1814 1914 2014 Meme - US Black Suffering

[lpetrich]

There's a picture that's been going around on social media:
Ferguson Friday | Creative Resistance
Ferguson Friday | PopularResistance.Org
Photo by lelav89
Nicole Bonnet on Twitter: "Powerful statement in #Ferguson 1814, 1914 & 2014 . http://t.co/VUIbWOHvgE"
and other places, like Tumblr.

From right to left, it shows:

A black woman in a patterned shirt and a white ankle-length skirt wearing a chain, holding a placard saying "1814".

A black man wearing jeans and being bare-chested with a noose around his neck, holding a placard saying "1914".

A black woman waring an orange jumpsuit, holding a placard saying "2014".

All three had duct tape over their mouths. I quickly figured out what all three of them were representing, though I couldn't figure out the tape.

From the CreativeResistance page,

Students Organizing for Unity and Liberation (SOUL) at University of Pennsylvania is engaging in a series of creative actions, held weekly on Fridays. ...

Police brutality is modern day lynching, state sanctioned murder. There are more Black men in prison today or under the watch of the criminal justice system than were enslaved in 1850. On October 24th, Gina Marie, Jamal Taylor and Breanna Moore portrayed slavery in 1814, lynching in 1914, and mass incarceration/prison industrial complex in 2014 to represent persistent acts of genocide against Black people. They wore tape over their mouths, symbolic of the silencing of African ancestors and brethren behind bars. “We will not be silent about our oppression.”

Genocide? That's Godwin territory. But overall, I think that it's a good capsule summary of the sort of indignities that US black people have suffered through over the centuries.

 

[bigfield]

All three had duct tape over their mouths. I quickly figured out what all three of them were representing, though I couldn't figure out the tape.

It means they have been silenced, politically.

 

[Derec]

It means they have been silenced, politically.

Yes, that's why there is a half-black president, black governors, many black appointed officials and lawmakers.
I think many people exaggerate the situation because they are nostalgic (actually if old enough, vicariously otherwise) for the protest culture of the 60s.

 

[RavenSky]

Speaking of the protest culture of the 1960's... http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/protesters-hit-racial-abuse-marching-mo-article-1.2034365

About 200 residents in Rosebud, Mo., yelled at the demonstrators as they made the 120 mile march from Ferguson to the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City. The marchers were also greeted with fried chicken, a melon, a beer bottle and a Confederate flag.

Population of Rosebud: 409

 

[AthenaAwakened]

It means they have been silenced, politically.

Yes, that's why there is a half-black president, black governors, many black appointed officials and lawmakers.
I think many people exaggerate the situation because they are nostalgic (actually if old enough, vicariously otherwise) for the protest culture of the 60s.

Madame CJ Walker was the first black millionaire in US history, back in the 1920s. Because she existed, what? That Jim Crow didn't exist and that all black people were wealthy? Individual success does not change realities for the masses of people.

FAIL.

 

[Jayjay]

Maybe it's just me, but small details detract from the message. In this case the duct tape. They didn't have it in 1814 and 1914. But more importantly, if you have a visual image of a slave, a guy about to be hanged, and a prisoner, the visual image of them being silenced is hardly the worse thing that's happening there. Do you think the guy with a noose around his neck is thinking, "geez, this'd be alright and an all around peachy weekend trip if only I weren't being silenced politically..."?

Lesson here is: Don't mix your metaphors.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Yes, that's why there is a half-black president, black governors, many black appointed officials and lawmakers.
I think many people exaggerate the situation because they are nostalgic (actually if old enough, vicariously otherwise) for the protest culture of the 60s.

Madame CJ Walker was the first black millionaire in US history, back in the 1920s. Because she existed, what? That Jim Crow didn't exist and that all black people were wealthy? Individual success does not change realities for the masses of people.

FAIL.

I have to agree with Athena on this one. Just because you've got some rich and powerful people in group X, doesn't mean people in group X don't face hardship due to being in group X. I hope Athena will someday also realize that it isn't just people in Group X that suffer and face prejudice and harship, and not everyone in Group X does. We need to stop mistaking groups for individuals.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Madame CJ Walker was the first black millionaire in US history, back in the 1920s. Because she existed, what? That Jim Crow didn't exist and that all black people were wealthy? Individual success does not change realities for the masses of people.

FAIL.

