Feb 29, 2008
Priceless
My six year old, in a few days will be seven, is a challenge. One thing he has done since he was about four is pick fights with me. It used to bug the socks off me, but since he's gotten older and understands what he is doing, I can simply say, "Don't pick a fight with me, that isn't nice" and he gets it.
Here is an example from earlier this week. On Monday, I was beyond miserably sick. I still am, but that was when it hurt to be vertical. I am driving him to school. Here is how that went:
JM: Mom, will anything make you feel better?
Me: Honey, I feel so bad, I don't think anything can make me feel better.
JM: Would a hug make you feel better?
Me: Yes, a hug always makes anyone feel better. (Do you see where this is going?)
JM: But Mom, you just said.....
Me: JM, don't pick a fight with me, that isn't nice to do, especially when I am so sick.
What I think is interesting when he does this is his reasoning skills. The excluding of an idea, and the idea that something is "always", etc. I admire that, I just wish he could figure out another way to do it.
He also tries to figure out if I know everything. I have explained umpteen times, I know a lot of things, I don't know everything. Here is how one of those conversations went today.
We are going to school, and Radio Disney is playing. He thinks I don't keep track of pop music and I don't know who is cool these days. He hasn't figured out yet that I am the keeper of all useless pop culture information. A song begins to play.
JM: Mom! Who sings this song??!! (He has that challenging look on his face.)
I look him square in the eye through the rear view mirror--
Me: Kelly Clarkson
The look on his face suddenly changed, and it was priceless. He was speechless.
Here is an example from earlier this week. On Monday, I was beyond miserably sick. I still am, but that was when it hurt to be vertical. I am driving him to school. Here is how that went:
JM: Mom, will anything make you feel better?
Me: Honey, I feel so bad, I don't think anything can make me feel better.
JM: Would a hug make you feel better?
Me: Yes, a hug always makes anyone feel better. (Do you see where this is going?)
JM: But Mom, you just said.....
Me: JM, don't pick a fight with me, that isn't nice to do, especially when I am so sick.
What I think is interesting when he does this is his reasoning skills. The excluding of an idea, and the idea that something is "always", etc. I admire that, I just wish he could figure out another way to do it.
He also tries to figure out if I know everything. I have explained umpteen times, I know a lot of things, I don't know everything. Here is how one of those conversations went today.
We are going to school, and Radio Disney is playing. He thinks I don't keep track of pop music and I don't know who is cool these days. He hasn't figured out yet that I am the keeper of all useless pop culture information. A song begins to play.
JM: Mom! Who sings this song??!! (He has that challenging look on his face.)
I look him square in the eye through the rear view mirror--
Me: Kelly Clarkson
The look on his face suddenly changed, and it was priceless. He was speechless.
Feb 28, 2008
I Love This Photo
This photo was taken on July 21, 2001 at a college alumni picnic for our college. I have always loved it. It was taken by a professional photographer at the event and they were kind enough to give me a copy.
I have always wanted to scan it and make sure to keep it. Then our scanner went caput. We just got a new "all in one" thingy that does everything but staple papers. So I am experimenting with it, and have enjoyed the results. Plus I wanted to scan it before another little critter in this house got his hands on a pen and decided to deface it anymore than it already is.
Time flies! That little baby is now a huge first grader that comes up to my elbows--just look to the left at my homepage picture. It's fun to look back.
Feb 26, 2008
Vanport?? Where?
It doesn't exist anymore but it's where a lot of the racial change of this city came about. This is the post I promised. Here is my history lesson on the African American community in my city as we close this year's Black History month. I have enjoyed taking in some of the specials on TV, reading the books, and looking to the past. I have definitely appreciated that we have come a long way, and the future looks bright.
Now let me tell you my brief story. When I first moved to this city in 1991, I was a young, single, college student. I moved into a shack of a house in North Portland--which was then the hood. It was considered very black with lots of crime, which it was. The house next to mine was a crack house, and I heard gunfire occasionally and saw the cops a lot. The house across the street from that one was burned out and gutted from a house fire and no one cared. Since then, the crack house is gone and has been renovated--it is the showplace of the block. The burned out house has been rebuilt and sold for a major profit. The shack I lived in is still the cruddy shack it was back then. Some things don't change.
This link, click here, is the best synopsis of the basic story. I'll give you my version as well, because I have pulled from a few other sources as well.
