lwynn123
February 17th, 2007, 09:53 AM
After listening to Dr. John Hope Franklin answer questions following a lecture at the 2005 Miami Book Festival, I am emboldened to talk with others about some of the forgotten facts which comprise this mosaic we share called America.
The interaction during the question and answer segment after Dr. Franklin’s presentation could not have been staged any better than what occurred in an exchange between the speaker and two audience members. The first of the last three persons to speak was a history professor who inquired if it is true or false that he (Dr. Franklin) had become vocal in his anguish with the US’s lack of improvement in race relations. Dr. Franklin agreed and related the story of how Thomas Jefferson’s victory in the Presidential election of 1800 over John Adams was immensely influenced by the institution of slavery and he further demonstrated the hypocrisy of the Constitution and the 400 year history of denial by this country.
Such was the background upon which the strategic question was posed by a law professor from the University of Miami. This question was a brilliant follow-on to the previous question. Dr. Franklin was asked if there is a parallel between reconstruction/dismantling during the 19th century and the 20th century civil rights movement and subsequent emasculation of those rights. Dr. Franklin’s reply was an unequivocal “no”. With all due respect to Dr. John Hope Franklin, whom I consider one of the great historians of any period, this was a hanging curve over the heart of the plate that should have been belted in the upper-deck of centerfield. In my humble opinion, the question begged for a true history lesson from a scholar such as Dr. Franklin.
Our President was assassinated in the 60’s and Vice-President Johnson became President Johnson. Also during the 60’s, the Civil Rights Act was passed in Congress. Subsequently, rights which were realized through this legislation had to be protected against assault by parties unfriendly to the Black cause. In the 70’s we had a corrupt Presidential Administration and by the 80’s there was little sentiment remaining for social and economic justice. In the aforementioned, am I referencing the period from 1860-1890 or am I speaking of the 1960-1990 timeframe? If you are acquainted with the facts from both centuries, you will also know that we could reference either of the time periods (19th or 20th century) with the given facts. Thus, Dr. Franklin might have missed a critical moment to make a solid case why the United States will forever be indebted to the entire Black population.
On the other hand, Dr. Franklin the eternal statesman, understood that the venue and time was not right. Perhaps he deferred the apparent opportunity to progeny who could deliver the message when a confluence of forces would render the recipients—white and Black—susceptible to the truth. Dr. Franklin is keenly aware that arrogance and hubris tend to make humans deaf to the pleas of the suffering and afflicted. I suspect he had observed the arrogance by those who summoned their privileged backgrounds to avoid Vietnam, but that same arrogance had dulled their conscious when they committed the United States’ precious resources (human and capital) to implement a flawed policy that was a pretext for war in Iraq.
It is plausible Dr. Franklin knew the hubris of the ruling class would be tempered by the unfolding of events such as Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, coincided with legal challenges and the defeat of the Republican Party and transformation of citizens into thinking, conscious voters. Previously, citizens were indifferent at best, but more accurately, in denial about what their government was doing in their name around the world. Yes, Dr. Franklin knew the moment would arrive when a common plea for social and economic justice would be heard by both Blacks and whites.
So it is with honor and distinction that I share with you some of the burden Dr. John Hope Franklin has endured for many decades. Does his name sound peculiar or prescient? Oh, please be alarmed upon discovering Dr. Franklin has something to say. What he wants to convey is the message delivered from generations of oppressed Blacks: Black heritage has been forever altered but not destroyed. A quintessential example is illustrated in an event Dr. Franklin fondly calls his “inaugural speech”. Dr. Franklin recounted when he was eight years old people used to ask him what he wanted to do when he grew up and he would say, “I want to be the first Negro President of the United States”. Had he been elected, this is the speech he said he would have given. In his talk, he addressed a letter to a fictional white man he called "Jonathan Doe." He described some of the historical inequalities in the United States and recalled some of his own experiences with racism. He said, for example, that the evening before he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton, a woman at his club in Washington, D.C., asked him to get her coat. Around the same time, a man at a hotel handed Dr. Franklin his car keys and told him to get his car.
"I patiently explained to him that I was a guest in the hotel, as I presumed he was, and I had no idea where his automobile was. And, in any case, I was retired," Dr .Franklin said. Both of these incidents occurred when he was in his 80s.
"What these experiences will do to me in the long run, I do not know. My cardiologist says that they are not good," he said, continuing with the letter.
"I very much doubt, Mr. Doe, that you have had such experiences. Your race and your consequent position of power and privilege have doubtless immunized you from the experiences that a black person confronts daily, regardless of his age, education, position or station in life."