I have to agree with Athena on this one. Just because you've got some rich and powerful people in group X, doesn't mean people in group X don't face hardship due to being in group X. I hope Athena will someday also realize that it isn't just people in Group X that suffer and face prejudice and harship, and not everyone in Group X does. We need to stop mistaking groups for individuals.

What makes you think I think that? You could ask what I think and really read what I post and then you will know.

 

[Nexus]

I have to agree with Athena on this one. Just because you've got some rich and powerful people in group X, doesn't mean people in group X don't face hardship due to being in group X. I hope Athena will someday also realize that it isn't just people in Group X that suffer and face prejudice and harship, and not everyone in Group X does. We need to stop mistaking groups for individuals.

What makes you think I think that? You could ask what I think and really read what I post and then you will know.

Your posting history regarding white privilege is what makes us think that. You have been content to group whites together as the oppressor group because a tiny fraction of them have held all of the political and financial power throughout history.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

What makes you think I think that? You could ask what I think and really read what I post and then you will know.

Your posting history regarding white privilege is what makes us think that. You have been content to group whites together as the oppressor group because a tiny fraction of them have held all of the political and financial power throughout history.

How exactly do you think white privilege works? Do you think it cancels out all other privileges? Do you think that is what I think?

And do keep in mind, I am not the only person posting here on white privilege so try not to confuse what others say with what I have posted.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

How exactly do you think white privilege works? Do you think it cancels out all other privileges? Do you think that is what I think?
.

Actually, I have specifically asked you that before, and although you have responded to other parts of my posts and to others, you have never answered this question: Do you believe that black people can be privileged? Or do you use some fringe definition to exclude black people from that, the way you do with the word "racist"? I would agree that some people may be privileged in some ways and other people in other ways. And in fact, if merely being black affords some sort of benefit while simultaneously inflicting some sort of cost, I would even say that both white privilege and black privilege exist, though the former outweighs the latter. Would you agree?

 

[AthenaAwakened]

How exactly do you think white privilege works? Do you think it cancels out all other privileges? Do you think that is what I think?
.

Actually, I have specifically asked you that before, and although you have responded to other parts of my posts and to others, you have never answered this question: Do you believe that black people can be privileged?

Yes, but not because they are black. I have ablebodied privilege. I have hetero-normative privilege/ I have some class privilege. I do not have gender or racial privilege. Is that clear? If not, let me know what is cloudy.

Or do you use some fringe definition to exclude black people from that, the way you do with the word "racist"?

Not a fringe definition, just one you are not familiar with and one that makes you uncomfortable. And that is, as far as I am concerned, a personal problem.

I would agree that some people may be privileged in some ways and other people in other ways. And in fact, if merely being black affords some sort of benefit while simultaneously inflicting some sort of cost, I would even say that both white privilege and black privilege exist, though the former outweighs the latter. Would you agree?

In what way in current or past western society is it now or has it been a political, economic, or social privilege for the masses of AA people to walk this earth in a black skin?

 

[Crazy Eddie]

It means they have been silenced, politically.

Yes, that's why there is a half-black president, black governors, many black appointed officials and lawmakers.

Obviously, because if even ONE black person can succeed in America, then racial prejudice and/or racial disenfranchisement cannot possibly exist anywhere in the country.

 

[NobleSavage]

It means they have been silenced, politically.

Yes, that's why there is a half-black president, black governors, many black appointed officials and lawmakers.
I think many people exaggerate the situation because they are nostalgic (actually if old enough, vicariously otherwise) for the protest culture of the 60s.

It's tough being a rebel without a cause.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Not a fringe definition, just one you are not familiar with and one that makes you uncomfortable. And that is, as far as I am concerned, a personal problem.

You are the only person I have met that demands this sort of special treatment, so it really isn't a problem in my daily life for me.

I would agree that some people may be privileged in some ways and other people in other ways. And in fact, if merely being black affords some sort of benefit while simultaneously inflicting some sort of cost, I would even say that both white privilege and black privilege exist, though the former outweighs the latter. Would you agree?

In what way in current or past western society is it now or has it been a political, economic, or social privilege for the masses of AA people to walk this earth in a black skin?

You didn't answer the question again. Not surprising. Can I assume your answer is no?

 

[AthenaAwakened]

You are the only person I have met that demands this sort of special treatment, so it really isn't a problem in my daily life for me.

