Embedded Files
- How have we developed and perpetuated the notion of race and racism?
- What roles has gender played in defining roles and establishing cultural norms?
- What are the repercussions of race and gender oriented thinking in historical power structures?
- Where do the issues of race and gender intersect and divert?
- How does the act of remembering and commemorating the past reinforce the values of the present?
Gender:
Sojourner Truth on Equality
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883): Ain't I A Woman?
Delivered 1851
Women's Convention, Akron, Ohio
Much of human culture around the world is shaped by the realities of gender. In early agricultural family bands gender was a defining feature of roles and tasks but also anchored in a functional equality between the members of small groups. As urbanization grew so did the division of labor and more importantly, power, within societies. Rigid patriarchy relegated women in many diverse places to the same lowered destination. In the modern era gender structures that long saw women as second tier actors have been challenged by political, cultural, and technological shifts. In the modern era the rigid patriarchy of the past is slowly crumbling. This continues to be a tumultuous process that shapes many issues for us today.
Thomas Jefferson on slavery:
But, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.
- Jefferson to John Holmes, (discussing slavery and the Missouri question), April 22, 1820
Race:
The issues of race and gender have a fundamental role in our lives.
In the last few months we have seen the repercussions of many incidents with a racial dimension. Violent confrontations, disputes with law enforcement, and large scale mass demonstrations both promoting and protesting racism. Examining the roots of this issue and considering the historical forces that have shaped it and us will broaden your understanding.
Lee's Opinion of Monuments...
“I think it wiser moreover not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the examples of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered,”
Historic Memory
The love of history is often cited by defenders of certain monuments and narratives. However, is there a deeper history or another set of meaning that can better inform us of the full story? As residents of the most famous battlefield in the country if not the world we are surrounded by the evidence of what happened. However, the accuracy and purpose of the memorials may not match up to the reality of the Civil War or with the reality of our struggles over race ever since. First, let's watch a video that captures some of the historic reasons that we are still fighting about the Civil War. Nationally, this discussion is dividing people and communities as old issues and new realities collide. Locally we have much to consider such as this editorial, written by Scott Hancock, that challenges us to consider the realities of the battlefield and the monuments that populate it. This editorial discusses the importance of historic memory and mis-memory in the course of world and American history.
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