I had an entire post written, but after last week, deleted it all. More than anything else about last week was learning about the injustices from America’s past that many of us are slowly learning about. Which makes the culture war issues on American history so alarming.
Let’s start with Juneteenth, which marked the freedom of enslaved black people in 1865 after the Civil War but two entire years after the official government proclamation in 1863. Confederate controlled areas in the south did not relent until Union troops went to the westernmost part of Texas to ensure the people’s freedom.
My question is why I did not know any of this growing up? All I learned in school was about the Civil War. I had to admit that even back when I grew up, history was whitewashed.
Add to that is Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Julian Bond, and many others. Do they even teach this in school curriculum nowadays? Here is more information from the NAACP Civil Rights Leaders. More from Oprah Winfrey’s website More about Civil Rights Leaders
Last week I also finished an audio book, Killers of the Flower Moon. A week after finishing the book, I am still moved by what happened. This will be a Martin Scorsese film this fall. You need to look into this, but this is from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killers_of_the_Flower_Moon
I cannot begin to imagine what other atrocities in this nation’s past were done to Native American Indians. I would highly recommend an online article from the Smithsonian titled The Shocking Savagery of America’s Early History.
And now, the LBGTQ+ community. This is puzzling to me, and I ask myself why? Why now?
We have a moral obligation to learn more and fight against racism and bigotry in our nation. It is imperative to stand up and support each other. We need to fight back against egregious and draconian laws that are being passed by the rise of politicians that are merely pandering to a base of ill informed voters based on fear tactics. There must be separation of church and state, once and for all.
I am making a commitment to learn more. I would really appreciate some suggestions!
#AmericanHistory #Injustice #AmericanPast #TheMoreYouKnow
100%!
As one who has read history for over 40 years I want to provide a book suggestion that not only gives a most thoughtful and powerfully written narrative about a time in our history, but also underscores why facts, tenacity, and never giving gup on change matters. This one can be found on my shelves and it was a most informative and entertaining read. “The gap between rich and poor has never been wider…legislative stalemate paralyzes the country…corporations resist federal regulations…spectacular mergers produce giant companies…the influence of money in politics deepens…bombs explode in crowded streets…small wars proliferate far from our shores…a dizzying array of inventions speeds the pace of daily life.
These unnervingly familiar headlines serve as the backdrop for Doris Kearns Goodwin’s highly anticipated The Bully Pulpit—a dynamic history of the first decade of the Progressive era, that tumultuous time when the nation was coming unseamed and reform was in the air.
The story is told through the intense friendship of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft—a close relationship that strengthens both men before it ruptures in 1912, when they engage in a brutal fight for the presidential nomination that divides their wives, their children, and their closest friends, while crippling the progressive wing of the Republican Party, causing Democrat Woodrow Wilson to be elected, and changing the country’s history.” https://www.amazon.com/Bully-Pulpit-Theodore-Roosevelt-Journalism/dp/141654786X
Oh, Deke, I am so appreciative you gave me personal advice. I will buy the book tonight! PS are you on other platforms other than the bird?
WOW It is in an audiobook version! Yay!