I just read something
here that really truly bothers me on several levels. For those that don't wish to follow the link, the governor of Maine, Paul LePage, wants to remove a mural from the Department of Labor depicting historical labor events of Maine, because it makes business leaders uncomfortable.
Reading the article, which is highly against him, I had to admit that part of what he was saying was still valid, that if you want to create an atmosphere of cooperation, you need to make both sides feel as comfortable as possible.
That said, I have to speak out against this latest move to turn our backs on history, just because it makes someone uncomfortable.
There is a long list of events of this sort, from trying to remove the name of Confederate generals from campus dorms, to changing the flags of former Confederate states by removing the Confederate battle flag, both in the name of making those Americans of African descent feel less minimized or demeaned, (although a worthy goal in itself); all the way down to re-packaging Aunt Jemima as a coiffed chef wearing pearls, instead of the slave mammy she started out as, so as to remove an offensive stereotype. (Again, not an unworthy goal, by itself).
This also includes the minimization of the Japanese internment camps that were opened in Colorado during the second world war, or the trivialization of the genocide perpetrated unlawfully against the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears, not to mention similar fates of other native nations much less well known.
Part of the problem is the way historians generally seem to sanitize our history for us, by reducing human stories to a series of images, names, dates, and places. This is something to be expected with the passing of time, as generations further from the events being told feel much less of the passion behind them, or have such a differing point of view that truly understanding such events requires study and analysis which takes more time than most people have to devote to them.
However, time and time again, we see people in leadership positions use their positions to "whitewash" history, the best example probably that of the American Civil War, which is considered either as solely a crusade to end slavery (which it truly was
not) or simply a defense of invaded territory (which it indeed
was, but that does not tell the entire story by a long stretch). The truth of the Civil war, is that it was about economic factors and political beliefs, as all wars are.
The truth is, we do not like to see portrayals of ourselves as "the bad guys", even when that is indeed the fact of the matter. The business person of Maine, who connects themselves to the portrayal of corrupt and abusive leaders of 100 years ago, is going to be uncomfortable, because our values have been changed by the course of subsequent history, and most sane people recognize that treating workers badly is not productive for business.
Just as the portrayal of the happy servant joyfully serving his master is recognized generally as being that master's fantasy, so we have rejected the buffoonish "Mammy" in exchange for a successful businesswoman (as Aunt Jemima has surely become, in 150 years).
As uncomfortable as we may be with historical images, or portrayals, are we doing our children any favors by sanitizing them? Those people who have not been exposed to the portrayal of Aunt Jemima as she was in the Chicago World's fair, especially those who have only seen her portrayed as the sanitized successful businesswoman, are probably mystified by the harsh reaction to her image. However, even her original image, portrayed by an actual former slave woman speaking in a strong dialect, has much to offer, in actually being a rare early instance of a successful black female spokesperson, the only one allowed into the Chicago world's fair. (History is multi-faceted, we lose much by reducing it to images, names, dates, and places.)
Those labor workers of a hundred years ago were not holding peaceful protests for shorter hours, they were literally fighting for their very lives. We live a better life today, because of the working person's rights that were hard earned by the very life's blood of those working to organize unions. To diminish those struggles by removing a mural that does not even show violent protest, but workers peaceably assembled, re-writes history, whether intentionally or not.
We as a nation have overcome racism to a great degree, overall. But ask any Native American how well we portray history. Or how open and accepting the "American Melting Pot" is, for that matter. Oh, by the way, that's if you can even find one to ask. (Especially if you live east of the Mississippi River.)
Even our latest census asked us to pick one specific ethnicity, as though that is even realistic in the America of today. Children of mixed ethnicity have to choose one of their parents' ethnicities (usually whichever one is not "white"), or pick "Other", as if they are such mutts they are unaware of their heritage. (I firmly believe we would have a much more meaningful census of ethnicity if we could choose any and all which apply, instead.)
What kind of disservice is it to ignore or demonize our history to the point we are ashamed to even see historical images out of context? Knowing that there were once products sold as
"Niggerhair Tobacco" and places like the
"Coon Chicken Inn" makes Aunt Jemima look positively politically correct in comparison. Knowing the history of racism in this country can illustrate many facets of our culture which otherwise do not make sense.
However, reacting to historical images from a modern cultural viewpoint is to me the same as dismissing herbal medicines (such as willow bark) because we have modern ones (such as aspirin, which was derived from willow bark originally) that are supposedly better (many modern medicines, because they concentrate the active ingredient, are harsher than their herbal cousins).
I think one of the proper ways to handle this situation is how many of the former states of the Confederacy have handled the "racist flag" issue: by replacing one flag of the Confederacy that was later used as a symbol of racist hatred (the infamous battle flag), by more neutral flags also used by the Confederacy which held the same historical value, but were not also charged with racial hatred. I also think that exposing people to the historic images and placing them in the correct context can be a useful educational tool, so that we can all understand where we have come from and just how far we have progressed.
I do admit that holding on to hateful symbols just because they are historical is not a good thing, but I am afraid that turning our back on unwanted history allows us to fall into the same paths repeatedly, without the wisdom gained from perspective. I honestly feel that doing so is worse, than making people squirm by being confronted with what was ugly, but is now past. There are generations who have never been exposed to the routines of Amos and Andy, because we are ashamed of their portrayal of what it once was to be black in America. Yet, many of those same routines have broken the ground for modern performers, who might not have even had the chance without them.
Whether we like it or not, the fact is that American history holds instances of genocide, racial profiling (for every single immigrant population to enter the country, not to mention the native inhabitants as well), slavery, and discrimination for all. Even many whites, if they were of the wrong religion, or spoke the wrong language... whether or not that was English.
It is up to all Americans to be aware of our past, so we can make informed decisions on where we should go from here. We can't allow our leaders to re-write our history to suit themselves, or any particular special interest group. We all need to face up to our true history, warts and all. It's not that it tells us who we
are, but that it tells us who we
were. Once we see truly who we
were, to be able to contrast that with who we
are, we can start to think about who it is we wish to
become, and possibly even get a few hints about how to get there.
Thank you, dear reader, for sticking with me through this little rant. Go in peace, and love your neighbor. And
please, let's remember our history.
