Normally, I’m not thrilled when gross examples of public stupidity are on display. Jay Leno used to do a bit called Jay Walking where he would walk down a public street and ask people the kind of questions a hamster on crack should be able to answer. It’s a funny bit on television, but it is too much like my job. I’ve had more than one student ask, “Which side was the Confederacy? The North or the South?”
Juneteenth started in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. The Civil War was over and the day before, General Granger and several thousand Federal troops had arrived to take possession of the state. While the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued in 1863, no one told the slaves. Cruelly, no one told them even after the war was over until General Granger showed up. I imagine a few newly freed slaves may have been a little unhappy with their former owners.
“What do you mean? You forgot to tell me?!”
And for many years, Juneteenth turned into a celebration sometimes called Emancipation Day. While 31 states officially recognize the holiday, it has been pretty much forgotten.
In 1962, it was a little different. My family lived in a small town where if there were racial tensions, they were certainly invisible to a 9 year old boy. Frankly, I rarely saw black people, few lived in our town. I can’t remember anyone ever mentioning them. Then one day, my parents had some sort of business in Ft. Worth. I begged and begged and finally was allowed to accompany them. Even better, I was to be dropped at the Ft. Worth Zoo while they took care of their business.
I loved the Ft. Worth Zoo. This was my favorite place on earth. ELEPHANTS! MONKEYS! LIONS! I can still get excited just thinking about the place, if I shut my eyes, I can still smell it. And the Ft. Worth Zoo had an amazing device. In front of each cage was a small box that looked just like a drive-in movie speaker. For $.75, you could buy a small plastic elephant that was actually a key. You inserted the elephant’s trunk into the speaker and it would activate a recording that told you all about the animal in front of you. I think my love of technology started right then. I still have that key.
This was an innocent age, my parents thought nothing of dropping me off at the zoo while they went downtown on business. What could happen to a small child in a public place? Nothing but fun, lots of fun. I ate popcorn and put my elephant key in every speaker box at least twice. And with my trusty Timex watch, I met my parents at the entrance hours later. What a great day.
When my parents picked me up, I could tell they were a little apprehensive. Had I had a good time? Did anything happen? Was I okay? My parents had forgotten the date. When they got downtown, they saw almost no white people, and only then did they remember it was Juneteenth. In Texas, in 1962, black people still celebrated the day. This was the segregated South that I didn’t really live in, knew very little about.
On Juneteenth, Blacks could go to movie theatre and not have to sit in the balcony. They went to parks and had picnics. And they went to the zoo. Evidently, by contrast, whites stayed home and hid under their beds. I had sort of noticed that I was the only white kid at the zoo. It really didn’t concern me much, there were a lot of black people around, but they weren’t nearly as interesting as elephants.
Today, I think it is a date that needs to be remembered for what it was, and I’m happy that It is no longer needed to be celebrated for what it is.
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