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Mahoganyanais
Veteran Poster
Username: Mahoganyanais
Post Number: 64
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 11:05 am: | 
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"There is, however, a somber point in the social outlook of Americans. Their sense of equality and human dignity is mainly limited to men of white skins. Even among these there are prejudices of which I as a Jew am clearly conscious; but they are unimportant in comparison with the attitude of the "Whites" toward their fellow-citizens of darker complexion, particularly toward Negroes. The more I feel an American, the more this situation pains me. I can escape the feeling of complicity in it only by speaking out.
Many a sincere person will answer: "Our attitude towards Negroes is the result of unfavorable experiences which we have had by living side by side with Negroes in this country. They are not our equals in intelligence, sense of responsibility, reliability."
I am firmly convinced that whoever believes this suffers from a fatal misconception. Your ancestors dragged these black people from their homes by force; and in the white man's quest for wealth and an easy life they have been ruthlessly suppressed and exploited, degraded into slavery. The modern prejudice against Negroes is the result of the desire to maintain this unworthy condition.
---Albert Einstein "The Negro Question", 1946
From the National Society of Black Physicists. Lots of other links here, including him lecturing at Lincoln University:
http://nsbp.org/einstein_racism.html |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 1958
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 12:48 pm: |
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Let's hear it for e=mc2 |
Yvettep
Newbie Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 7
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 02:08 pm: |
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Thank you SO SO much for this link! I have been posting one Black History Month feature a day (!!!) on my blog and had wanted to do something focussing on science when I read this here! I plan to highlight the NSBP site tomorrow. Right now, in my draft (not yet posted) I thank "aalbc.com and thumperscorner.com" for the link--SO my question is a community etiquette one as I'm very new to this board; I can give more credit for this pass-along (i.e., to you, Mahoganyanais), or less--removing any mention of Thumper's Corner altogether. In previous posts I have mentioned books with a link back to aalbc, so I could just do that again, too.
Anyway, let me know. And thanks again for the informative link! |
Mahoganyanais
Veteran Poster
Username: Mahoganyanais
Post Number: 66
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 02:13 pm: |
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Yvette, it doesn't matter to me, though I'd have to give credit to someone on my black alum email list for posting it. And she'd probably have to give credit to someone else...Somewhere, a black physicist is due credit! ;-) |
Yvettep
Newbie Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 8
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 02:24 pm: |
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Great. I'll keep the credit to the board generally, then, and any interested parties can link here to explore a little and discover you for her/him self! |
Kola_boof
Newbie Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 11
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 03:35 pm: |
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Well EINSTEIN was a white man, so HIS WORD must have been right.
And just look at all the black people quoting and posting his validation for Black History Month.
I liked Susan Sontag's quote about white people being the "satan of the world" much better though. And she was WHITE more recently.
LOL
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Yvettep
Newbie Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 9
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 03:57 pm: |
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I am writing from the stand point of an African American graduate student at a (majority white) research-1 university. My audience seems pretty diverse, but mostly I write with myself in mind (audience of one...) I'm not sure I mean for my post to "validate" anything...but I'm open to exploring my motivations and biases more.
Actually, as it stands now (and I may revise before tomorrow) the entry is more about the association, NSBP, than about Einstein in particular. I especially find this link to his speaking out against racism interesting in this "World Year in Physics"--Wonder how many physics sites will mention it (besides the NSBP)?
But I recognize this tendency to make White people the "hero" in stories about Black history (e.g., the White commanding officer in the movie, Glory; the mythologized--and totally historically inaccurate--pro-Black FBI in "Mississippi Burning"; Eleanor Roosevelt in the story of Marian Anderson's DAR snub...) I also have a post focussing on that topic for later in the month. |
Kola_boof
Newbie Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 12
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 04:10 pm: |
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Hi Yvette,
I LOVE Einstein being brave enough to make his comments.
And I love you for being intelligent enough to seek out KNOWLEDGE (no matter where it's from) and for being savvy enough to write that 3rd paragraph you wrote.
It's ALL good--but "some" black folks should start learning to accept validation even when it comes from other blacks. And that remains a MAJOR problem in the AA community---blacks ignoring the wisdom/opinions of other blacks and waiting for whites to validate their experience, and most often, in-validate it.
You are TOTALLY RIGHT and I'm with you 100%. Please don't be bothered by my comments in the least. I admire what you do and what you're saying.
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Kola_boof
Newbie Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 13
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 04:12 pm: |
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I also applaud Mahogany for diggin all this good gravy up and keep'n us so informed.
I ought to pay her behind to post some of these good articles on MY BOARD.
You're both WONDERFUL to be DOING something and teach'n us.
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Mahoganyanais
Veteran Poster
Username: Mahoganyanais
Post Number: 67
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 04:21 pm: |
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Just call me Mahogany "Will Write for Food" Anais. |
Yvettep
Newbie Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 10
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 13, 2005 - 07:15 pm: |
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Oh, no problem, Kola. I do understand where you're coming from--And please, do continue to challenge folks to examine where they're at. I for one definitely need people who will challenge me "out of love." I posted the entry--it's very brief cuz I'm supposed to be working on something else. Anyway, if you have a chance, check it out and please don't hesitate to tell me what you think:
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/perry032/impossible/
Happy V-day everybody!
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