“A Wintery Christmas in New York, during the 1940's and 50's”

“A Wintery Christmas in New York, during the 1940's and 50's”

(But what the hey! Where’s all the People of Color?)

By Glenn Peppers                             12-21-2015

When I first saw this painting that a Facebook friend of mine posted on her page, as with many surreal paintings like them over a lifetime. The first thing that popped into my head was “Why aren’t there any black folks, or anyone of color in that painting?” The second thing that popped into my head seemed a little harsh and over the top. My mind told me that “It is all because of Hate and Intolerance!” Hmmm! “How so, you ask?” Well, sort of like today when people feel as if they are being treated unfairly, they rebel. Or there is an uprising!  In other words, a rebellion. 

To come straight out with it. I feel that black people (or any people of color) were not included on that painting depicted in a comfortable everyday white existence in america because it has become, racially-agreeable! It is racist to me because it shows that no one outside of being white has this kind of life! It shows that racism is so much apart of the fabric of america that this kind of painting was and is somewhat of a norm in america, at what looked like the late 1940’s early 1950’s!  

This painting shows that often times that Hate can one day breed an eventual change in a country when things don't always work out peacefully and fair from the start. A change from when only one sector of society is happy all the time, and is actually living this real live Norman Rockwell lifestyle, while the other half of america is being treated awfully, suffering abuse and being discriminated against. Well, its a fact that for those being denied, kept back and oppressed, eventually, one day the powder keg swells, and and then burst! 

But lets go back to the Good old days again! Yes, I remember some of what was thought of as the good old days. My remembrance of such a time and place happened in the early to middle 1960‘s in Detroit, Michigan. As a mostly protected child. I didn't really understand what the deal was concerning those certain places my older sister either didn't go to, or maybe just wasn’t supposed to go to. 

As a child, I didn't really know the difference between inclusion and exclusion! I was one of those post war, Kool Aid kids with a Mattel toy gun in one hand, and a box of Post Super Sugar Crisp in the other! In the commercials on TV, all the kids were like that. Well the white kids were anyway! Unless there was the proverbial token black kid. Always set in the middle somewhere in the ad! Still, despite that subtle racism (of which I was oblivious to as a child) those were good and quiet days. Days of June bugs and Fire Flies and JL. Hudson's dept. store parades in wintertime, and Sanders Bakery and Woolworth's and Kresge! Ah, those truly were the days! But they weren't that way for a lot of people of color! I guess it depended upon where you lived! 

But largely, because certain peoples were not always included in what is thought of as the all around activities of Americana (here in Detroit, and elsewhere, or like in the south for instance). Things became uneasy! No one likes to be talked down to, or treated as if they are less than! No one does!

Luckily, my parents and especially my grandparents shielded and protected me from the reality of what was called lunch counter racism. Something I never experienced in Detroit as a child! The “you can't go here, and you can't go there” thing as a child could have been real for me, had I lived in Nashville! Yet I never really knew that experience, except for the first of two incidences that I remember one cold night in 1964. 

The south had just began to shed some of its primitive Jim Crow ways! I remember getting off the Greyhound bus with my father in Nashville, just after Kennedy was killed, and jumping into my waiting grandfather's arms who came to pick us up in his nice big Pontiac. The one with the orange glowing lady hood ornament on his car! 

After arriving, I wanted a drink of water, and I remember while he was holding me up in his arms, my grandfather telling me not to drink out of this one particular water faucet! It was clean and looked like the ones we had up here in Detroit. almost like the ones in school. There was another faucet on the other side of the one I wanted to drink from. It was dirty and looked as if someone had maybe even pee'ed in it! 

Granddaddy said to me about the clean white basin fountain, "Son, you don't wanna drink from either one of those old water fountains. They got germs all over’em! We've got some good ole' cold coke cola at home." He distracted me. Played and laughed with me, and as we went along, throughout the bus station, evil eyes looked upon us as we walked to the car! I wondered for years why those people looked so mad! Well, years later, I knew!... I knew! I’d had my first off hand experience with hate and intolerance at 7 years old, and didn’t even know it. Thanks to my grandfathers class and candor!

I think that hollywood, and pop culture, and images like those seen in the painting above made it seem as if life in america was one great big “Singin' in the Rain Caucasian Carnival,” devoid of people of color (except of course if there were working, or dancing a jig, while smiling and grinning)! Mammies and Sambo’s included!

The images formed at america's golden age of movies and cinema, and in pop art, during our country’s early entertainment periods sealed the door as far as showing whose who, as far as in-crowd inclusion to america’s privileged! Much like the painting. White Yellow cab riding New Yorkers, strolling in wintery snow covered street scenes, while ice skaters sipped on hot cider, and held hands as Santa Clause granted wishes to children who sat on Santa’s bended knee. All while brief case toting business people sprint through Central Park, over to 5th avenue! 

