I am almost 85, a former teacher, high school and college , who has been been knocking on doors for three weeks, as a Blue Dot, in opposition to Opportunity Grants and in support of Public Education where we are finally telling the true narrative. But only if we elect Democrats up and down the ticket. Thank you, I recently wrote an LTE to our local paper on this topic but they cut my glowing description of the graduation at West Carteret High School, the orchestra, the chorus, the elected faculty and student speakers. I was the guest of senior Jorge Dominguez. I have forwarded your essay to 35 people and I am now one of your paid supporters. Thank you. PS Do you think there is any way we can get NPR to repeat their “ This I Believe “ I essays between now and the election?
I got the same mostly lily-white historical education that you did, perhaps more so. I've spent many years trying to re-educate myself on race and racism, African American and Latino history, and gaining "new" and different perspectives on the Civil War and Reconstruction. https://jimbuie.substack.com/t/race-and-racism
I like the way this post ends with the phrase "coming back with a vengeance" because the air is charged with violent energy. And Mills captures well in a short space ugly realities. One word on the Wilmington Massacre of Nov. 1898. I was teaching in the English Dept. at UNCW when Philip Gerard's book __Cape Fear Rising__ was about to be released. Thank goodness Jim Leutze was chancellor at the time, 1994. Leutze's background as a history professor and his excellence in international affairs, among other attributes, helped UNCW develop a leadership role in global learning for the 21st century. Leutze at the helm when Gerard's book was about to hit helped prepare for ways Gerard's telling of the racist incident would challenge the "antebellum Azalea Festival" mentality of the Port City.
I started researching what went wrong after the Civil War everal years ago. This took me down a long and very important rabbit hole of history books and novels. I am 72 and, like you, was taught very little about the truth of this part of our history even though I went to school in CA. I highly recommend both The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste by Isabel Wilkderson and The Broken Ladder by Keith Payne which are "big picture" looks at these issues. I also loved the insights of Albion Tourgee who was white and moved to the South after the Civil War. A Fool's Errand is a novel published in 1879 and Bricks Without Straw are both truly enlightening in a very intimate way.
I would recommend another book, "The Thief, The Senator, and the Knight of the Bleeding Heart"- John Stephens & the Ku Klux Klan in Reconstruction North Carolina, by Paul M. Green. Growing up in Caswell County in the 50's and 60's, this was not the "story" we learned in school, or on the street.
I am almost 85, a former teacher, high school and college , who has been been knocking on doors for three weeks, as a Blue Dot, in opposition to Opportunity Grants and in support of Public Education where we are finally telling the true narrative. But only if we elect Democrats up and down the ticket. Thank you, I recently wrote an LTE to our local paper on this topic but they cut my glowing description of the graduation at West Carteret High School, the orchestra, the chorus, the elected faculty and student speakers. I was the guest of senior Jorge Dominguez. I have forwarded your essay to 35 people and I am now one of your paid supporters. Thank you. PS Do you think there is any way we can get NPR to repeat their “ This I Believe “ I essays between now and the election?
I got the same mostly lily-white historical education that you did, perhaps more so. I've spent many years trying to re-educate myself on race and racism, African American and Latino history, and gaining "new" and different perspectives on the Civil War and Reconstruction. https://jimbuie.substack.com/t/race-and-racism
Most of us white folks still have a lot to learn.
I like the way this post ends with the phrase "coming back with a vengeance" because the air is charged with violent energy. And Mills captures well in a short space ugly realities. One word on the Wilmington Massacre of Nov. 1898. I was teaching in the English Dept. at UNCW when Philip Gerard's book __Cape Fear Rising__ was about to be released. Thank goodness Jim Leutze was chancellor at the time, 1994. Leutze's background as a history professor and his excellence in international affairs, among other attributes, helped UNCW develop a leadership role in global learning for the 21st century. Leutze at the helm when Gerard's book was about to hit helped prepare for ways Gerard's telling of the racist incident would challenge the "antebellum Azalea Festival" mentality of the Port City.
Thank you for the link to the inspiring story of Robert Smalls.
There is so much to learn that has been hidden, twisted or ignored
I started researching what went wrong after the Civil War everal years ago. This took me down a long and very important rabbit hole of history books and novels. I am 72 and, like you, was taught very little about the truth of this part of our history even though I went to school in CA. I highly recommend both The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste by Isabel Wilkderson and The Broken Ladder by Keith Payne which are "big picture" looks at these issues. I also loved the insights of Albion Tourgee who was white and moved to the South after the Civil War. A Fool's Errand is a novel published in 1879 and Bricks Without Straw are both truly enlightening in a very intimate way.
I would recommend another book, "The Thief, The Senator, and the Knight of the Bleeding Heart"- John Stephens & the Ku Klux Klan in Reconstruction North Carolina, by Paul M. Green. Growing up in Caswell County in the 50's and 60's, this was not the "story" we learned in school, or on the street.
Looking forward to reading the book. The insights in the late 2000s and 2010s definitely changed my perspective.