It seems that the "was Howard a racist?" question breaks down into a THEN and NOW view.
THEN - For his time period, Howard wasn't a racist or at least a mild one, but - NOW - with a modern view, he should be considered one. THEN - At that time period, Howard wasn't a racist or at least a mild one, so - NOW - it is unfair that he should be considered one. THEN - At that time period, Howard wasn't a racist or at least a mild one, so - NOW - he shouldn't be considered a racist or at least a mild one. THEN - At that time period, Howard was a racist or at least a mild one, so - NOW - he should be considered a racist or at least a mild one. I stand with the last one. Looking at what was going on in Texas from 1900 - 1930 shows a small but emerging movement against racism that Howard should have been aware of. ---------- >From the Handbook of Texas Online: African and Mexican Americans criticized segregationist policies and white injustices via their newspapers, labor organizations, and self-help societies. Black state conventions issued periodic protests in the 1880s and 1890s. On particular occasions during the nineteenth century, communities joined in support of leaders rising up against perceived wrongs or in behalf of those unjustly condemned. Tejanos, for one, rallied behind Juan N. Cortina and Catarino Garza, and contributed to the Gregorio Cortez Defense Network, which campaigned for the defense of a tenant farmer named Gregorio Cortez, who killed a sheriff in Karnes County in self-defense in 1901. The period between 1900 and 1930 saw continued efforts by minorities to break down racial barriers. In 1911 Mexican-American leaders met at the Congreso Mexicanista in Laredo and addressed the common problems of land loss, lynchings, ethnic subordination, educational inequalities, and various other degradations. In 1919 the Brownsville legislator J. T. Canales spearheaded a successful effort to reduce the size of the Texas Ranger force in the wake of various atrocities the rangers had committed in the preceding decade. La Agrupaci�n Protectora Mexicana, founded in 1921, had as its intent the protection of farm renters and laborers facing expulsion by their landlords. Much of the leadership on behalf of civil rights came from the ranks of the middle class. Black leaders established a chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Houston in 1912, three years after the founding of the national organization; by 1930 some thirty chapters existed throughout the state. The association pursued the elimination of the white primary and other obstacles to voting, as well as the desegregation of schools, institutions of higher education, and public places. Tejanos established their own organizations to pursue similar objectives, among them the Orden Hijos de America (Order of Sons of America). The order was succeeded in 1929 by the League of United Latin American Citizens, which committed itself to the same goals of racial equality. Mexican Americans and Black Texans continued their advocacy for equality during the depression era. In San Antonio, Tejanos founded La Liga Pro-Defensa Escolar (School Improvement League), which succeeded in getting the city's school board to build three new elementary schools and make improvements in existing facilities. Mexican Americans in the Gulf Coast area near Houston and in El Paso organized the Confederaci�n de Organizaciones Mexicanas y Latino Americanas in the late 1930s, also for the purpose of eradicating racist policies. The black movement, for its part, won increased white support in the 1930s from the ranks of the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching and from such prominent congressmen as Maury Maverick. ----- I think this shows that besides his conversations with Novalyne, Howard should have been aware of non-racist views that were held by whites. That he chose to express racist views and include them in some of this stories shows where his head was at. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send your FREE holiday greetings online! http://greetings.yahoo.com