The problem is not the images in the painting so much. They're beautiful images! Its the fact that America continues to hold on to its flip-side other images of hate and prejudice, onto the brutal control of another entire race of human beings. Continuing to call it good and proper! It is this refusal to let go of those old oppressive ideals and standards that in the long run is destroying america, and is clearly from the start what made things the way that they are to this day! 

Hollywood, as well as many famous pop artist, and other cultural guru's pushed the issue and ideals of exclusion for people of color, and forged the negative images and stereotypes that we see in the media even unto this day. Half-hearted good images and those truly negative bad images! Shameful Jim Crow images and ideals for black folks, and mostly almost always glamourous and beautiful images for the European! 

And all that was and is included in the creative lighting, film screening, and film processing built to highlight, and accentuate white skin! You don’t believe me? Then do the research! Its a Kodak film processing technique! 

So, instead of including everyone in this massive widespread media-mind-screw of infusing images, ideals and stereotypes, and sealing in the hearts and minds of people carefully crafted subliminal typecast’ed characters. The television and film industry was and is designed to depict that Whites will Always Win! They’ll always play the hero, the lover, the intellectual, they’ll always play the dictator, the king (even if that king was an african)! The white man has it rigged where only “he” will ride off into the sunset, and be the guy who get’s the girl at the end of the film!... “Every time!”

All the while minusing out blacks (especially black males) in any kind of a hero and especially sexual senerio! There was an intentional quelling of black women with any kind of sex appeal (i,e Dorothy Dandridge, and Hazel Scott, etc), using only over weight, darker skinned, shabbily and bulky dressed (on screen) black women as A-Sexual black female characters and images. 

Black actors were always the token blacks. The comedy relief! The lazy Step-in-Fetch-it’s, or the Rochester house boy types! No American born black male would play an uncompromising leading role in films as a real hero type until Richard Rountree played Shaft in 1971! “What about Sidney Poitier?” You say! Mr. Poitier has kind of a duel citizenship as far as birth is concerned! He is Bahamian, and Floridian! Yet not an african american as if he were born here and solely raised here in america from descendent slaves! 

Much like Harry Belafonte. A man born of Caribbean immigrants! No american black males were ever allowed to act or star in productions except for the truly exceptional! People who just could not be denied. Guys like Sammy Davis Jr. for instance. And even his talent, and activities were limited to what Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack would let him do! Ask Kim Novak about “that!"

Hollywood made it where they controlled how america thought, and how the world would view and perceive black people, forever on! Taking things a step further to seal those images, Europeans went on to play fake out american indians, mexicans and types like Mickey Rooney playing an truly racist and stereotypical Chop Socky/bucktoothed Chinamen in "Breakfast at Tiffany's!" 

White men even played imaginary african heroes such as, "Tarzan, King of the Jungle." The only blacks in a Tarzan film production were usually, a large cast of black folks dressed as what they made them up to be as grass skirted natives! Natives who were always depicted as unintelligible savages and cannibals! 

And then there was"The Phantom." Another king of the Jungle type comic book and comic strip hero!

As far as art and african americans during the 1900’s. The only thing that came out of the art world as showing what black people meant to white america during Jim Crow were awful de-sexualized images of black women and men in degrading caricature form. Showing black people in completely unrealistic ways! Blacks negative images were paraded on the cover of food products like Cream of Wheat and Uncle Ben’s Rice! Framing blacks as loyal, mainly ugly, safe characters to have within their midst as subservients! This is mainly the art work that lived out of Jim Crow. 

Had it not been for great african american artist and early film makers like, Oscar Devereaux Micheaux. There wouldn't be very many positive images of blacks, anywhere from that early era in the multi media realm!

I feel that if blacks and native americans, and mexicans were allowed to be apart of the forging of the image building process in early american media. America’s views about people of color would be quite different indeed today! Race baiting films like, D.W. Griffin’s “Birth of a Nation” might not have been made. And hollywood would probably have taken a different route with its audiences! 

Had inclusion been apart of the plan in building a strong america, this would have been a much richer nation at heart! Had there been inclusion in the building of america, instead of forced work, and slave labor, america would have seen growth like never imagined; and probably not have seen or experienced any such terrible uprisings, nor any reason to protest about any kind of racial intolerance. 

There’d probably not be much singling out or profiling of folks. And maybe not many marches and such because of discrimination onto protest! 

Believe me, that beautiful wintery painting scene sitting up above this article would have been just as beautiful if everyone, who is apart of this great country had been allowed to be apart of it!     

Glenn Peppers