"Oh yes, the past can hurt, but you can either run from it or learn from it."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZfGTL2PY3E

This clip from The Lion King reminds me a lot of Sethe and the issues she faces. The past/running from the past is a key part of Beloved. Sethe is forced to face a literal embodiment of her past when Beloved shows up at her doorstep. Until Beloved forces her to face her past, Sethe spends a large amount of time trying to forget, because the memories are so painful.

Question for the crowd: Do y'all think that Rafiki's advice could pertain to Sethe's situation?

....Wait who actually is he?

We've all been posting on the blog three times a week since August, and we've become accustomed to seeing this photograph:

But, has anyone ever wondered who this man was? We can finally make a connected with the Toni Morrison quote that's been at the top of the blog for months, now it's time to learn about Gordon. Gordon fled his plantation home in March of 1836 after getting a severe whipping to his back. While he was recovering in bed, he planned his escape. When he left, the plantation owner and some neighbors attempted to trace him with bloodhounds, but Gordon was prepared. He rubbed onions all over his body to throw the dogs off scent. It worked! He escaped and made it to the Union Army in Baton Rouge after traveling over 80 miles. At this time, he was fatigued and badly bruised, but he decided to enlist in the Union Army. At this time, Lincoln had recently decided to allow Blacks to serve in the army in segregated units.  Gordon was one of 200,000 Blacks who were at the front of one movement, and I think that is pretty cool. Now, time to understand the reasoning behind this photo. When Gordon when in for his physical to join the army, he was asked to reveal his wound from his harsh treatment on the plantation. The two men that photographed him, McPherson and Oliver, soon sold mass quantities of the photo in the format of a carte-de-viste, a popular way of formatting at the time. His photograph was a hit with doctors, photographers and abolitionist around the country. Everyone was spreading the image around, and it was featured in Harper's Weekly  on July 4, 1863 along with two other images of Gordon. Records of him during the Civil War are scarce, and what became of him is unknown. We can still appreciate him, his Louisiana roots, and how he served as the truthful image of what slavery was in America at this time. 

Sources: http://usslave.blogspot.com/2011/10/whipping-scars-on-back-of-fugitive.html

http://abhmuseum.org/2013/07/the-scourged-back-how-runaway-slave-and-soldier-private-gordon-changed-history/

Other photographs in Harper's Weekly

 "In his uniform as a U.S. soldier"

 "Gordon As He Entered Uur Lines"

Why I Hate Princess and the Frog

This post is actually a response to Bonnie's post on Disney's the Princess and the Frog. She drew a comparison between Mama Odie and Baby Suggs that I can definitely appreciate, but her post also made me think about Princess and the Frog and race. I love Disney but I've always had some issues with this movie. I think it's great that Disney finally decided to include an African-American princess in its lineup. Seriously, took them long enough. However, it bothers me that the movie, which is set in 1920s New Orleans, entirely glosses over the segregation present in that place and time. Instead, it avoids the issue by substituting sexism and socio-economic discrimination. Both sexism and classism were definitely issues that Tiana would have faced, but it bothers me that race is never mentioned. I realize that it's Disney and that they have to think about little kids, but I'd rather they not do a movie set in the pre-Civil Rights era South than gloss over that nasty part of our history.

What if...

Alex and I we talking at the end of class today and we had both had the same idea. When Paul D tells Sethe how Halle was present when her milk was stolen, she questions why Halle broke and she didn't and wishes that she had lost her mind along with him. What Alex and I were think was what if she did? What if Sethe's mind broke when her milk was taken or when Beloved was killed and the present day events of Beloved are going on in her head? It is possible that the physical and mental trauma she sustained at Sweet Home and after broke her so completely that she no longer truly lives in the "real" world. It would explain the physical manifestation of her immense guilt, Beloved. What do y'all think?

Slave interviews

I found this link on the Library of Congress. It's a collection of audio recordings of interviews conducted with former slaves. Some of the descriptions are haunting; others are terrifying. These acts described first hand really prove to be a powerful, moving experience - at least for me.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voices/title.html

Why did he stay in the loft?

Treatment of runaway slaves that were recaptured was absolutely awful. Plantation owners felt the need to use them as an example to show the other slaves that they better not even think about attempting to escape. In Louisiana, all of these actions were even legal due to the "Black Code" put in place. This allowed slave owners to crop the ears, brand them on the shoulder, palms or face, or even cut leg tendons to prevent them from ever walking away again. Whipping slaves was also another common method of punishment - an extremely painful one at that. Slaves could be killed for something as little as saying something disrespectful to a white person. Imagine the punishment they would receive if they did something of this measure. To be a recaptured slave would have been the worst thing imaginable, unless of course you were a recaptured slave with triple manslaughter on your hands. This would have resulted in immediate (or perhaps a prolonged painful) death for the slave, viewed as no better than a pig for slaughter.

Beloved & The Princess and the Frog

If you're well educated in your Disney princesses, you'll be familiar with Tiana, the princess from Louisiana. She's from the pretty recent Disney movie "The Princess and the Frog" in which a frog, who ends up being Prince Naveen, kisses Tiana, a small waitress from New Orleans. She turns into a frog, and the two go on an excursion to turn them back into humans. They go to the Bayou and meet Mama Odie, who is supposed to help them turn back. Instead, she tells them that the only way they can become human again is to "dig a little deeper" and find their true selves/ love themselves. This reminded me of the scene with the clearing in Beloved. Mama Odie reminded me of Baby Suggs in her song, especially with digging deeper and finding your true self. I thought I would share the song that she sings to Tiana and Naveen called "Dig a Little Deeper." It's fun and she reminds me of Baby Suggs uniting everyone at the Clearing. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUUAkax8oDA