I'll give just one example out of many from last night. I could
write a short book about the things he was wrong about.
Let me tell you up front what to watch out for with Werner - even
when he has facts right, it's his analysis of those facts and
conclusions he draws from them that are wild. Understand the
importance of that. Anyone can memorize Asbury Park facts. It
isn'that hard. That doesn't make you "Historian." Analyzing the
effect those facts had on the community is what separates a
Historian from someone who simply aggregates data.
Werner insisted last night that founder James A. Bradley wasn't
responsible for the east/west segregation of Asbury. Even the host
sounded a bit surprised and pressed him on it.
Here is how wrong he is:
*Bradly purchased Asbury up to where RailRoad Avenue was.
*Across from there was a section known as "West Park."
*The people in West Park were Blacks, Italians, Jews...basiaclly the
ethnic minorities that were not yet seen as "White people"
*The people in West Park lived in little huts (remember Mayor
Sanders line in the last election about going from huts to homes?
He was right about that, even though people out of the know blasted
him for it).
So how did Bradley treat those workers?
He passed a law saying Black people were not allowed on the
Boardwalk.
He tried to pass a law saying that poor whites from the West weren't
allowed on the Boardwalk, but said that unlike Blacks they have no
distinguishing marks to tell them apart.
He fired a band because the had an Italian Tuba player.
The development of Asbury Park was PLANNED so that the East and West
would be different, the West being the poorer community to supply
workers to the East.
He refused to continue the sewerage to the West Side.
Notice the Catholic Churches were relegated away from Grand Avenue,
which he kept as his favored houses of worship.
I can show you newspaper reports as far back as the late 1800's
about racial unrest in Asbury Park because of the way Black people
felt they were mistreated by Bradley, who at that time ran
everything here.
So, here is the "historian" who knows all that I said above, and
CONCLUDES that Bradley is NOT responsible for the Asbury Park's
East/West segregation.
Even when the host pressed him, he just said "Well he was a product
of his times."
THAT is the faulty analysis right there. "Product of his times" is
an explaination of WHY he did it; it does mean he didn't do it,
which is what Werner was trying to sell.
The only logical conclusion is that the guy that set all that up is
the guy responsible for it, regardless of his motives.
What would lead Werner to say Bradly isn't responsible for his own
racism and socio-economic segregation?
Here is where I've warned he loses credibility as a historian: If
people lose respect for Bradly the man, then when Werner yells,
which he often does, that things we do today are contrary to what
Bradley may have wanted, no one will care.
You see, Werner has hung his hat on being the guy who defends
Bradley's legacy. If Bradley becomes irrelevant, so does he.
He has an agenda. He is willing to disort history (by saying Bradly
was not responsible for segregation when he clearly was) just so his
agenda does not get derailed.
That is why I caution against his being "Historian" because he will
distort history to further his agenda.
That's the opposite of historian.
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "Hinge" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> I just don't get it.
> As far as I can tell, Werner has only one agenda...preserving the
> architectural and historic legacy of AP. What's wrong with that?
> Unfortunately, it seems that the future of AP is written in stone,
but
> that doesn't mean that people can't still try and preserve what
little
> is left.
> --- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "oakdorf" <oakdorf@> wrote:
> >
> > One of best ways to learn about AP hitory is to:
> >
> > 1. speak to the people who have lived here forever.
> > 2. speak to the newbies
> > 3. Go sit in the Library and start pulling microfilms out and
begin
> > reading the various publications from late 1800's.
> > 4. then piece it all together. (Create the history)
> > 5. Start over.
> >
>
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