Gerald Maclennon's Blog - Posts Tagged "old-white-man"
Black Lives Matter from an Old White Man's Perspective
Querida Daughter Jessica,
At the end of life I see it all now from the tower of a short man and old white man (two of the most despised segments of society) and then, I look back to my youth and the era of Jim Crow Laws which were heavily in force when I went to the Old South in 1965 to get U.S. Navy photography training.
I lived in Pensacola, Florida (actually more a part of Alabama than it is Florida) and was shocked by what I saw -- compared to Nebraska and southern California -- segregation everywhere (except on-base... the US Navy desegregated in 1947) but within the city the term was "colored": no coloreds allowed / colored go to the back of the bus / men women and colored restrooms / white and colored drinking fountains / colored section of bars/restaurants or just whites only, no coloreds / no coloreds or dogs / hotels & motels for whites only... coloreds had their own, usually in shitty conditions.
Like I said, such overt racism was shocking... we Northerners kept our racism less conspicuous, like the men of our family before me. And of course, systemic racism was present in the South and the North. Al Hill, one of my black shipmates, told me he preferred Southern racism because he "knew where he stood, and didn't have to guess."
As far as the business world goes, I was born into a "white man's dominion" that was segregated everywhere: the entertainment world, vaudeville, theater, movies, radio, television. Watching TV in the 1950's, I thought it was normal to see all white men on the news, all white people on programs - except for colored in subservient roles, like Rochester on the Jack Benny Show. (women in subservient roles, too). "Coloreds" were depicted as uneducated, humble, ebonics speaking, untermenchen -- no Frederic Douglass's. The common white excuse there was and is "Douglass probably had more white blood than Negro."
Oh, and that's right... in the 40s, 50s and 60s, the correct name was "Negro" in Yankeeland. Apparently a derivation of the Spanish: Negros, meaning Blacks. And while I'm on that, the Spanish word for indigenous people is "Indígenas" (in-DI-hee-NAS) which is where the name "Indians" came from not from "Columbus thought he was in the East Indies" as my 6th grade teacher taught me.
I am amazed watching today's 2020 television. In programming there's an equal amount of 'People of Color.' In some shows, more. Within news, comedies, dramas and other programs, people of all races are represented. And in advertising, mixed race actors are preferred. What we used to call "Mulatto's" in the 1950's but stopped because it was the Spanish word for "Mules"... those Mixed Race actors are in the highest demand... especially those who can pass for "just about any race."
There are many, many more Black Police today. When I was a kid, there were no Black Police... Zilch, Nada, Zero, Goose Egg. Any condemnation of police today is also condemnation of Black police, such as Seattle's Chief of Police.
We see Upper-Class Black men and women today and many, many more Middle-Class Black men and women. And in Low Income sectors, there appears to be as many whites as there are people-of-color. (Not sure if that's accurate since I haven't consulted the available data and stats. I could be wrong on that.)
Let me just close with this... you've seen progress in your 50 years, Daughter; I've seen even more in my 73. Sure, it ain't perfect but I doubt if it ever will be.
Jesus said, "You'll always have the poor among you." (John 12:8) but WHY should I quote from a book that never condemns slavery. Matter of fact, the writings of the Apostle Paul were used to keep America's slaves under subjugation, "Slaves, obey your masters." (Col 3:22, Eph 6:5) Why Black Slaves ever wanted to be Christians is puzzling to me. I suppose there were social advantages in earlier times.
Like I said, nothing and no body's perfect.
Hasta luego, Papacito
At the end of life I see it all now from the tower of a short man and old white man (two of the most despised segments of society) and then, I look back to my youth and the era of Jim Crow Laws which were heavily in force when I went to the Old South in 1965 to get U.S. Navy photography training.
I lived in Pensacola, Florida (actually more a part of Alabama than it is Florida) and was shocked by what I saw -- compared to Nebraska and southern California -- segregation everywhere (except on-base... the US Navy desegregated in 1947) but within the city the term was "colored": no coloreds allowed / colored go to the back of the bus / men women and colored restrooms / white and colored drinking fountains / colored section of bars/restaurants or just whites only, no coloreds / no coloreds or dogs / hotels & motels for whites only... coloreds had their own, usually in shitty conditions.
Like I said, such overt racism was shocking... we Northerners kept our racism less conspicuous, like the men of our family before me. And of course, systemic racism was present in the South and the North. Al Hill, one of my black shipmates, told me he preferred Southern racism because he "knew where he stood, and didn't have to guess."
As far as the business world goes, I was born into a "white man's dominion" that was segregated everywhere: the entertainment world, vaudeville, theater, movies, radio, television. Watching TV in the 1950's, I thought it was normal to see all white men on the news, all white people on programs - except for colored in subservient roles, like Rochester on the Jack Benny Show. (women in subservient roles, too). "Coloreds" were depicted as uneducated, humble, ebonics speaking, untermenchen -- no Frederic Douglass's. The common white excuse there was and is "Douglass probably had more white blood than Negro."
Oh, and that's right... in the 40s, 50s and 60s, the correct name was "Negro" in Yankeeland. Apparently a derivation of the Spanish: Negros, meaning Blacks. And while I'm on that, the Spanish word for indigenous people is "Indígenas" (in-DI-hee-NAS) which is where the name "Indians" came from not from "Columbus thought he was in the East Indies" as my 6th grade teacher taught me.
I am amazed watching today's 2020 television. In programming there's an equal amount of 'People of Color.' In some shows, more. Within news, comedies, dramas and other programs, people of all races are represented. And in advertising, mixed race actors are preferred. What we used to call "Mulatto's" in the 1950's but stopped because it was the Spanish word for "Mules"... those Mixed Race actors are in the highest demand... especially those who can pass for "just about any race."
There are many, many more Black Police today. When I was a kid, there were no Black Police... Zilch, Nada, Zero, Goose Egg. Any condemnation of police today is also condemnation of Black police, such as Seattle's Chief of Police.
We see Upper-Class Black men and women today and many, many more Middle-Class Black men and women. And in Low Income sectors, there appears to be as many whites as there are people-of-color. (Not sure if that's accurate since I haven't consulted the available data and stats. I could be wrong on that.)
Let me just close with this... you've seen progress in your 50 years, Daughter; I've seen even more in my 73. Sure, it ain't perfect but I doubt if it ever will be.
Jesus said, "You'll always have the poor among you." (John 12:8) but WHY should I quote from a book that never condemns slavery. Matter of fact, the writings of the Apostle Paul were used to keep America's slaves under subjugation, "Slaves, obey your masters." (Col 3:22, Eph 6:5) Why Black Slaves ever wanted to be Christians is puzzling to me. I suppose there were social advantages in earlier times.
Like I said, nothing and no body's perfect.
Hasta luego, Papacito
