What evidence does LBJ offer as proof of the widening economic gap between black and white Americans? How does he explain this gap? How are the sentiments he expressed represented in this cartoon:
Cartoon by Barry DeutschIn 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson gave a speech at Howard University, an all black collage, which stressed the need for achieving true freedom in the black community. In his commencement address Johnson remarked that the definition of poverty differed in relation to black Americans and white Americans; he directly stated that, “Negro poverty is not white poverty”. To demonstrate this Johnson presented some troubling statistics of the decline in income and increase in unemployment of Negroes as compared to white Americans. One of the most upsetting pieces of information he presented was the fact that thirty-five years ago the rate of unemployment for Negroes and whites was about the same but in 1965 the Negro rate was twice as high. Johnson referred to the black community as “another nation” and said that “despite the court orders and laws, despite the legislative victories and the speeches, for them the walls are rising and the gulf is widening”.
LBJ credited the cause of Negro poverty to many sources, including the long years of slavery, past injustices, and the continuing struggle with discrimination and hate. He stressed that the past brutalities served as a constant reminder of oppression for Negroes and for whites they were a constant reminder of guilt. However, Johnson also expressed his hope and belief that the problems they were facing could be dealt with and were possible to overcome. And with the civil rights movement and Johnson’s Great Society, things started getting better for the black community. The gaps in education, income, and access to skilled employment narrowed and although there were areas yet to be confronted, there were considerable gains.
The Barry Deutsch cartoon depicting the white child climbing up and stomping all over the black child to achieve a higher platform represents the black man’s struggle beneath the white man. From the days of slavery blacks were used for the advancement of whites. Even as blacks attained their freedom they were still trodden over and left ‘looking up’ to the white class. And even when some level of equality and recognition was reached, the whites still would not help the lesser blacks. In response to the black child’s request for help the white child remarks, “if I got up here myself, why can’t you?” This apparently ironic statement symbolizes white ignorance- or more so their unfair expectations and ‘forgetful tendencies’ of how they had achieved their elevated statuses in the first place. In comparison to LBJ’s declaration that the gap was ever widening, the cartoon first depicts the two children at the same level. Throughout the scenes the white child is using the black child (who at first had restraints) to rise up. At the end the white child is looking down and sort of mocking the black child for not working hard enough to achieve the same goals. This relates directly to society and what Johnson was saying about the constant reminders of oppression still lingering and the ever widening gap. How can the black child make gains without being given a chance? With no assistance he is forced to remain at the bottom, not much better off than he was from the beginning.
Cheerful Robots
According to C. Wright Mills, Americans during the 1950s were Cheerful Robots. Using his excerpt, what you've read in the text, and heard in class, why is that description fitting (don't just repeat or rephrase what's in the Mills article).
Americans during this time were achieving their dreams of home ownership with the shift from cities to suburbs and enjoying the affordability and availability of home appliances, cars, and televisions. People began moving into identical suburban homes and stocked them with all sorts of new amenities. The new Nuclear family portrayed wives as happy homemakers, expected to stay home and take care of the house and children, while husbands were the breadwinners. The title Cheerful Robot was a fitting description for this new concept of the ideal American family and their prized American freedoms. Mills searched for a new definition of freedom, one where it was not mass conformity but a renewed independence and sense of self. He believed in a freedom that was not the ability to do as you pleased but to formulate your own options and make decisions for yourself. He depicted these Nuclear families as robots going through motions programmed into them with no thoughts or ideas of their own. They were not choosing to improve their lives with this new found “freedom”, they were being brainwashed by companies telling them they needed this or that to fit into the truly American standard.
There were already problems existing with this picture perfect American family. Wives were often depressed and sought professional help for their discomfort. Also women who had been working during the war wanted to continue working and earning fair wages. They had tasted independence and didn’t want to give it up so hastily. Women who voiced these desires or spoke of their unhappiness at home doing menial tasks were seen as silly or “faulty”. So these ideal American families weren’t all perfect or content. I think that women especially had a hard time conforming to the housewife mold because of their thirst to venture out into the business world and have a life outside the home. So there were already malfunctions within the Cheerful Robots and to Mills this was probably a positive thing. He encouraged thinking outside the box and coming to your own conclusions.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Read the excerpt from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The U.S. did not immediately ratify the Declaration. What policies and practices within the U.S. conflicted with many of the principles of the Declaration?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted by a committee chaired by former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1948. This document intended to set forth a broad range of freedoms that were to be enjoyed by everyone everywhere. To make the document easier for member states to adopt, the United Nations decided to divide it into two sections- Civil and Political Rights, and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The United States did not ratify the document until 1992 and they only adopted the first covenant. The Soviet Union didn’t accept both parts of the document either. Even with all the issues concerning the Declaration and its ratification, it had no enforcement mechanisms so it could not even be implemented.
Many of the U.S.’s practices conflicted with the principles of the Declaration which is why it took so long to ratify it and why only part of it was ratified. Some of these issues included Article 2 where it was stated that “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status”. Now the U.S. during this time prided itself in defending peoples of other countries who sought freedom from oppression and all of that, but the U.S. still had issues in its own country with oppressing people. During World War II the U.S. had sent Japanese persons to internment camps because they were possible spies or close to military operations or whatever other excuses they came up with. Minorities across the country faced discrimination everywhere and it was obvious that they did not share in equal freedoms and rights that Anglo Americans enjoyed.
Other conflicting principles in the Declaration included Articles 17, 19, 22, and 23. Article 17 stated that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property” which the Japanese recently had been due to their internment during WWII. Article 19 stated that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression” which had been severely limited during times of war and was almost exterminated completely during the anticommunist crusades and McCarthyism in the U.S. Article 22 said that “everyone… has the right to social security” which received mixed reactions since some Americans felt that it was a right to be enjoyed by those they saw fit. Article 23 mentioned that “everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work” which immediately makes me think of women in the workplace who constantly received less than their male counterparts for the same work. These were not the only reasons for disapproval of the Declaration but they show how the principles outlined in the document could make things tricky for a country that boasted freedom but struggled greatly with it. The U.S. has made great strides in living up to the standards set out in the Declaration but it’s still not perfect.
