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The 45 yr old letter
"History is not a procession of illustrious people. It's about what happens to a people, millions of anonymous people is what history is about" James Baldwin
When I read this quote I immediately recall the Civil Rights movement. There are a multitude of unsung heroes and heroines of the 1960s, when the United States, after a one hundred year delay, had to come to terms with segregation and racism that had vicious grip and negative on the nation and country's claim to freedom for all. Though it still lingers today, I find stories like William L. Moore's story in Mississippi keeps me from the nadir of my despair. Rarely do these small but important stories get the attention they so rightly deserve. They are pushed to the smallest nooks and crannies of American history.
William L. Moore is a "what happens to a people"story which deserves greater attention than it ever received. It is stories like these which give me a cautious hope that this, my nation and country will live up to it's creed.
Comments (3)
I assume you know about Howard Zinn's book A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. It has a series of issues of its own, and you should know about "standard" history first, but it is a fascinating document on the types of issues you are raising here.
If you don't know about it, get it immediately!
May 17, 2008 10:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you, I do know about and I have a copy of Zinn's book A People's History Of The United States
He hit home when he described how some white citizens abused black soldiers in Zanesville, Ohio who were about to go off the the Civil War.
I will remember this book for that fact as long as I live.
May 17, 2008 11:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you're looking at history in terms of 100-year intervals (not that you are), it's interesting to note that, as you say, about 100 years after the slaves were freed we started getting serious about civil rights, and about 100 years after that, non-Hispanic whites will no longer be in the majority in the United States—unless something dramatic happens to alter current demographic patterns.
May 18, 2008 8:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
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