Several things came to converge on this city in the 1940's. World War II was huge, and there was a huge demand for warships. Black labor was cheap, and African Americans were coming here by the thousands for work. There was a real estate code written forbidding real estate agents from selling minorities homes in white neighborhoods. And there was a flood that rearranged the living arrangements so nicely put in place. Sounds like the stuff of great novels!
First, the racial climate leading up to the 1940's. According to my research, the rewritten Oregon constitution around the turn of the century did not allow AA's to move into the state. The KKK was in full force with a membership of 200,000. Additionally, where could an AA person live anyway? No one would sell them a home. Yet, minority neighborhoods were not being built, because Oregonians did not allow them in the state anyway. I am sure it felt airtight.
That all changed when Pearl Harbor was bombed and this country need Liberty Ships on the west coast like crazy. Enter entrepreneur Henry Kaiser. He put together the largest ship building plant right here on the Columbia River. He put out advertisements across the country looking for workers. From the east and from the south came workers. Suddenly the AA population swelled to 6,000 in 1944 when just two years before it was one third that. Before this big boom, that small population of AA was allowed to live in a small spot called Albina, which is in North Portland. Well, this sudden boom made it impossible to fit all those people there.
Kaiser assumed the city would build affordable housing, not so. Some kind of compromise was met, and low incoming housing was built on the edge of the city. That is a nice word for the edge of the city and the edge of a levy. It was slums, from the descriptions I found, but it seemed to be the temporary fix at the time.
Until 1948. The levy broke. Here are some brief stories on the flood. This man, click here, actually witnessed the flood and the levy breaking and trying to escape. His story is harrowing. This lady, click here, remembers just meandering the city in the aftermath hoping for the hand out that would save her. What is interesting about her story is how a light colored relative was able to "pass" as a white person and was able to purchase a house. And how very uncomfortable that was. Very few were sympathetic to AA's in dire need after the flood. But it's interesting how that flood caused the melting pot to be stirred. I can't help but think that things in this city would have a lot different, and not for the better, had that flood not happened. It forced people to soften, open their hearts, and help others. Some didn't, but some did.
Jump ahead. The war is over, AA's have a home, mostly in the north side of town. The Albina neighborhood and the former Vanport seemed to be where the majority of these people stayed. If you travel between the Albina neighborhood and the former Vanport area, that is the North Portland area, for the most part, that we know today. Then the civil rights movement began. To make a long story short, suddenly the Constitution is changing, suddenly housing codes change, slowly the same changes that begin to be seen around the country are happening here.
Then a mysterious thing happened. The nineties. That same north end of town is one of the oldest places in the city with three story homes, hardwood floors, gingerbread woodwork, and young couples want to move in for the charm. Two things helped that. The geography. This city is surrounded by hills and rivers. It's hard to expand. Plus, urban growth laws put the kabosh on a lot of growth. Many experts say those laws inadvertently forced people to move in next to each other and think of the neighborhood and not who your neighbor was.
I think if we took a moment and looked at other big cities we might find the same kind of demographics for similar reasons. It makes me wonder about the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles. It makes me wonder about Detroit, MI. Referencing the documentary "Banished" where AA's were banished away from cities, I am not proud to say that my city did one step less than that and banished AA's to a small part of the city "so that we wouldn't have to put an officer on each corner". It is amazing to me the correlation (here comes a can of worms) people make when they see an AA person and they instantly think crime is going to happen. I have a side note to that at the end of this post.....
We have success. This article, click here, points out that segregation in this great city has decreased dramatically since the nineties, to the notice of other urban areas such as Chicago and Detroit--who are still very very racially divided. Not so here. Yes, the Albina neighborhood is still very much there. It is still very much AA and celebrates it's heritage. It is also very Latino, very white, and very diverse. It has had a great revival in the last few years, it gives me chills. It's stories like this that give me hope and also shows we are heading in the right direction.
One of my favorite coffee shops in this city is in Albina. I am always up for a cuppa somethin' if anyone ever wants to join me.
I pray the end of your Black History month is as fulfilling as mine has been. We'll do this again next year.
NOTE: At the beginning of this school year, my husband and a bunch of brand new, fresh faced freshman have a get together. It's a tradition and really helps students feel welcomed and comfortable. Lots of these students come from places far away, and not always diverse cities. One of these students was a rural kid from Idaho. He was talking about how safe he felt on campus. He mentioned that he saw these "scary looking teenagers walking through campus". I asked him what they looked like. Sure enough, they were basically high school students, walking through campus with their big sweatshirts and baggy pants--and AA. I gently pointed out that this part of town is very diverse and there is a high school nearby. Those were just high school students cutting through the campus to go home, no big deal.
