Do you remember....

[Safferz]

Chimera;936607 wrote:

1960s Somalia yeah, but nowhere near America or Europe, I think they were still lynching black people back then.

I hesitate to say not quite, because lynchings definitely happened in the 1960s (and still do from time to time)... but it was also the decade that saw the end of segregation in the South because of these movements, which is why I think I would have loved to be around then to see everything change for the better. The worst time in US history to be a black person was the turn of the 20th century, the height of Jim Crow and the KKK and a level of racial terror worse than slavery (at least black people weren't killed as slaves when they were another white person's property).

[DoctorKenney]

LOL Am I the only one who loves the era we live in right now?

 

I'm not a nostalgic person at all. I would never live in the 1960's or 1980's or anything like that. 2013 is perfect

[Maarodi]

Things didn't turn around for Blacks in the South until the late 70s. You'd be amazed to hear the stories from people who lived in Mississippi and Alabama.

 

The South is still under supervision by the federal government when it comes to Voting Rights and the disparity between the races is quite stark. But nonetheless I would've still loved to live in during that time and visit the US like the former Somalis of that time did. It would've been quite an experience.

 

But if I had to pick an decade in American history would be the 1930's and 40's There was the Harlem Renaissance, boom in television/film (Carlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock my 2 favorites among others) and the music. I love the Blues and Jazz!

[Chimera]

Safferz;936619 wrote:

I hesitate to say not quite, because lynchings definitely happened in the 1960s (and still do from time to time)... but it was also the decade that saw the end of segregation in the South because of these movements, which is why I think I would have loved to be around then to see everything change for the better. The worst time in US history to be a black person was the turn of the 20th century, the height of Jim Crow and the KKK and a level of racial terror worse than slavery (at least black people weren't killed as slaves when they were another white person's property).

The Somali students that went to America in the 1960s didn't go anywhere near the South, they resided mainly in New York. I don't think you would have a great time in Alabama as a black African.

 

 

[Chimera]

Also, why not observe everything from a safe comfortable distance? I mean Somalia was the foremost anti-colonialist African power at the time, from Mozambique, to Zambia, to Eritrea, to Angola, to South Africa, etc were supported by both the state and the people, while we had the sexiest looking city on the continent lol

 

[Safferz]

Maarodi;936622 wrote:

Things didn't turn around for Blacks in the South until the late 70s. You'd be amazed to hear the stories from people who lived in Mississippi and Alabama.

 

The South is still under supervision by the federal government when it comes to Voting Rights and the disparity between the races is quite stark. But nonetheless I would've still loved to live in that time and visit the US like the former Somalis of that time did. It would've been quite an experience.

Very true, and you can argue things have actually gotten worse in some ways. I read something recently about how Mississippi's (or was it Alabama?) current and growing numbers of disenfranchised African Americans (having lost their voting abilities because they've spent time in jail) are approaching the numbers close to before the Voting Rights Act. I think mass incarceration will be the civil rights issue of our time, and I saw a pretty moving

on it a few months ago that's worth watching.

 

DoctorKenney, I don't mind 2013 either, but I'm a huge history geek and it's fun to think about other eras I would have liked to live through

[Safferz]

Chimera;936627 wrote:

Also, why not observe everything from a safe comfortable distance?

I mean Somalia was the foremost anti-colonialist African power at the time, from Mozambique, to Zambia, to Eritrea, to Angola, to South Africa, etc were supported by both the state and the people, while we had the sexiest looking city on the continent lol

And we were all for Third Worldism too:

 

[oba hiloowlow]

lmao who remember this one

 

 

[Maarodi]

Safferz;936629 wrote:

Very true, and you can argue things have actually gotten worse in some ways. I read something recently about how Mississippi's (or was it Alabama?) current and growing numbers of disenfranchised African Americans (having lost their voting abilities because they've spent time in jail) are approaching the numbers close to before the Voting Rights Act. I think mass incarceration will be the civil rights issue of our time, and I saw a pretty moving

on it a few months ago that's worth watching.

 

DoctorKenney, I don't mind 2013 either, but I'm a huge history geek and it's fun to think about other eras I would have liked to live through

Yes. The states of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana are just terrible. Georgia and Texas are not far behind either.

 

Here's a moving speech from the one and only, very best, Mr. Harry Belafonte (along with Sidney Poitier) on his NAACP award acceptance speech about the mass incarnation of the black youth and overall violence in the African American communities.

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing the TED talk, I'll watch it soon.

[Maarodi]

Chimera;936625 wrote:

The Somali students that went to America in the 1960s didn't go anywhere near the South, they resided mainly in New York. I don't think you would have a great time in Alabama as a black African.

 

True. Having Africans come to America was a sort of catalyst or fuel for the Civil Rights movement. For instance, the Africans (dignitaries and government workers) would come and be sheltered from the discrimination the American Blacks faced and their passport would sometimes be the only means of getting served in the segregated restaurants. I'm not sure if I read this in the Autobiography of Malcolm X or heard it from the older Somalis who came to U.S. at that time or both lol

 

It shook that cognitive dissonance and provided worldwide support for the Civil Rights Movement. If anyone's interested check out this good article by Renee Romano titled, "Moving Beyond "The Movement that Changed the World": Bringing the History of the Cold War into Civil Rights Museums"

[Safferz]

Thanks Maarodi, that was great. Harry Belafonte is a remarkable person, and still quite handsome in his old age

 

oba hiloowlow;936640 wrote:

lmao who remember this one

 

lmao yes! Remember the VENGABOYS? Every school dance...

 

 

[Maarodi]

Apophis;936635 wrote:

Why limit ourselves to the banal 20th century. I would go back to 49 BC and watch Caeser cross the Rubicon and witness the birth of the Roman empire. Or if we must stay in the 20th century, then I'd go back to 1941 and witness Operation Barbarossa. Interesting timez.

You're like that kid in primary school who for "Decade Day" dresses up in a toga where everyone else wears 40s,70s, and 90s attire. I couldn't help but chuckle at that memory.

[oba hiloowlow]

Safferz;936644 wrote:

Thanks Maarodi, that was great. Harry Belafonte is a remarkable person, and still quite handsome in his old age

 

 

 

lmao yes! Remember the VENGABOYS? Every school dance...

 

 

lool yeah remember that one, how bout this one?

 

 

[Safferz]

Now I know you're European oba, that song didn't make it across the pond

[oba hiloowlow]

lmao really? Shid that song was a big hit here in sweden in 99.