Recently
ETHNICALLY SPEAKING
Dear Larry: I think the conclusion reached by the librarian who asked a group of teenagers to line up according to their skin color is naive. When they lined up from the lightest to darkest, the librarian failed to recognize that there are two …Read more.
ETHNICALLY SPEAKING
Dear Larry: I discovered your column this past summer. I quickly became a devoted fan when I noted your ability to look at life without glasses of any color. This is so desperately lacking in this country. I am sorry I did not click on to you sooner.…Read more.
ETHNICALLY SPEAKING
Dear Larry: What does a parent do? My 10-year-old son is a very active young child who comes from an interracial family.
He recently went on a field trip with his school. A parent witnessed a teacher being abusive toward my son in front of his peers.…Read more.
ETHNICALLY SPEAKING
Dear Larry: I am a young adult librarian, and every year, I take part in a program designed to teach teens leadership skills. One of the classes we stress is how to prevent discrimination.
The class is always a very ethnically diverse group, …Read more.
more articles
|
Ethnically Speaking, May 23Dear Larry: I want to respond to the column about the white man who gave a fruit plate to his next-door neighbors, who happen to be black. The fruit plate had contained watermelon, which made him uneasy, so he removed all of it before he presented it. The man wanted to know whether you thought giving watermelon to blacks is offensive. You stated that neither you nor any of your surveyed black friends would feel put upon if given watermelon. Thank you for your insight. On the front page of the section in my newspaper containing your article was a photograph of a black choral group in a predominately African-American church. The picture showed them all singing in whiteface. I understand the feelings of blacks regarding the way blackface was used in old minstrel shows and by Al Jolson, who was an old-time famous Broadway and film entertainer. My question is this: What is the religious significance of blacks' singing in whiteface? — Jack Dear Jack: All during the civil rights movement, I heard blacks putting down Al Jolson because he performed in blackface. This put-down was one of the major reasons I started on my path of critical thinking and stopped accepting black leaders' words unconditionally. Al Jolson was a jazz singer. He put on blackface because most of the performers of jazz were blacks. In 1911, at the age of 25, Al Jolson became known for fighting for the rights of blacks on the Broadway stage. He is credited with opening the door for Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller and Ethel Waters. I knew that information, and I couldn't stand it when Johnny-come-latelies criticized a person who opened the door for so many minorities. I think the same thing about black leaders who criticize Jews. It was the Jews who fought for black civil rights when it wasn't popular. It was the Jews who organized the NAACP. If it weren't for Jews, the entire civil rights movement would not have happened. I always will be grateful for their sacrifice and dedication to fairness. For that, I do not listen to the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan. Now that I have vented, I am sorry to say that I do not know of any religious reason blacks would wear whiteface. Blacks wore whiteface in the 19th century as a way of safely venting their emotions. During Mardi Gras, blacks would wear whiteface and mock whites, acting out by mimicking whites' behaviors and exaggerating their features in a humorous and biting way. If there is a religious significance, I am sure one of my readers will share the information. Readers? To find out more about Larry G. Meeks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