I am still encouraged. Why? Because that young man is no longer in Idaho and getting a look at the diverse country we live in. I am thankful those high school students are cutting through a Christian campus and maybe even stopping to chat with someone. That may not have happened only a few years ago in my lifetime.
PS Can I ask a silly question of my faithful readers? I have a very very faithful reader who visits my blog 2-3 times a day from Pittsburg, Illinois or somewhere near there. I have no idea where Pittsburg, IL is! Can you post to me (I won't publish who you are unless you give me permission) who you are? In other words, if you post a comment, I have to moderate it first, and I won't put it on the blog unless you say it's okay. I'll delete it if you want. The suspense is killing me!
Now let me tell you my brief story. When I first moved to this city in 1991, I was a young, single, college student. I moved into a shack of a house in North Portland--which was then the hood. It was considered very black with lots of crime, which it was. The house next to mine was a crack house, and I heard gunfire occasionally and saw the cops a lot. The house across the street from that one was burned out and gutted from a house fire and no one cared. Since then, the crack house is gone and has been renovated--it is the showplace of the block. The burned out house has been rebuilt and sold for a major profit. The shack I lived in is still the cruddy shack it was back then. Some things don't change.
This link, click here, is the best synopsis of the basic story. I'll give you my version as well, because I have pulled from a few other sources as well.
Several things came to converge on this city in the 1940's. World War II was huge, and there was a huge demand for warships. Black labor was cheap, and African Americans were coming here by the thousands for work. There was a real estate code written forbidding real estate agents from selling minorities homes in white neighborhoods. And there was a flood that rearranged the living arrangements so nicely put in place. Sounds like the stuff of great novels!
First, the racial climate leading up to the 1940's. According to my research, the rewritten Oregon constitution around the turn of the century did not allow AA's to move into the state. The KKK was in full force with a membership of 200,000. Additionally, where could an AA person live anyway? No one would sell them a home. Yet, minority neighborhoods were not being built, because Oregonians did not allow them in the state anyway. I am sure it felt airtight.
That all changed when Pearl Harbor was bombed and this country need Liberty Ships on the west coast like crazy. Enter entrepreneur Henry Kaiser. He put together the largest ship building plant right here on the Columbia River. He put out advertisements across the country looking for workers. From the east and from the south came workers. Suddenly the AA population swelled to 6,000 in 1944 when just two years before it was one third that. Before this big boom, that small population of AA was allowed to live in a small spot called Albina, which is in North Portland. Well, this sudden boom made it impossible to fit all those people there.
Kaiser assumed the city would build affordable housing, not so. Some kind of compromise was met, and low incoming housing was built on the edge of the city. That is a nice word for the edge of the city and the edge of a levy. It was slums, from the descriptions I found, but it seemed to be the temporary fix at the time.
Until 1948. The levy broke. Here are some brief stories on the flood. This man, click here, actually witnessed the flood and the levy breaking and trying to escape. His story is harrowing. This lady, click here, remembers just meandering the city in the aftermath hoping for the hand out that would save her. What is interesting about her story is how a light colored relative was able to "pass" as a white person and was able to purchase a house. And how very uncomfortable that was. Very few were sympathetic to AA's in dire need after the flood. But it's interesting how that flood caused the melting pot to be stirred. I can't help but think that things in this city would have a lot different, and not for the better, had that flood not happened. It forced people to soften, open their hearts, and help others. Some didn't, but some did.
Jump ahead. The war is over, AA's have a home, mostly in the north side of town. The Albina neighborhood and the former Vanport seemed to be where the majority of these people stayed. If you travel between the Albina neighborhood and the former Vanport area, that is the North Portland area, for the most part, that we know today. Then the civil rights movement began. To make a long story short, suddenly the Constitution is changing, suddenly housing codes change, slowly the same changes that begin to be seen around the country are happening here.
Then a mysterious thing happened. The nineties. That same north end of town is one of the oldest places in the city with three story homes, hardwood floors, gingerbread woodwork, and young couples want to move in for the charm. Two things helped that. The geography. This city is surrounded by hills and rivers. It's hard to expand. Plus, urban growth laws put the kabosh on a lot of growth. Many experts say those laws inadvertently forced people to move in next to each other and think of the neighborhood and not who your neighbor was.
