So grandmother and I just had the greatest discussion about black culture that had no point to it -ever-.

It started out with her saying that black colleges would be putting education majors through college with a full ride so they will become teachers in the future. I mentioned that I really dislike the idea of black colleges. I find it separatist.

This launched a -huge- discussion about a lot of things I've talked about in my earlier post about black culture and the fight against kyriarchy with my grandmother defending with some rather strong points.  She also mentioned that gay rights advocates have been calling themselves the new black. THE NEW BLACK?!? This is ridiculous! I have never been quite so insulted by a group I consider myself a part of! Are they rounding us up? Are we forced to use separate bathrooms? Are we denied education? More to the point, are we rioting? Are things so bad that we have a violent response to being so ill treated? Have they sicked the dogs on us?!? Where are the firehoses?!?

Okay, I need to stop foaming at the mouth about that... it's just... really bothersome...

Anyway, grandmother told me a tale, and hey let's relate it to the above. I'm paraphrasing but work with me here. "I grew up in Kansas, we were one of the first states to integrate. There were two black schools in Coffeeville, this was when it had a much bigger population than it has now, and when integration came they shut down our new school. They wouldn't let any of our teachers teach in the integrated schools, some integration eh, so from the third grade on I was taught exclusively by whites. (Note: By this time in the discussion we are miles past being politically correct.)

Now I consider myself blessed to have this opportunity but I remember one time when it first began the principal called us all into her office (I think she said her) and asked us 'What do you want to be called?' and I remember thinking to myself, though I didn't say it at the time 'I want to be called Elaine...' (I wish she had said it... god I wish she had said it...) I was in third grade, but I remember being kinda angry and insulted, though I didn't understand what was going on. 'Would you like to be called Negros or Black' which wasn't a pride term at the time the sixties hadn't come yet or some other term I can't remember but she had options for us. I don't remember what was decided, or who decided it but I for the life of my couldn't figure out why we couldn't be called children and why we would be called because of our race."

So hey! Can I get a similar experiance from the Gay Rights perspective? Oh wait! No, you can't because sexual orientation has never been disintegrated. Ouch... sorry... She went on to continue and I feel the need to get the rest of it out just because it... I don't know... it was enlightening.

"But then again I lived on the west side, and you never had this experiance (this was to her sister who came for great-grandma's funeral), but all our neighbors were all white and they treated us on equal level. Now this was in the fifties when racism was full blown, yet I never experianced racism in my own town. I didn't know I wasn't allowed into the only resturaunt in town, I didn't have any money! I didn't know I wasn't allowed up to the counter of the rail worker's hostel, kids just went up to the window to get ice cream. There was two pools one for the white and one for the black and the black pool was on the east side. To this day I have -no idea where the other pool was-... or is! Could still be there! All I had was my own experiance and people were nice to my family.

So while I knew that people were fighting in the south I never saw anything. Maybe I would have been more angry if I had -known- I was limited by my skin tone, and perhaps there was a lot of ignorance involved, but I never saw myself as different and the community I grew up in was supportive of keeping it behind the scenes."

Kansas, surprisingly nice. I'm less apprehensive about visiting now.

Tags: civil rights
Current Mood: annoyed