American History

Why I Support Black History Month

Posted on February 18, 2016 by CharlieClaywell

Ruby Bridges

In my role as parent I attempted to pass along one core belief to my daughter – empathy.

I wanted her to seek to understand life from another person’s point of view. If she embraces empathy in her life, I feel I accomplished something worthwhile because empathy is a powerful concept. It is living the old saying – before you judge someone walk a mile in their shoes.

Empathy is also one of the reasons I strongly believe in the need for Black History Month. As a white man living in a Congressional District that is predominantly Caucasian I have little interaction with people outside my race and have little real-life knowledge of the struggles related to being Black in America.

America’s Discriminatory Past

History is always told through the eyes of the ruling race, class or faction. When American history is seen through the eyes, of say Native Americans, (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West) it is a significantly different history than the one I know as a Caucasian.

When my daughter was in sixth or seventh grade, she and I had the opportunity to visit the Cherokee Nation – a sovereign country located in Oklahoma. Inside the lobby of the Cherokee Nation Visitor Center a film about the Trail of Tears plays on a continuous loop. When we walked in an older woman, watching the film, overcome with emotion was crying.

As she spoke with a member of the Cherokee Nation, it was apparent she had come to understand the Trail of Tears from their perspective.

The tension between Blacks and Whites has never been resolved in this country. In 2016, serious levels of racial ignorance and racial hatred are still prevalent in the United States. During the past 12 months in my neighborhood the KKK distributed membership flyers with a third-grade level rhyme — Save our Land, Join the Klan.

But, it is not the Klan that I worry about. They have been marginalized to their proper place. I worry about a White culture that refuses to admit it has a problem.

87-Year-Old Victim Of Hate

Just last summer one of the vilest acts of hatred occurred when a racist white man killed nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. One of the victims, Susie Jackson, was 87. Both of my grandmothers lived to about the same age and I cannot fathom someone hating either one of them enough to shoot and murder them. I know if either were murder under such brutal conditions, I would struggle with forgiving the perpetrator and I would want action and answers.

But what unfolded after the death of those nine innocent victims was not a conversation on how to prevent such senseless acts of violence. Instead my Congressman paid lip service to the tragedy by attending the funeral while the House quietly banned a study looking into gun violence. On TV and on social media, the conversation was not about how do we address these acts of evil, instead the discussion was diverted to my Second Amendment Rights and whether or not I can fly a Confederate flag.

If my grandmothers were murdered, I would not be overly interested in people’s opinions on either of those issues.

I would want would be empathy because that would lead to action.

‘Reel Injun’ Blasts Hollywood’s Depiction Of Native Americans

Posted on February 5, 2016 by CharlieClaywell

One of the parts of American history that I am least familiar with is the history of the Indians. Until I started studying the Colonial Era, I did not realize just how many nations and tribes existed in North America.

Reel Injun, filmed and produced by Neil Diamond in 2009, is an intriguing look at Hollywood’s depiction of Native Americans over the decades. The strength of the film is it is told from a non-White perspective, which I think, gives one a better understanding of how the stereotypes, created by films, impacted generations of children and adults.

One interview that stood out for me was of a middle-aged Indian explaining how he and his brother would watch Westerns at the local theater on Saturdays. But when the finale of the movie began — the scene where the Calvary or other white men pursued and killed all the Indians — his brother would put his head down and refuse to watch. Having watched plenty of Westerns myself, I never once thought about the type of message the films delivered to impressionable kids.

The movie is filled with old familiar clips, includes an interview with Clint Eastwood, and has a couple surprises — like famous actors billed as Native Americans in real life who were not Indian.

The documentary is currently available on Netflix.

Categories: American History, movies

Large Crowd At Holocaust Survivor Event Speaks Volumes

Posted on February 4, 2016 by CharlieClaywell

I was both disappointed and thankful when was unable to listen to Holocaust survivor Eva Kor speak at a nearby university. I was attending the event with my niece and her son, and when my niece asked if I thought the auditorium would hold everyone, I said, I can’t see it being sold out (an odd term, I know, for a free event).

But, was I wrong. Not only was the auditorium filled to capacity, bystanders told us the overflow room was also full. When we entered the building, a long line could be seen in the hallway. Even a handful of people were sitting in the lobby, hoping to somehow get in.

So, why would I be thankful?

Since I write and read so much about the American political scene, it is easy to become cynical and start to think that beliefs espoused by demagogues like Donald Trump – whose speeches and ideas, Holocaust survivors say, are eerily similar to Hitler’s – have truly become mainstream. But such a large turnout indicates, to me, that people are still drawn to stories of strength, survival and forgiveness.

Of course the disappointment lies in the fact I did not get to hear Kor speak. Her life is an incredible journey and story. At Auschwitz, Eva and her twin sister, Miriam, were singled out and used as human guinea pigs simply because they were twins. The experiments were conducted under the direction of Dr. Josef Mengele and most of the 3000 children involved died as a result of the ordeal.

Before being subjected to that cruelty, the twins had already experienced emotional pain and upheaval when they were separated from their father and two older sisters. Later their mother was also killed.

In 1978, the twins undertook a quest to locate other surviving twins and six years later, Eva established CANDLES, Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors – in Terre Haute, Indiana. Besides establishing CANDLES, Eva has authored two books.

You can read her complete story here.

Categories: American History, WWII | Tags: eva kor, holocaust, WWII