I think if we took a moment and looked at other big cities we might find the same kind of demographics for similar reasons. It makes me wonder about the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles. It makes me wonder about Detroit, MI. Referencing the documentary "Banished" where AA's were banished away from cities, I am not proud to say that my city did one step less than that and banished AA's to a small part of the city "so that we wouldn't have to put an officer on each corner". It is amazing to me the correlation (here comes a can of worms) people make when they see an AA person and they instantly think crime is going to happen. I have a side note to that at the end of this post.....
We have success. This article, click here, points out that segregation in this great city has decreased dramatically since the nineties, to the notice of other urban areas such as Chicago and Detroit--who are still very very racially divided. Not so here. Yes, the Albina neighborhood is still very much there. It is still very much AA and celebrates it's heritage. It is also very Latino, very white, and very diverse. It has had a great revival in the last few years, it gives me chills. It's stories like this that give me hope and also shows we are heading in the right direction.
One of my favorite coffee shops in this city is in Albina. I am always up for a cuppa somethin' if anyone ever wants to join me.
I pray the end of your Black History month is as fulfilling as mine has been. We'll do this again next year.
NOTE: At the beginning of this school year, my husband and a bunch of brand new, fresh faced freshman have a get together. It's a tradition and really helps students feel welcomed and comfortable. Lots of these students come from places far away, and not always diverse cities. One of these students was a rural kid from Idaho. He was talking about how safe he felt on campus. He mentioned that he saw these "scary looking teenagers walking through campus". I asked him what they looked like. Sure enough, they were basically high school students, walking through campus with their big sweatshirts and baggy pants--and AA. I gently pointed out that this part of town is very diverse and there is a high school nearby. Those were just high school students cutting through the campus to go home, no big deal.
I am still encouraged. Why? Because that young man is no longer in Idaho and getting a look at the diverse country we live in. I am thankful those high school students are cutting through a Christian campus and maybe even stopping to chat with someone. That may not have happened only a few years ago in my lifetime.
PS Can I ask a silly question of my faithful readers? I have a very very faithful reader who visits my blog 2-3 times a day from Pittsburg, Illinois or somewhere near there. I have no idea where Pittsburg, IL is! Can you post to me (I won't publish who you are unless you give me permission) who you are? In other words, if you post a comment, I have to moderate it first, and I won't put it on the blog unless you say it's okay. I'll delete it if you want. The suspense is killing me!
Feb 25, 2008
More African American History
UPDATE: In my area of the country, this isn't on the schedule to be shown again. However, the website for this documentary is just as compelling. Click here. Also, there is a mini clip video of the introduction giving the historical background. Again, quite amazing and makes me want to learn more. Hence, my future post about my community.....
I am sicker than a dog! I just took some more Mucinex, let's hope that unclogs this drain....
After everyone went to bed last night, I watched the third and final installment of "Pride and Prejudice". After that, on PBS, was an independent documentary called "Banished". It talks about three different communities, although there are many more, that right around the turn of the century, post Civil War, banished whole populations of African Americans (AA) from their community. In the three communities highlighted, it was by force, intimidation and at gunpoint. Two of them happened right after lynchings. To this day, those communities have zero populations of African American citizens. People left their homes and property with the clothes on their backs, and their properties were confiscated.
I strongly encourage you to watch this if you get the chance. It is not for young viewers, mainly because there are black and white photos of the lynchings.
I was so angry when it was over. Why? Because those communities are still all white to this day, and they see nothing wrong with that. One community promotes itself as a great way to retire. The filmmaker who made this is African American, and he is sitting down with a retired man. Filmmaker asks, what made you decide to live here to retire. Man answers two benign answers, One, the cost of living is low, two, blah blah blah and three, and definitely the most important, there are no "coloreds here". He then looked right at the filmmaker with a look on his face of, and what are you going to say to that?
They also interviewed a KKK (yes, the KKK!) leader in one of these communities who was trying to explain how cross burnings were really cross lightings in celebration of the Celtic tradition where crosses are illuminated. The filmmaker called that pile of garbage for what it was. A really disingenuous attempt at denying that cross burnings were a source of terror to Southern AA for decades, and even to this day. KKK dude hadn't much to say to that.
One white retired lady was asked about the banishment events she remembers as a girl, and she took three tries to find a word for an AA person, she literally stumbled three times. Why? Three times she almost said the "n" word, and finally came up with "colored". It's amazing how sticking a camera in someone's face makes them think twice about saying a word that one probably says on a regular basis.