Dr. John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History, is considered a leading figure in the field of History, particularly African-American history, American race relations and Southern regional history. He is author of the classic book "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans," which is still used in college courses more than 50 years after its publication and translated in languages. His He has won dozens of awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1997, he chaired President Bill Clinton’s Initiative on Race. Frankly, this one paragraph is not enough to summarize the books, scholarly papers and awards credited to Dr. Franklin. Please visit the John Hope Franklin Library at Duke University.
lwynn123
www.restudents.net (http://www.restudents.net)
The interaction during the question and answer segment after Dr. Franklin’s presentation could not have been staged any better than what occurred in an exchange between the speaker and two audience members. The first of the last three persons to speak was a history professor who inquired if it is true or false that he (Dr. Franklin) had become vocal in his anguish with the US’s lack of improvement in race relations. Dr. Franklin agreed and related the story of how Thomas Jefferson’s victory in the Presidential election of 1800 over John Adams was immensely influenced by the institution of slavery and he further demonstrated the hypocrisy of the Constitution and the 400 year history of denial by this country.
Such was the background upon which the strategic question was posed by a law professor from the University of Miami. This question was a brilliant follow-on to the previous question. Dr. Franklin was asked if there is a parallel between reconstruction/dismantling during the 19th century and the 20th century civil rights movement and subsequent emasculation of those rights. Dr. Franklin’s reply was an unequivocal “no”. With all due respect to Dr. John Hope Franklin, whom I consider one of the great historians of any period, this was a hanging curve over the heart of the plate that should have been belted in the upper-deck of centerfield. In my humble opinion, the question begged for a true history lesson from a scholar such as Dr. Franklin.
Our President was assassinated in the 60’s and Vice-President Johnson became President Johnson. Also during the 60’s, the Civil Rights Act was passed in Congress. Subsequently, rights which were realized through this legislation had to be protected against assault by parties unfriendly to the Black cause. In the 70’s we had a corrupt Presidential Administration and by the 80’s there was little sentiment remaining for social and economic justice. In the aforementioned, am I referencing the period from 1860-1890 or am I speaking of the 1960-1990 timeframe? If you are acquainted with the facts from both centuries, you will also know that we could reference either of the time periods (19th or 20th century) with the given facts. Thus, Dr. Franklin might have missed a critical moment to make a solid case why the United States will forever be indebted to the entire Black population.
On the other hand, Dr. Franklin the eternal statesman, understood that the venue and time was not right. Perhaps he deferred the apparent opportunity to progeny who could deliver the message when a confluence of forces would render the recipients—white and Black—susceptible to the truth. Dr. Franklin is keenly aware that arrogance and hubris tend to make humans deaf to the pleas of the suffering and afflicted. I suspect he had observed the arrogance by those who summoned their privileged backgrounds to avoid Vietnam, but that same arrogance had dulled their conscious when they committed the United States’ precious resources (human and capital) to implement a flawed policy that was a pretext for war in Iraq.
It is plausible Dr. Franklin knew the hubris of the ruling class would be tempered by the unfolding of events such as Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, coincided with legal challenges and the defeat of the Republican Party and transformation of citizens into thinking, conscious voters. Previously, citizens were indifferent at best, but more accurately, in denial about what their government was doing in their name around the world. Yes, Dr. Franklin knew the moment would arrive when a common plea for social and economic justice would be heard by both Blacks and whites.
So it is with honor and distinction that I share with you some of the burden Dr. John Hope Franklin has endured for many decades. Does his name sound peculiar or prescient? Oh, please be alarmed upon discovering Dr. Franklin has something to say. What he wants to convey is the message delivered from generations of oppressed Blacks: Black heritage has been forever altered but not destroyed. A quintessential example is illustrated in an event Dr. Franklin fondly calls his “inaugural speech”. Dr. Franklin recounted when he was eight years old people used to ask him what he wanted to do when he grew up and he would say, “I want to be the first Negro President of the United States”. Had he been elected, this is the speech he said he would have given. In his talk, he addressed a letter to a fictional white man he called "Jonathan Doe." He described some of the historical inequalities in the United States and recalled some of his own experiences with racism. He said, for example, that the evening before he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton, a woman at his club in Washington, D.C., asked him to get her coat. Around the same time, a man at a hotel handed Dr. Franklin his car keys and told him to get his car.
"I patiently explained to him that I was a guest in the hotel, as I presumed he was, and I had no idea where his automobile was. And, in any case, I was retired," Dr .Franklin said. Both of these incidents occurred when he was in his 80s.
"What these experiences will do to me in the long run, I do not know. My cardiologist says that they are not good," he said, continuing with the letter.
"I very much doubt, Mr. Doe, that you have had such experiences. Your race and your consequent position of power and privilege have doubtless immunized you from the experiences that a black person confronts daily, regardless of his age, education, position or station in life."
Dr. John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History, is considered a leading figure in the field of History, particularly African-American history, American race relations and Southern regional history. He is author of the classic book "From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans," which is still used in college courses more than 50 years after its publication and translated in languages. His He has won dozens of awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1997, he chaired President Bill Clinton’s Initiative on Race. Frankly, this one paragraph is not enough to summarize the books, scholarly papers and awards credited to Dr. Franklin. Please visit the John Hope Franklin Library at Duke University.
lwynn123
www.restudents.net (http://www.restudents.net)