Appetite for America (and snow day)

[neadods]

Five inches of snow over slush. We've dug out and the electricity is holding, so things are good - but I'm knackered! I still have to be a responsible adult and pay a couple bills, buy a very belated Christmas present, sign up for a cheesemaking class, and write my backlog of reviews.

But then the rest of this unofficial snow day is mine, and I'm going to spend it with Appetite for America. The book is both frustrating and fascinating - frustrating, because things are mentioned in passing that could fill a whole book themselves. Fascinating, because they are mentioned at all, and in enough detail so you can see how they fit into the time period. For instance, one of Fred Harvey's friends was a literally pistol-packin' firebreathing newspaper editor called Daniel Anthony... and then Fried mentions in passing that Dan's sister just happened to be named Susan B. Other tangential bits of interesting news include the first economic depression (and why) and the jockying that created Kansas City and then turned it into an economic hub.

Fried has an even-handed "horns and halo" style of discussing some of the thornier bits of history. For example, the paragraph bridging pages 40-41 about Pullman and his new car service, which was universally staffed by the darkest-skinned black men Pullman could find. Fried points out the ugly side - that such men were inexpensive to hire and would be seen (and treated as) simply part of the Pullman furniture by the clients and probably Pullman himself, to the point that all the employees were renamed "George" while on duty. But Fried also points out that Pullman was employing a group that was chronically underemployed and paying them well for it -- at the time, it was the best employment opportunity for these men.

Comments

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Well, that adds a new layer of meaning to the line "and the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers" in "City of New Orleans"! Because of course the engineers would all have been white.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Good point!

[lagilman]

Yeah... okay, I guess I'd always taken that as understood. Always interesting, the levels of background knowledge/assumptions one doesn't even know one has (for good and for ill)

EtA: mostly, it was an economic/class difference even among the 'rail workers', but also a color line, yeah)

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Given that I was all of 14 years old when I first heard the song, I'm not surprised that I missed some of the nuances. Class difference, certainly, but I didn't really think about color lines at the time. I've done a lot of consciousness-raising on myself since then. :-)

[jennetj.livejournal.com]

The whole history of Pullman is several volumes in itself. Not surprisingly, we've got a lot of Pullman history here. If you ever get here when you're not dashing off for a con, they have tours of the Historic Pullman neighborhood.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's tempting!

[redpanda13.livejournal.com]

From a quick peek at wikipedia on Pullman:

The Pullman Company is also remembered for its porters. The company hired African Americans for this position. While still a menial job in many respects, it offered better pay and security than most jobs open to African Americans at the time, in addition to a chance for travel, and was a well regarded job in the African-American community of the time. Pullman porters were unionized in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters under A. Philip Randolph. Many of the Pullman attendants, regardless of their true name, were referred to as "George" by the travelers. This tradition, widely considered racist, finds its origins after the company's founder, George Pullman. The Pullman company was the largest employer of African Americans in the U.S. at the time.

The labor union associated with the company, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which was organized by Pullman porters, was one of the most powerful African-American political entities of the 20th century.

----
A. Philip Randolph was possibly the biggest civil rights leader before MLK:

Randolph emerged as one of the most visible spokesmen for African-American civil rights. In 1941, he, Bayard Rustin, and A. J. Muste proposed a march on Washington to protest racial discrimination in war industries and to propose the desegregation of the American Armed forces. The march was cancelled after President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, or the Fair Employment Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Philip_Randolph

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Interesting!

[flaviarassen.livejournal.com]

It's even more interesting when you realize that he was essentially giving all of them HIS name - so yet another "horns & halo" bit.

I can't remember the movie I saw, but I was tickled to see a rather old movie mention this - and have the hero-type make a point of saying "Yeah, I you're all called "George" - but what's your real name?" Very nice touch all around.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Oh, nice touch! If you ever remember what movie that was, I want to look for it.

ETA, though: Is it more racist to call all the Pullman porters "George" after their boss than it is to call the Harvey Girls "Harvey Girls" after their boss? I don't think it is. In both cases, they were the interchangeable face of their employer's standards.

[flaviarassen.livejournal.com]

I'll check my resources (IMdB & The Hubby (tm).

It was certainly demeaning, but only in an "impersonalizing" way, not a "you are inferior" way.

[fyrdrakken]

I just saw this sweater pattern and thought of you:

Bulky Brioche Raglan

Mind you, it's $5.50 -- but searching on Ravelry for a brioche sweater pattern would no doubt turn up something free.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

That is gorgeous! Worth the money, really.