James Jacobsen writes,in part_
Reference 'racism' in Minneapolis, It should be considered that the
cities here started as a solidly Scandinavian, European stock community and
it should be normally expected that afro types would be culture and
community different.
Actually, Minneapolis was founded mainly by New Englanders. The
Scandinavians began arriving in any numbers in the 1880s, and were initially
a definite underclass, no doubt considered "culture and community
different". Historians point out that from that point until after the turn
of the century, nearly all the cooks and maids in the city were immigrants,
with 2/3 of these being Scandinavians and 1/3 German and Irish.
James continues -
I heard first hand that before the 1954 major civil rights
activities, in Southern cities there was harmony between the whites and
blacks, a lot of blacks had domestic work jobs with the whites, the blacks
and whites circulated amongst each other and all went well, no crime
problems, everyone got along.
James, from whom did you hear this first-hand account? Everything probably
did go pretty well for many of the whites. For blacks who didn't mind
staying away from the voting booths, drinking from their own water fountains
(when available) and using their own washrooms (ditto), standing in the back
of the bus when there were plenty of empty seats up front, attending their
own (usually inferior) schools and colleges, overlooking the occasional
cross burnings or lynchings, not minding being called "boy" or "girl"
regardless of their age, well I guess maybe they thought life was just fine
too.
So James, is your point that if these folks would just stay in their place
everything would be just hunky dory? If that isn't your point, what is it?
Dee Long
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