obstacles, and literally saved our democracy (if we can keep it). In many ways, white Americans cannot easily fathom how very much gratitude we owe them.

This quote from Ijeoma Oluo reads, “Even the most virulent American racist has to wrestle with the fact that the United States would not exist were it not for people of color.”
(Jan S. Gephardt)

Of course, a lot of us white people are really slow learners, so the inequities persist. A living wage continues to elude many who are still employed. Medical professionals who should know better continue to cherish magical thinking about Black pain tolerance or ignore what their Black patients say. Systemically racist police practices continue to oppress and overpolice and kill.

No turning back now

Some powerful (and a lot of ordinary) white people still act and talk as if we could go back to “the way it used to be” after the pandemic has passed. Now that we have a new administration, they say, we should let bygones be bygones, in the name of “unity.

News flash: time marches on, just as inexorably as the Black Lives Matter demonstrators did last summer. Change has occurred. We’ve seen too much, lost too many family members, and sacrificed too much to subside into numb complacency now.

Not if we retain the smallest scintilla of survival instinct.

This quote from Sister Peggy O’Neill, S.C. reads, “Together we imagine a circle of compassion with no one standing outside of it.”
(Ignatian Solidarity Network)

If we didn’t realize it before, we no longer have any excuses. Everyone now knows how very many things can, and have, and do go wrong. When incompetent people collude with greedy people from a position of abused power, disasters ensue.

It’s going to take all of us, with all of our pooled talent, strength, and resiliency, to pull our country out of the fire. Let’s harness the understandings we gain during Black History Month, together with the spirit of genuine antiracism. Then let’s go forward to create a better future for all of us.

IMAGE CREDITS

Many thanks to AZ Quotes: first for the Chris Rock quote, and second for the quote from US Rep. Yvette Clarke. I assembled the quote from author Ijeoma Oluo with some help from 123rf. And I appreciate the Ignatian Solidarity Network for the quote from Sister Peggy O’Neill, SC.

Signs and signals of Jim Crow

The Artdog Image(s) of Interest

All too many Americans can remember a time–not so long ago, and not so far away as to give us any comfort–when signs like these were posted to keep them out

This image is a composite of signs that read, "NO Dogs, Negros, Mexicans," "Colored Served in Rear," "Rest Rooms, White Only," and "Drinking Fountain," with arrows pointing opposite directions toward "White" and "Colored."
This photo shows a sign for the Imperial Laundry Co., emblazoned "We Wash for White People Only."
This is a hand-lettered sign, probably for a restaurant, that proclaims: "We serve whites only. No Spanish or Mexicans."

When public spaces like these were all too common.

This is a photo of two water fountains, along the wall of a public space. The one labeled "White" has a clean top and a refrigeration unit, so it delivers cold water. The one marked "Colored" looks considerably older, and it very conspicuously does not have a refrigeration unit. No ice-cold water would come from that one on a hot summer day! A man with dark skin is drinking from that one in the photo.
This is a photo from Ft. Myers, Florida, taken in a segregated bus. The photographer was positioned near the front of the bus. The nearest 7 rows are occupied by exclusively white people, both men and women. There's a metal wall at the back of this section, with an open door in it. Through the door you can see at least one darker-skinned passenger in the back part of the bus.

When people accepted this as “normal.” Even as “right.” 

This a photo of a brick building in Leland, Mississippi. on its front are painted the words: "Rex Theatre for Colored People." This photo was taken in June, 1937, by Dorothea Lange.
Photo by Dorothea Lange, taken June, 1937 in Leland, Mississippi.

We live today in an era of rising white supremacy groups. They would tear down the all-too-fragile gains we’ve made for equity, civil rights, and justice for all

We must be vigilant. We must call out hate and bigotry wherever we see it. We must not let this kind of intolerance rise again.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Tes Blendspace for the composite of segregationist signs; to Georgetown Law’s article “The Jim Crow South,” for both the Imperial Laundry sign and the photo of “white” and “black” water fountains; and to DayOnePatch for the “No Spanish or Mexicans” sign. I also appreciate WGCU (Ft. Myers, FL PBS & NPR) for the photo of the segregated Ft. Myers bus,  as well as an interesting interview with one of the Americans mentioned above, whose memories of the Jim Crow era are all too fresh; and the Wikimedia Commons for the 1937 Dorothea Lange photo of the Rex Theatre for Colored People in Leland, MS. For more such photos, visit the Library of Congress page on photos of signs enforcing racial discrimination.

Interpretations of greatness

The Artdog Quote(s) of the Week

One of the recurring themes in white supremacist rhetoric (of which we’ve heard far too much since the start of the Trump Administration) is that white people are somehow “superior” to other races.

Presumably, that would extend to the depth of their thoughts. I wondered if it might be interesting to compare observations written by leaders of the Confederate States of America with the thoughts of people who had experience on the “receiving end” of slavery.*

I’ll leave it to you, to determine whose thoughts resonate with the greater depth.

IMAGES: The “In their own words” graphic is my own design. I found the quote in a Huffington Post article, “The Civil War was about Slavery.” Many thanks to AZ Quotes, for the quote-image from Marcus Garvey.

*Please note that Marcus Garvey, who was born in 1887 in Jamaica, did not directly experience slavery. However, he dealt with its after-effects in the Jim Crow South and throughout his life’s work–as do all too many people still today.

The effects of slavery

The Artdog Quote(s) of the Week

One of the recurring themes in white supremacist rhetoric (of which we’ve heard far too much since the start of the Trump Administration) is that white people are somehow “superior” to other races.

