Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education
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Lynching postcards
http://forum.gayleturner.net/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3234
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Author:  Bendy Pennington [ Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:25 am ]
Post subject:  Lynching postcards

Folks,
I was sickened by the scenes in the photographs. In some of the photos, I noticed a finely dressed white men standing near by with their jacket unbutton with sides held back by their hands stuffed in their pockets leaving their white shirts revealed. What symbolisms come to your mind? My thoughts are reeling. Additionally I noted that in several photos some of the bystanders/spectators, were actually smiling. I found it hard to believe that some of these were actually sold to tourist.
I don't understand mankind. Will I ever? How can we treat each other in such a manner? What is wrong with mankind that we can't do better than this?
The article for this week also saddens me. I don't really know what to do. We have had so few Blacks in the schools in which I have taught, I'm sure I don't have enough knowledge of their needs.

Author:  Cindy Fowler [ Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:43 am ]
Post subject: 

Sometimes, Bendy, all I can do is cry. The postcards remind me of the video we watched last year in Dr. Bercaw's class. So often I want to change it all. Fix everything. And then I don't know where to begin...except with myself, my family, and my community.

I know what you mean about having so few black students in Ashe County. It's hard to make those cultural connections that Delpit talks about. One group that can sometimes be marginialized and hard to reach is the Latino population. I know even with all my experience living in South America and Mexico, I still have problems putting two and two together. They have a different way of communicating (and I don't mean just the Spanish), different set of priorities, different perspective. One suggestion I found very helpful and very true in the Delpit article was her emphasis on "explicitness." I know with Spanish speaking kids this direct, say-what-you-mean and then make sure it's understood, is crucial. Or they miss the learning objectives. Assume nothing when communicating. And that's a hard one. I find that I miss ] something almost every day. And when that happens - humor and faith always helps me through it!!

I hope you're all reading Poisonwood Bible... because it is full of humor, faith, mistakes, introspection, and learning. I love the voices in the book. All of the women/girls speak to some part of me. When I read it, I feel compassion - for the females in the story and for humanity.

Cindy

Author:  Penny Barnes [ Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:21 pm ]
Post subject: 

Cindy, I also thought about the video that we watched last fall in Dr. Bercaw's class. I got the same sick feeling when I saw the postcards that I did when I saw some of the graphic pictures in the video. It bewilders me that people still have this mindset and mentality towards other races. As educators, at least we can try to help our students to see that people are only important on the inside. It is sometimes hard to get past the family influences when these biases have been passed down from other generations.

Author:  Deborah Hess [ Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:42 pm ]
Post subject: 

I agree with you girls totally! The postcards really sickened me as well. It almost makes you start feeling bad because you are white, which if I remeber correctly was one point of the vidoe in Bercaw's class (to not feel guilty, but to take action.) As you girls have already stated, it is hard to know where to start. With the children in our classes is the first place. Like Bendy said, it is so hard when these racist views are being passed down through family connections. We are almost defeated before we even start because we only have these students for 10 months then send them home to be taught something completely different. I keep thinking back to the video we watched at the beginning of the semester, A Class Divided. I want so badly to try that with some of our students because it made such an impact on those students, but at the same time I am hesitant because of what parents/principals might say. Are we afraid to teach our students about the harmfulness of racism? But if we don't will it ever be resolved?

Author:  Julie Little [ Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:43 am ]
Post subject:  Postcards

I also had the same thoughts about Dr. Bercaw's class and the video. It makes me wonder how we can be in such a thought pattern that we ignore the humanity of others. I can only hope that we instill better values in our students through the study of history.

Author:  Teresa Goodman [ Sat Mar 25, 2006 2:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Hangings

The following is a description of what occurs to the body when someone is hung. It is from Banks Crossing by Jerry Brown about the hanging of Will Banks in 1907 in Ashe County. By the way, in the picture of the hanging, hundreds of people are dressed in their best and one close up even shows a woman with her kids! Sickening!
"The dangling person probably feels cervical pain, and suffers from an acute headache, as result of the rope closing off the veins in the neck. ...At the end of the drop the body is still accelerating under the force of gravity but the head is constrained by the noose which delivers a massive blow to the back and one side of the neck which combined with the downward momentum of the body, breaks the neck and ruptures the spinal cord. The later use of the brass eyelet in the noose tended to break the neck with more certainty. Due to its position under the angle of the left jaw, the head is snapped backward with such force that the posterior aspect of the foramen magnum cuts the spinal cord superior to the top vertebra and just a little inferior to the brain stem...It is thought that brain death will occur in around 6 minutes and whole body death normally within 10-15 minutes, however official reports are from 3-25 minutes for total death. Other harsh facts include: the face may become engorged and the tongue may protrude. Some slight movements of the limbs and body occur but are almost certainly due to spinal reflexes. Also, the person may also still urinate and or defecate as their muscles relax."

This sounds so barbaric!

Author:  Heather Howell [ Sun Mar 26, 2006 6:18 pm ]
Post subject: 

Teresa, that is such a graphic and gruesome description! It's hard for me to believe that humans can be so cruel to each other - whether the hanging was sanctified through the legal system or by an angry mob! It's very, very sad. I wonder what Ishmael would have to say about it.

Author:  Julie Little [ Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:10 am ]
Post subject:  Horrible

Horrible...Horrible...Horrible
How could we be so insensitive...as a human race. It is amazing what people will do, due to fear and the need to be on top.

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