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Subject:
From:
William Robison <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 25 Nov 2018 10:43:15 -0600
Content-Type:
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I am happy to report that among my students both racism and homophobia are
disappearing. But when I was growing up, both the watermelon trope and the
racist notion that African-Americans are thieves were alive and well. Damn
near everyone in the South eats watermelon, regardless of gender,
ethnicity, political persuasion, religious ideology, or sexual orientation.
So where the trope came from is a mystery to me. But then so is the one
about thievery.

On Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 10:26 AM Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I'd mention that  it's interesting that Huck Finn "borrowed" melons too;
> and that the cultural history of the watermelon trope is associated with
> Jim Crow long before 1901:
>
>
>
> https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/
>
> [
> https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/01/lead_large-4/facebook.jpg?1522683760
> ]<
> https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/
> >
>
> How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope - The Atlantic<
> https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/
> >
> www.theatlantic.com
> While mainstream-media figures deride these instances of racism, or at
> least racial insensitivity, another conversation takes place on Twitter
> feeds and comment boards: What, many ask, does a ...
>
>
>
>
> Dr. Hal Bush
>
> Dept. of English
>
> Saint Louis University
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 314-977-3616
>
> http://halbush.com
>
> author website:  halbush.com
>
> ________________________________
> From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of James N. Powell <
> [log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 10:11:37 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Clemens and persistent racism?
>
> 我園の真桑も盗むこころ哉
> wagasono no makuwa mo nusumu kokoro kana
>
> Even in my own field,
> I pick a melon
> As if stealing.
>
>                 ~ Buson
>
> Tr. Shoji Kumano
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Dave Davis
> Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 7:08 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Clemens and persistent racism?
>
> Wiser heads will know more, but that sounds to me more like the voice of
> Paine than the voice of Twain. Are the narratives quoted found in the
> Autobiography (the full dictations, which have recently been published)?
>
> DDD
>
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ebooks.adelaide.edu.au_t_twain_mark_paine_chapter214.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=Pk_HpaIpE_jAoEC9PLIWoQ&r=f7i-Uq4rMQU8-TBe45qVLg&m=O_q9Ul57LFXCfZatvQF5i636yefdbwZVbEeDnYRjwKI&s=iWIHIGKB2n7u8ZpXmsJ12yGKqCfSHnjHKZA48VN6WzQ&e=
>
>
> On Sat, Nov 24, 2018 at 6:14 PM John Greenman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > from “the watermelons” (which Paine quotes in chapter CCXIV. MARK
> > TWAIN AND THE MISSIONARIES in his Biography) Clemens says:
> > “...This was down South, in the slavery days. It was the nature of the
> > negro then, as now, to steal watermelons…."
> >
> > Question: have y’all concluded that this 1901 concept accurately
> > reflects Clemens’ racial feelings are was there some other reason for
> his wording??
> >
> > thanks,
> >
> > -j
> >
> > +++++++++++++++
> > Coincidence is a messenger
> > sent by Truth
> >
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > Mark Twain Audiobooks from Librivox
> >
> > My Mark Twain audio recordings at Archive.org
> >
>


-- 
William B. Robison, PhD
Department Head / Professor of History
Department of History and Political Science
Southeastern Louisiana University
SLU 10895
Hammond LA 70402
985-549-2109 phone
985-549-2012 fax
[log in to unmask]
http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/depts/hist_ps/index.html
http://www.tudorsonfilm.com/
http://www.impairedfaculties.com/

History teaches students to read intelligently, think analytically, write
clearly, accurately assess past trends, rationally predict future
developments, and understand the real world. Now *that* is workforce-ready!

History does offer us very real lessons, but they are seldom simple and
straightforward. To understand and benefit from them, you have to know your
history very well. That is why history matters as much as math, science,
technology, or any other subject.

"A young horse is fast, but an old horse knows what's going on." – Muddy
Waters

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