Presumably, that would extend to the depth of their thoughts. I wondered if it might be interesting to compare observations written by leaders of the Confederate States of America with the thoughts of people who had experience on the “receiving end” of slavery.

Bonus quote; I couldn’t resist.

I’ll leave it to you, to determine whose thoughts resonate with the greater depth.

IMAGES: The “In their own words” graphic is my own design. I found the quote in a Huffington Post article, “The Civil War was about Slavery.” Many thanks to AZ Quotes for the Quote-image from Frederick Douglass, and to Signature’s article (found via Pinterest), “Nat Turner Remembered: 12 Author Quotes on Slavery,” for the quote-image from Booker T. Washington.

Of morality and Dreams

The Artdog Quotes of the Week

One of the recurring themes in white supremacist rhetoric (of which we’ve heard far too much since the start of the Trump Administration) is that white people are somehow “superior” to other races.

Presumably, that would extend to the depth of their thoughts. I wondered if it might be interesting to compare observations written by leaders of the Confederate States of America with the thoughts of people who had experience on the “receiving end” of slavery.

I’ll leave it to you, to determine whose thoughts resonate with the greater depth.

IMAGES: The “In their own words” graphic is my own design. I found the quote in a Medium article, “Five Myths About Robert E. Lee.” Many thanks to AZ Quotes for the Harriet Tubman quote-image.

Is justice colorblind?

The Artdog Image of Interest

Normally, it’s not a good thing to be “colorblind” where race is concernedThat can make it too easy to pass over injustices and put-downs (both “microaggressions” and the more macro sort). 

But, as with so-called “blind auditions,” sometimes it’s only justice, if it IS colorblind, so everyone is treated equally. 

In a 2012 Duke University study, researchers examined more than 700 felony trials in Florida. Their key findings were that in cases when the jury was all white, black defendants were convicted 81% of the time, compared with a 66% conviction rate for whites. When at least one jury member was black, the conviction rates were nearly identical, with 71% of black defendants and 73% of white defendants receiving guilty verdicts.


IMAGE: Many thanks to Duke University and Tamberly Ferguson
, via the A2L website, for today’s infographic.

Subordination v. Freedom

The Artdog Quotes of the Week

One of the recurring themes in white supremacist rhetoric (of which we’ve heard far too much since the start of the Trump Administration) is that white people are somehow “superior” to other races.

Presumably, that would extend to the depth of their thoughts. I wondered if it might be interesting to compare observations written by leaders of the Confederate States of America with the thoughts of people who had experience on the “receiving end” of slavery.

I’ll leave it to you, to determine whose thoughts resonate with the greater depth.

IMAGES: The “In their own words” graphic is my own design. I found the quote in a Huffington Post article, “The Civil War was about Slavery.” Many thanks to AZ Quotes for the quote-image featuring the words of Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

Making progress . . .

The Artdog Image of Interest

Have we made progress? Some. Could we improve more? Undoubtedly.

How has life changed for black Americans?

From Visually.

In matters of equity and social justice, no picture is ever static, and progress is always relative. This infographic was created in 2014, so the data is already 5 years old or older. But this is a moderately recent snapshot of where we stand. 

I normally celebrate February as “Social Justice February” in a nod to Black History Month. But remember that--as with feminism–greater social justice makes the world a better place for ALL of us. 

IMAGE: Many thanks to Visually and the team of Noureen Saira, designer, and Elliott Smith, writer, via University of Phoenix, for this infographic “snapshot.”

Challenge to a deeper dive

The Artdog Quote of the Week

Are you aware of your unconscious biases? Of course not–they’re unconscious! But unconscious bias is abroad in the land, no matter where you live or who you are. The results of such biases for or against others based on gender, ethnicity, culture, appearance, and in many other areas have been observed and documented. And we all have them. It’s a result of how we humans are “wired.”

Becoming aware of our unconscious or implicit biases is not usually easy–and it’s almost always an uncomfortable process. But it also is a worthwhile goal. And a whole lot more “fixable” than stupidity.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Quote Fancy, for this image and quote from Bertrand Russell.

Stronger than one building

The Artdog Image(s) of Interest 

Shotgun, Third Ward #1, 1966, by John T. Biggers.


John T. Biggers painted this image, Shotgun, Third Ward #1, in 1966–yet to me it hauntingly resonates with recent headlines.

Likely inspired by a rash of arsons in black churches during the early-to-mid-1960s, Biggers chose to focus on the community, rather than the sensationalism of the fire.

Then as now, the church is more than just a building, although churches were a central gathering place for the African American community during the Civil Rights era. Thus, attacks on black churches were attacks on civil rights activism, as well.

The word Shotgun in the title refers to the houses, not the weapon–and not, as popularly alleged, because a fired shell would travel through from one end to the other. Indeed, the African word “shogon,” which means “house of God,” is more likely the origin of the term (bringing us full-circle back to the church).

Shotguns, 1987, by John T. Biggers

The narrow, rectangular design, in which several rooms in a row open directly into one another (with no hallway) was popular for several decades, especially in the South. By the 1960s, however, “Shotgun houses” were associated with poor people, especially impoverished African Americans. Biggers returned to the image of the shotgun house for his iconic 1987 painting Shotguns

IMAGES: Many thanks to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, for the image of Shotgun, Third Ward #1, and to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) blog, for the image of Shotguns. I deeply appreciate both.

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