Thread for People to Discuss Why They Are Not Going to Watch "Reconstruction" The Henry Louis Gates Documentary Tonight

[Texoma Kidd]

I have a hard time with mr Gates In his other program “finding your roots. He researched Michael Moore’s family Roots. In their research they discovered quite the surprise, something Mr Gates hadn’t ever heard of before. It turns out that one of Michael’s ancestors fought against Oliver Cromwell, and was subsequently ship to the colonies. What I would like to know of mr Gates, is he going to research this any further and will he share this with any of his quest?

Surely, this could help ease the tension, currently between the our black Americans. At least, I’ll like to think it would. Imagine what it may feel like to learn it wasn’t so much about supremacy, as much as it was our other human failing, GREED

I understand that mr Gates probably has a limited say as to what will be researched. However, in the case of Ben Affleck , he did intervene on Ben’s behalf, when some unpleasant truth was uncovered in his background. I was only able to find a short video clip on this. Since this is my first time I’ve posted with a link. I’m not sure how use the attach files. It appeared that it may have been intended for something else. So, please, if this is inappropriate, for give me.

Finding Your Roots | Hard Times | Preview | Season 5 | Episode 8

Dr. Gates explores the stories of Laura Linney, Michael Moore and Chloë Sevigny.

www.pbs.org

 

[Philip Leigh]

Pat,
I am the grandson of white sharecroppers, among the last generation of them. Edited.

My father told me what he observed of this system. His father was given responsibility for farming a set acreage by The Owner. (I wanted to write "The Man" but that's too cliche...and anachronistic.) He had to provide a set percentage to The Owner. I'm not sure if it was a percentage of the total crop or the sale of the crops. Whatever remained, was my grandfather's income. In addition, he was free to use land to plant his own crops for his family's consumption as well as raise sheep or hogs. He also had free rent for the domicile. He seemed to have a pretty free hand, actually, with what he did. He just had to live with (and live on) whatever was left. He also could (and did) hire outside workers to help during crunch periods like harvest. This was especially true of cotton crops as it was so difficult to pick and you'd want to get your crop to market before the price began to drop. Also, my grandfather was free to let his many children be hired by other sharecroppers to help them. Incidentally, this was a "mixed" enterprise. It was not uncommon to see both blacks and whites picking cotton together, all hired by the same sharecropper. I never knew my grandfather -- he died before I was born -- but I spent a lot of time with his widow and she often told me about working in the cotton fields -- it was the job she hated most. It lean years, she hired herself out to other sharecroppers to pick cotton and bring some income to the household.
My grandfather must have been good at this, though. He was able to invest in a cotton mill in Denton County, Texas. But that all went south as the above mentioned changes hit the economic landscape shortly thereafter and sharecropping and much of the cotton farming vanished.

It was a hard life with constant work and very long days. Yet the family went through the Great Depression and never experienced hunger. In fact, their home was a regular stop for hobos passing through, a place where my grandmother would always provide them a little something to eat.

Edited.
Removed discussion of 20th Century events and politics.

Thanks for sharing.

"Show me history untouched by memories and you show me lies. Show me lies not based on memories and you show me the worst lies of all." —— Carlos Eire

 

[Philip Leigh]

I'm not watching it because I find PBS to be far too biased on this type of subject.

Agreed, but it's not just PBS.

Reconstruction as it is presently taught focuses entirely on the black experience. The experience of white Southerners, who composed 60% of the region's population, is ignored. They are merely portrayed as doing nothing except to perennially and perpetually abuse blacks.

The new National Park Service Reconstruction Memorial is an example. It was sited in Beaufort, the center of the Port Royal Experiment, which was an entirely black Reconstruction story except for the presumably noble whites who came down from New England to teach in black schools.

 

[Drew]

Agreed, but it's not just PBS.

Reconstruction as it is presently taught focuses entirely on the black experience. The experience of white Southerners, who composed 60% of the region's population, is ignored. They are merely portrayed as doing nothing except to perennially and perpetually abuse blacks.

The new National Park Service Reconstruction Memorial is an example. It was sited in Beaufort, the center of the Port Royal Experiment, which was an entirely black Reconstruction story except for the presumably noble whites who came down from New England to teach in black schools.

I would really recommend Willie Lee Rose's book, "Rehearsal for Reconstruction," to anyone interested. She did a great job of showing what New Englanders wanted from the South Carolina sea islands versus what they wanted from the freed people who lived there before the New Englanders came.

It's quite enlightening.

 

[Philip Leigh]

I would really recommend Willie Lee Rose's book, "Rehearsal for Reconstruction," to anyone interested. She did a great job of showing what New Englanders wanted from the South Carolina sea islands versus what they wanted from the freed people who lived there before the New Englanders came.

It's quite enlightening.

Thanks, I’ve read it.

When I tried to start a discussion about how some of the blacks in the area were forced into the federal army the thread was promptly shut down.

 

[WJC]

Thanks for alerting us to this broadcast! I'll make sure to watch it at a later date.

 

[JerseyBart]

Watching it now again...watched it last summer...and it will be on again tomorrow. GREAT DOCUMENTARY!!! Tough to watch, but very educational and enlightening!!! On again tomorrow from 1:30 to 5:30 pm eastern!!!

 

[JerseyBart]

If it weren't so graphic (lynching photos, minstrel portrayals of African Americans etc.) I would have my classes watch it each year.

 

[danny]

There were far more white sharecroppers than black. Much of the white and black population of the South was impoverished for decades after the war.

My grand father was a share cropper in Arkansas