Found- A Symbol Of Racism... But It Is A Piece Of History

[Paleo_joe]

Do they even exist anymore? Kind of last century aren't they?

I grew up in a "sunset town" that was so white I didn't see a black person until I was 16 on a trip, and there are plenty of KKK around there still.

 

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[dejapooh]

As a U. S. history teacher I would buy something like that for a classroom display. It's always bothered me that rather than trying to learn from the parts our history that are offensive, we hide them.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

I grew up in a "sunset town" that was so white I didn't see a black person until I was 16 on a trip, and there are plenty of KKK around there still.

I remember the day I found out my Baseball coach was a Grand Wizard of the KKK, that was in 1989....But what I never understood when I got older was the fact our BEST player on the team was Black, and the coach treated him like freaking royality! Which i was kinda impressed by, we never knew he was in it until my mom showed me him in the newspaper doing one of those hillbilly marches..lol

Racism will ALWAYS exist...Its just learning how to handle it.

One of my favorite shows right now is Key and Peele, and they are always sorta poking fun of racism and showing the lighter sides of things

 

[diggummup]

When I asked if they still exist, it was kind of tongue in cheek. Luckily nowadays they are only a shell of their former self.

 

[meanpc]

As a U. S. history teacher I would buy something like that for a classroom display. It's always bothered me that rather than trying to learn from the parts our history that are offensive, we hide them.

Are you serious? It would not surprise me in the least if a teacher was fired for bringing that to school. I wouldn't touch that thing with a ten foot pole, there's gotta be better battles to fight than that.

 

[gunsil]

I think the paperweight like most other KKK items is a fantasy piece made to deceive. In other word, fake. Most "KKK" items are fake, they are a secret society and do not advertise their membership. They did not and do not make souvenirs.

 

[dejapooh]

Are you serious? It would not surprise me in the least if a teacher was fired for bringing that to school. I wouldn't touch that thing with a ten foot pole, there's gotta be better battles to fight than that.

Not only am I serious, but I've done it before. There is a thing called Context. Any good teacher with good administrative support would use a thing like that as part of a lesson on Civil Rights. A big part of the Core Curriculum is to provide the students artifacts from the era and allow them to work with them... My job as a teacher is to help them understand how the artifact fits into history. I could build an entire lesson around that paperweight.

Additionally, Your comment is why Tenure is necessary for teachers.

BTW, I am thinking it is 1950's and not 1920's. The "one school comment" goes better with the era between Brown v Board of Education and the rise of Dr. King as a definitive leader of the movement.

 

[diggummup]

I think the paperweight like most other KKK items is a fantasy piece made to deceive. In other word, fake. Most "KKK" items are fake, they are a secret society and do not advertise their membership. They did not and do not make souvenirs.

This thing has years of age to it. I've handled literally thousands of pieces of glass. I know an old piece when I see one, especially a paperweight. Secret Society? Yeah, nowadays maybe. The same can't be said 100 years ago. Civil Rights movement Ku Klux Klan first revival 1910s 1920s
Who said it was a souvenir? There aren't that many examples to be found. I've managed one photo (above) and a reference to 2 more from the owner of an antique shop that gave them to a collector- A large majority of early Black American's were enslaved

Two of the them were paperweights with a Ku Klux Klan member inside fully dressed (in hateful attire) with a schoolhouse, an American flag, and the words, “KKK; One Country; One School; One Flag. The storeowner told me he never displayed the paperweights because they made him uncomfortable. I asked his selling price. He said, he was unable to display the Ku Klux Klan paperweights in his store and he does not want to make money on them. He mailed both paperweights to me.


Here is a (authentic) token with the motto- AtlantaRelics.com*Catalog

Here is a 1923 ad from The Indianapolis Fiery Cross where this exact motto is used (bottom right Fireworks ad)- Indianapolis Fiery Cross, Friday, September 28, 1923, Page 10


Here is what I believe to be the premise behind the theme of the paperweight... https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/vol-8-no-1-KKK.pdf Page 3, right hand side, 2nd paragraph just above the photo.

In Houston, November 1923, Klansmen entered a float in the Armistice Day parade which carried a little red schoolhouse, complete with the slogan, “One flag, one law, one school, the nation’s hope.”


This combined with the condition of the paperweight is proof enough for me.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Diggum

I found one almost identical to yours

http://www.justanswer.com/antiques/67xey-glass-think-paperweight-5-diamete.html

 

[diggummup]

Are you serious? It would not surprise me in the least if a teacher was fired for bringing that to school. I wouldn't touch that thing with a ten foot pole, there's gotta be better battles to fight than that.

The sad part is your probably right. American children are raised soft as a baby's bottom nowadays, it's pathetic actually.

 

[diggummup]

Diggum

I found one almost identical to yours

http://www.justanswer.com/antiques/67xey-glass-think-paperweight-5-diamete.html

See reply number 13, already posted that link.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

See reply number 13, already posted that link.

DoH! I totally missed that

 

[diggummup]

DoH! I totally missed that

View attachment 1081381

Happens to the best of us, myself included!

 

[meanpc]

Not only am I serious, but I've done it before. There is a thing called Context. Any good teacher with good administrative support would use a thing like that as part of a lesson on Civil Rights. A big part of the Core Curriculum is to provide the students artifacts from the era and allow them to work with them... My job as a teacher is to help them understand how the artifact fits into history. I could build an entire lesson around that paperweight.

Additionally, Your comment is why Tenure is necessary for teachers.

BTW, I am thinking it is 1950's and not 1920's. The "one school comment" goes better with the era between Brown v Board of Education and the rise of Dr. King as a definitive leader of the movement.

I am not making a moral or ethical judgment, as I can definitely see the value of artifacts to enrich student's education. I remember when I was in school how much more attention we paid when there was actually something to hold and look at it. I am looking at it more from the perspective of the safety of your livelihood, but it sounds like you have that covered.

 

[meanpc]

The only way to not make the same mistakes in the future is to study the past. If you bury and ignore certain things in the past, you will never understand how to stop it in the future. It's not a battle, it's history! The only way it turns into a battle is when we tell people what they can and can't teach. Within reason.

What are you afraid of people learning?

The only thing I would be in fear of is a teacher that brings something like that to school losing their job. Like it or not, in most situations this would have a very good chance of putting a teacher's job in jeopardy.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

The only thing I would be in fear of is a teacher that brings something like that to school losing their job. Like it or not, in most situations this would have a very good chance of putting a teacher's job in jeopardy.

Then Jesse Jackson would be sitting in the parking lot..lol

 

[Nitric]

The only thing I would be in fear of is a teacher that brings something like that to school losing their job. Like it or not, in most situations this would have a very good chance of putting a teacher's job in jeopardy.

I misread your post. After I went back and read it again. It did say something different than I thought. Tons caffeine will do that! Now, WHERE'S MY COFFEE?

 

[dejapooh]

I am not making a moral or ethical judgment, as I can definitely see the value of artifacts to enrich student's education. I remember when I was in school how much more attention we paid when there was actually something to hold and look at it. I am looking at it more from the perspective of the safety of your livelihood, but it sounds like you have that covered.

Yeah, as part of a lesson, backed by the core curriculum, plus getting pre-approval from a Vice Principal or Principal, I am as safe as can be.

 

[Rodbuster209]

The only thing I would be in fear of is a teacher that brings something like that to school losing their job. Like it or not, in most situations this would have a very good chance of putting a teacher's job in jeopardy.

Also a big factor would be the race of the teacher, here where I live if a white teacher brought that to class or anywhere for that matter they would be out of a job!