I am not a silly person, I know that racism still exists. I was absolutely flabbergasted watching these whole communities still acting like it's 1955, and Jim Crow laws were still in effect. Plus, these communities see absolutely nothing wrong at all with it. The racist remarks that came out of their mouths were absolutely appalling.
The third community they focused on had a silver lining. A white pastor made it very clear, that is not what he or his congregation believes, and has made some great headway in repairing race relations. Keep in mind, it's an uphill battle--there are still no minorities living in his community to this day.
Next post will be about a similar kind of situation that happened in the city I live in. Those of you who live in my city, you know our street addresses have NE, SE, SW, and NW. We also have the area where the addresses begin with N. No, it isn't a reference to the "n" word. However, have you ever wondered why that area of town is predominantly African American? Even today? I'll tell you all about it once I am better. Plus, long posts can be boring.
If you have tivo, check your PBS listing for this absolutely fascinating documentary. It was made in 2005, so I wouldn't at all be surprised if it were on Netflix already. It's only an hour and a half, and really opened my eyes.
I wish it opened my nasal passages as well.
Side note here, JM, our oldest, was born in Texas. When we were sitting in the adoption agency in Texas talking to the adoption worker, we got an eyeful. She said most of her AA babies available for adoption are placed with families in the Pacific Northwest. We asked why. I will never forget what she said, "We still live in the south here. Cross burnings still happen here."
I am sicker than a dog! I just took some more Mucinex, let's hope that unclogs this drain....
After everyone went to bed last night, I watched the third and final installment of "Pride and Prejudice". After that, on PBS, was an independent documentary called "Banished". It talks about three different communities, although there are many more, that right around the turn of the century, post Civil War, banished whole populations of African Americans (AA) from their community. In the three communities highlighted, it was by force, intimidation and at gunpoint. Two of them happened right after lynchings. To this day, those communities have zero populations of African American citizens. People left their homes and property with the clothes on their backs, and their properties were confiscated.
I strongly encourage you to watch this if you get the chance. It is not for young viewers, mainly because there are black and white photos of the lynchings.
I was so angry when it was over. Why? Because those communities are still all white to this day, and they see nothing wrong with that. One community promotes itself as a great way to retire. The filmmaker who made this is African American, and he is sitting down with a retired man. Filmmaker asks, what made you decide to live here to retire. Man answers two benign answers, One, the cost of living is low, two, blah blah blah and three, and definitely the most important, there are no "coloreds here". He then looked right at the filmmaker with a look on his face of, and what are you going to say to that?
They also interviewed a KKK (yes, the KKK!) leader in one of these communities who was trying to explain how cross burnings were really cross lightings in celebration of the Celtic tradition where crosses are illuminated. The filmmaker called that pile of garbage for what it was. A really disingenuous attempt at denying that cross burnings were a source of terror to Southern AA for decades, and even to this day. KKK dude hadn't much to say to that.
One white retired lady was asked about the banishment events she remembers as a girl, and she took three tries to find a word for an AA person, she literally stumbled three times. Why? Three times she almost said the "n" word, and finally came up with "colored". It's amazing how sticking a camera in someone's face makes them think twice about saying a word that one probably says on a regular basis.
I am not a silly person, I know that racism still exists. I was absolutely flabbergasted watching these whole communities still acting like it's 1955, and Jim Crow laws were still in effect. Plus, these communities see absolutely nothing wrong at all with it. The racist remarks that came out of their mouths were absolutely appalling.
The third community they focused on had a silver lining. A white pastor made it very clear, that is not what he or his congregation believes, and has made some great headway in repairing race relations. Keep in mind, it's an uphill battle--there are still no minorities living in his community to this day.
Next post will be about a similar kind of situation that happened in the city I live in. Those of you who live in my city, you know our street addresses have NE, SE, SW, and NW. We also have the area where the addresses begin with N. No, it isn't a reference to the "n" word. However, have you ever wondered why that area of town is predominantly African American? Even today? I'll tell you all about it once I am better. Plus, long posts can be boring.
If you have tivo, check your PBS listing for this absolutely fascinating documentary. It was made in 2005, so I wouldn't at all be surprised if it were on Netflix already. It's only an hour and a half, and really opened my eyes.
I wish it opened my nasal passages as well.
Side note here, JM, our oldest, was born in Texas. When we were sitting in the adoption agency in Texas talking to the adoption worker, we got an eyeful. She said most of her AA babies available for adoption are placed with families in the Pacific Northwest. We asked why. I will never forget what she said, "We still live in the south here. Cross burnings still happen here."
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