American History

[weezo]

"I am Soldier", editor, Robert O'Neill
War stories from the ancient world to  the 20th century. So far I've read one story - from the ancient Israelite army 735 BC .... Should be interesting.

[Gintaras]

A great account of the Vietnam War is Michael Herr's Dispatches, which has been handsomely bound in this Everyman's Library edition.  You can also find a cheap paperback almost anywhere.  The book was a big influence on both Kubrick and Coppola in the making of Full Metal Jacket and Apocalypse Now. 

[weezo]

Gin,

I'll put that on my list of books to get for hubby. He likes both of those movies a lot.

[madupont]

http://www.thegrio.com/2010/01/groups-claim-state-failed-to-protect-va-slave-burial-site.php

Mix up in on-line publications mentioned yesterday in Obama admin forum. When watching the interview that Rachel Maddow had done of this editor reporting on the census change defining ethnicity, I thought he referred to The Griot, another source of news in the Black community.

Of course, if you want to see a real mix up involving burial sites check out Salon for the scandals in a series re: Arlington. They came to attention both before and after Edward Kennedy's burial there.

[weezo]

For those of you who have always wished for a reason to visit Historic Petersburg, VA, here is your opportunity:

The Historic Petersburg Foundation Inc. (HPF) and the City of Petersburg are
sponsoring a free presentation given by noted historian and author Ronald Roy
Seagrave on his most recent book, "The Early Artisans & Mechanics of
Petersburg, Virginia, 1607-1860: The Building of a Multi-Cultural Maritime
Community." This lavishly illustrated 544-page work published in November
2009 examines Petersburg, one of the South's most historically significant
cities, including the records of those individual artisans and mechanics that
literally made Petersburg what it is.

The presentation will take place at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Union Train
Station,103 River St., Petersburg

Seagrave will share the stories and backgrounds of the carpenters, brick-
layers, coopers, shoemakers, silversmiths, cabinetmakers, gunsmiths,
publishers, bookbinders and so many more. From the town's early founding in
the 17th century through the American Revolution, from the Great Fire to the
Civil War, Seagrave will explain how Petersburg emerged as a uniquely
American city, where a stunning range of religions, ethnic backgrounds and
economic levels came together to create a vibrant and important community.

Y'all come!

[bosox18d]

RIP-Howard Zinn

[weezo]

Hmmmm. That must be why his book was featured in this morning's Amazon newsletter.

[nytempsperdu]

and a reminder of the Road You Have To Take:

Chicago Sun-Times
 A retired teacher offers her views of civil rights -- from a perspective of 110 years

February 28, 2010
BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporter
"I have a scar on my back I got when I was a slave. . . . You got people out there with this scar on their brains. . . ." -- from the 1974 movie "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,'' now on DVD

Throughout this month, we asked Chicagoans and prominent visitors their thoughts on Black History Month. Most said it is still relevant, though many questioned relegating the celebration of a people's history to any specific period.

» Click to enlarge image
Ethel Darden is pictured in the 1930s (left), and on Saturday at Montgomery Place in Hyde Park, where she just celebrated her 110th birthday.


We close the month with 110-year-old Ethel Darden of Hyde Park, tied with another supercentenarian as Illinois' oldest resident.

Born in Dallas, Texas, on Feb. 17, 1900, to Ella Mary Allen and Charles Boswell, two schoolteachers, she is a pioneering educator who helped establish the city's first private, nonsectarian school for blacks, the Howalton Day School.

Founded in 1947 by her sister Doris Allen-Anderson and two other women, the school operated until 1986. It was responsible for educating many of Chicago's black elite, including the children of boxer Joe Louis, U.S. Rep. Ralph Metcalfe, historian Timuel Black, Judge R. Eugene Pincham and Mayor Eugene Sawyer.

In 1996, she donated the school's archives to the Carter G. Woodson Regional Library's Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection.

"There were five of us girls. The whole darn family became educators," said Darden, laughing as she smoothed out a brown ruffled dress with her long, slender rhinestone-ringed fingers.

"She's sweet as pie, always full of smiles and laughter," said her caretaker and close friend, Betty Miller. "She still has that southern genteel. Occasionally, she'll ask me, 'Honey, is he colored or white?' "

Darden outlived her siblings and husband, Lloyd Darden, a successful accountant she married in 1942 before the couple moved here. She lives at Montgomery Place, a retirement home staffed by University of Chicago Medical Center physicians.

Her doctor, William Dale, said he's in awe at the health of Darden, who occasionally enjoys a glass of wine.

"She has no diseases, takes no prescriptions and looks decades younger," he gushed. "And while her short-term memory is poor, her long-term memory is very intact."

Darden attended Dallas Colored High School, graduated in 1921 from the historically black Wiley College in Marshall, Texas -- featured in the 2007 movie "The Great Debaters" -- taught 20 years in Dallas schools, then 40 years here.

Here's what she had to say:

"You know, sometimes I don't like to look back. It's hard enough to look front. When I think about the past too much, it knocks me down.

"I came up with Jim Crow. But I didn't let it bother me. I was just living. We didn't have money, anyway, to go places they didn't want us. In the South, we knew where we could go and couldn't. Didn't have to hear them say it. It was written loud and clear, 'Whites Only.' 'For Colored.'

"It was terrible what they did to black folks those days. Lynched them. Burned them. I don't want to talk too much about that.

"Dr. [Martin Luther] King came to our church. My twin sister and I sang a duet for him. I liked him. He wasn't afraid of anybody. Marched up to Washington. He asked our help. We collected money in jars at school. I did march. One time, we put on buttons to protest, marched right downtown and had breakfast. I wasn't scared.

"I honor all those who tried to make it good for us, so we could come downtown and have lunch if we wanted to. The Civil Rights Act was a great day because I felt free at last. That I could walk with my head up, that we were free to go to any school at last. I did feel good.

"Black president? Didn't think so soon, but I felt we'd eventually have a black everything. I don't like to say 'black' history. It's just history.

"I don't know why I lived so long. I never thought of it. Just tried to do my work and treat people the right way. There's a road you have to take, and you take it. It's been a good life. I wouldn't say a 'fine' life, just 'good.' Could have been worse.

"A white man is a white man. Let him be white. A black man is a black man. Let him be black. Just watch the way they treat you as a human being. Treat folks right, and respect them the way God would have you do. Let history take care of itself."

[weezo]

Thanks for sharing, NYtemp

[nytempsperdu]

(Aside from the history aspect, I couldn't help noting she occasionally drinks wine but takes no prescriptions.)

[weezo]

Note they said "ocassionally".

[nytempsperdu]

No, it said occasionally (with 2 c's, 1 s --sorry, couldn't resist correcting "teach.")

[weezo]

Thanks, NYTemp .... I generally get those confused .... I forgot to check before post .... teachers DO make spelling errors, just like everyone else.

[nytempsperdu]

When I taught h.s. I found that making an error in front of the class was one of the most effective teaching tools--kids love correcting the teacher--if the ol' ego can take it!

[weezo]

When I taught h.s. I found that making an error in front of the class was one of the most effective teaching tools--kids love correcting the teacher--if the ol' ego can take it!

HS kids do love catching the teacher in a mistake. It is best to admit it with a grin, and let the kids have their fun --- in other words, be a "role model" for how to make a mistake!