I would agree that some people may be privileged in some ways and other people in other ways. And in fact, if merely being black affords some sort of benefit while simultaneously inflicting some sort of cost, I would even say that both white privilege and black privilege exist, though the former outweighs the latter. Would you agree?

In what way in current or past western society is it now or has it been a political, economic, or social privilege for the masses of AA people to walk this earth in a black skin?

You didn't answer the question again. Not surprising. Can I assume your answer is no?

I am not demanding special treatment and you know it. I'm just not agreeing with you. And I'm not agreeing with you over a definition of one word.

And if that answer isn't to your liking, trying this one. No , I don't agree. Now if you are talking about a place that is analogous in history and current social order where white people are systemically disadvantaged politically, economically and socially to blacks as blacks are to whites in the Free West, then you have black privilege. Show the place and I will grant you black privilege all day long, but you don't get to ignore the history that actually happened or its current ramifications in modern society just because that history isn't to your liking.

 

[Derec]

Yes, that's why there is a half-black president, black governors, many black appointed officials and lawmakers.

Obviously, because if even ONE black person can succeed in America, then racial prejudice and/or racial disenfranchisement cannot possibly exist anywhere in the country.

My response was specifically to the "they have been silenced politically" so I only mentioned politicians, not every black person who "has made it" (and it's certainly much more than one).
That claim of political silencing is ridiculous when you consider all the black politicians, yes, including the president, in the US. In some areas, like Metro Atlanta, blacks actually control many jurisdictions - City of Atlanta itself, several of the counties (DeKalb, Fulton, Clayton, Rockdale) as well as some of the suburban cities (College Park, East Point etc.)
So tell me Crazy Eddie, how exactly are blacks silenced politically in this country?

 

[Derec]

Yes, but not because they are black. I have ablebodied privilege. I have hetero-normative privilege/ I have some class privilege. I do not have gender or racial privilege. Is that clear?

Clear as mud, or more aptly, clear as bullshit.
Of course your race confers certain privileges. Affirmative action, black-only scholarships, preferential hiring for government jobs, ability to play race card, ability to make fun of whites because of their race but calling whites who retaliate "racist".
Same goes to gender. Still affirmative action and gender-based scholarships but add to that preferential treatment in divorce/family court, free birth control, now illegal to charge women more for health insurance but still legal to charge men more for car and life insurance, ability to unilaterally make reproductive decisions while making the man pay for them, getting lower sentences than men for the same crime etc.

If not, let me know what is cloudy.

Depends on the bull's diet.

Not a fringe definition, just one you are not familiar with and one that makes you uncomfortable. And that is, as far as I am concerned, a personal problem.

It's not that it is uncomfortable, it's that the definition is fine tuned to exclude blacks or women by claiming their privileges do not count as privileges.

In what way in current or past western society is it now or has it been a political, economic, or social privilege for the masses of AA people to walk this earth in a black skin?

I wrote part of the answer above.

 

[Derec]

Madame CJ Walker was the first black millionaire in US history, back in the 1920s. Because she existed, what? That Jim Crow didn't exist and that all black people were wealthy? Individual success does not change realities for the masses of people.

And Jim Crow hasn't been a reality for 50 years. In 1914 slavery hasn't been the reality for 50 years which allowed people like CJ Walker to become successful. Now many more black people are financially successful and blacks enjoy a great deal of political power, including running many areas.
So to imply that nothing much has changed, or that blacks are somehow silenced, is ludicrous.

FAIL.

I agree. The 1814 1914 2014 protest is an epic fail.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

And Jim Crow hasn't been a reality for 50 years.

But in 1963 Jim crow was still in effect and the majority of white folk in the US, according to Gallup, thought black folk were living good and enjoying equality of life, and perhaps even getting a better deal than white people.

In 1914 slavery hasn't been the reality for 50 years which allowed people like CJ Walker to become successful. Now many more black people are financially successful and blacks enjoy a great deal of political power, including running many areas.

Oh please. what MANY areas are black people running? One black man gets a govt. job, public housing, and weekly TV appearances and racism is now over? Black folks have no problems now. it's all over.

So to imply that nothing much has changed, or that blacks are somehow silenced, is ludicrous.

FAIL.

I agree. The 1814 1914 2014 protest is an epic fail.

From FAIL to