I was particularly struck by the video about the Jim Crow Museum. Dr. David Pilgrim's narration is really excellent, very clear and compelling as he guides us through the "tour", and related issues and concepts from the past and present. Seeing some of the items and artifacts in the museum brought back some memories for me of when I was growing up in the late 1950's-60's. One of my neighbor's had a statue on her lawn of a little black "stable boy" holding a lantern.... until somebody finally tore it down. I remember my parents (who were civil rights activists in the 60's) explaining to me that it was a racist symbol and was offensive. However I also saw in the museum lots of other brands like Aunt Jemima, Cream of Wheat, etc. which were everyday images that were on so many kitchen tables in America and were more widely accepted.... I'm proud to say my mother never bought them because of their racist implications, but then again watching "The Little Rascals" on TV was part of my childhood nonetheless. Seeing them in the museum was a sober reminder of a time when even more subtle signs of racism were abundant and so often accepted. It also reminds me that we have come a long way, but we we still have far to go in the struggle against racism.
