The 1619 Project
I have been riveted by the entire 1619 project. But I was particularly struck by what Nikole Hannah-Jones has said about having complex feelings about patriotism. This passage is from herMy dad always flew an American flag in our front yard. The blue paint on our two-story house was perennially chipping; the fence, or the rail by the stairs, or the front door, existed in a perpetual state of disrepair, but that flag always flew pristine ... that flag outside our home never made sense to me.
After discussing it with the author, the editors elected not to identify by name the family Ethel worked for. In keeping with that editorial decision, we’ve blurred this image of Ethel posing with one of the family members. Ethel worked on her family farm until the age of 21, and then joined her older brothers and sisters in Inkster, Michigan. In the mid-20th century, because of the booming auto manufacturing industry, Detroit held the promise of better employment, a better wage and a better life. However, for many black women, once they got there, domestic labor was the only job they could find.who worked were employed as household workers. It was hard work and required significant time away from one’s own family.
After her funeral, another family member wrote me a letter. He told me he kept a picture of my grandmother inside his laundry cabinet. He wrote, “It would be a late night…[and] I would be doing laundry and [I] would be so tired.
Miss Ethel praised the white folks who put food on her table.
Good god, NPR, who cares?
😢
You know, NPR, it's very damaging to constantly indulge black people in their every petty grievance--both real and imagined. It gives blacks a false sense of what is due to them and what they due to others.
🌹 EthelPhillips 💜
Reminds me of the indignities my great grandma suffered, and that shit still goes on. Didn’t know her surname... I HATE this country.