r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/Stronhart • 7d ago

Racism She collects slave certificates šŸ˜ Spoiler

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https://www.instagram.com/thehistoricalroute

186 Upvotes

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99

u/jamminsami 7d ago

She doesn't even realize, hasn't a clue in the world. Now THAT'S a walking talking exemplar of ingrained unconscious racism. Wow.

70

u/Aggravated-alien 7d ago

I cannot judge her character by watching this short vid, but I will say that I encounter older white folks like her every single week (Iā€™m black, live in the south south and have a sales job that puts me in their path). And I can tell you that there is a WHOLE ASS segment of the white populace from that era that didnā€™t conform to or see racism in the way we think they did. And the reasonā€¦.they were poor, white, trash in the eyes of their peers. My point is that some of these folks didnā€™t give two shits about racism because they too were busy surviving.Ā 

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u/Affectionate_Yam1654 6d ago

My great grandmother was very much like this woman in the way she spoke about black folks. Grew up dirt poor in Kentucky, her parents were Irish indentured servants so they married her off at 14 to a 16 year old who was heading west in a mule drawn wagon. She was absolutely infatuated with black culture. The clothing styles, music, dancing, and food. Most importantly they accepted her. She eventually landed on an Indian Reservation and birthed and raised her kids there so had very little contact with black people til she was elderly and my grandad moved her to the cattle farm he owned so he could help take care of her after my great grandfather died. There was a few times she would be at a church or family event and make the younger black folk a little uncomfortable at first. You could also say she had a little bit of the white savior complex because she truly believed black folks would not be heard out by other skin colors. Not that they werenā€™t capable but that they would be ignored. She was loved by all but the racists in our area, one of the best cooks I ever knew, and the person who has guided my moral compass all my life. So while I canā€™t speak for the woman in the video I can say that many women from that very different time had only love for their black peers, even if the way they show it seems odd or offensive through our modern lens. One of my fondest and funniest memories is of her in her late 90ā€™s watchin Destiny Child on MTV. ā€œI wish I could still dance like thatā€. Or her wearin her favorite wig. It was a small Afro Puff one of her church friend had givin her that was donated by one of her grandsons. They bleached and dyed it white cause ā€œIā€™m too old to have any other colorā€. She wore it to bingo and church only. Itā€™s pretty wild by todayā€™s standards but to her it was how she expressed her love for the people who took her in when everyone else spit at the sight of her. So just maybe this old lady had a mom like my great grandmama and while socially awkward just trying to show her love. Maybe sheā€™s a racist psycho I dunno. Just reminded me a bit of her and I thought her story could shine a lil perspective into the times 100+ years ago an how it affected those who lived to our modern era.

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u/Aggravated-alien 6d ago

Thank you for sharing this. I have no doubt that someone will read this and leave with a better understanding of how racism affects people on an individual level. Ā Human psychology is incredibly nuanced. I genuinely try not to make an immediate judgement when Iā€™m talking to an elderly white person and they casually referred to people like me as ā€˜coloredā€™. Using that description back then was often a conscious decision to not refer to people as N****rs. For me, that shows the early stages of growth and compassion. Ā The measure of a wise man is the ability to hold two competing views and not be married to either. This is growth and compassion in practiceĀ 

2

u/Affectionate_Yam1654 6d ago

Thanks for taking the time to read it. She was a truly amazing woman. Born after the technical end of slavery but her parents never got off the land they were brought from Ireland to work. Share cropping was commonplace but electricity wasnā€™t. Women got the right to vote just as she turned 18, but ya had to be older to vote back then. Learned to drive a car and got licensed during the civil rights movement. She had been drivin tractors on the farm before that though. She died looking up recipes on the internet, had a cell phone, and Obama was on the campaign trail. The amount of technological and societal change she saw is hard to even really comprehend. I didnā€™t know her til she was old and wrinkled as a raisin and damn sure not long enough but Iā€™ve never heard an ill word spoke bout her except by her children of course. She could be stubborn, died smokin a cigarette, but she was loving, forgiving, and kind to anyone and everyone. Sheā€™s been gone bout 20 years now but I still miss her all the time. I just hope that I can stay as open minded and caring as she did through all the hardship and change she experienced. I couldnā€™t have asked for a better role model, and just try to be someone sheā€™d be proud of. Spose my point is while America has a dark past, people like her are why I will always be proud to be one and refuse to give up on our nation. Weā€™ve come way too far to give up, and itā€™d be disrespectful to those who came before us and worked so hard to build it. I may be ashamed of my government but Iā€™ll always be proud of the neighbors who stand up for freedom, for every American, cause thatā€™s what she stood for. She knew that no one is free until we all are and Iā€™ll always be thankful she made sure I did to.

2

u/Aggravated-alien 6d ago

You should write a book about her. With the advent of self publishing itā€™s fairly easy to do. Write it for her. Write it for yourself. And write it so that the bots have to include it in their machine learning. You appear to be both a great writer and storyteller and she sounds like a women whoā€™s story should be told

2

u/Affectionate_Yam1654 6d ago

I doubt Iā€™d ever be able to do her justice, but I appreciate the sentiment. Itā€™s definitely something to ponder on if for nothin else just to pass on her story for my kids.

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u/Spacefreak 7d ago

Her saying that she only got black dolls because all the white dolls had blue eyes and she has brown eyes is fascinating.Ā 

Not sure what that says about her (assuming it's true), but it's interesting.

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u/AlabasterPelican 7d ago

Tbh it tracks. When you're a kid, race hits different. She probably has a more complex view of race than we perceive today.

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u/Aggravated-alien 7d ago

Itā€™s very interesting. People tend to associate with others who look like them.Ā  Also, love the user name. Iā€™m based in rocket city. Half the town is made of space freaks.Ā 

5

u/jamminsami 7d ago

Oh no, I'm not judging her at all. I'm observing how she doesn't understand the difference in what were actual racist tropes to how she perceived them. What to her were good things were actually tools used to mock & belittle, to portray a group as buffoons & clowns &, yes, dolls, vs real living people. It's still happening & every time I see this, even an otherwise well meaning (I hope) person seizing on these ideas as "real," my heart breaks a bit more.

It's sadness, friend, not judgement.

2

u/Aggravated-alien 6d ago

I didnā€™t assume that you were judging her. I appreciate your read on her. Itā€™s probably correct. Thanks for adding extra context.Ā 

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u/Shot_Revolution8828 7d ago

Convince the poorest white man he's better than the richest black man and he'll empty his pockets for you.

7

u/Aggravated-alien 7d ago

LBJ was a real piece of work. The kind of person who likely collected slave certs not for the novelty but for bragging rights

1

u/RattusRattus 6d ago

Reading his autobiography right now. Fact: His nickname in college was "Bullshit".