Well thank you Sharon. I know our backgrounds have some
similarities, and I'm glad we can relate in that way.
Asbury seems to be a smaller New Orleans from the way you describe
it.
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "2fine4u" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Tommy:
> I have to give credit, where credit is due. I, myself, am not a
> native of this town or this county, for that matter. Nothing
beats
> fact or your own personal memory. I have heard and read exactly
> what you have posted here. I never thought I'd see it in print,
> especially in this sometime volatile, group. I tell you, I too,
was
> raised in an Italo/German/Creole(Black)/Armenian/English,
> neighborhood. There were very few "all white", areas in New
> Orleans. No one area of the City was exclusively "white", per se,
> except, Lakeshore Drive, which was relatively new and the suburb
of
> Metarie. There were places, I never ventured into, as an adult,
> because you kept to your own kind, if you get my drift. In my
quasi-
> "not quite white, but considered Black world", I was
> considered, "some other", where you knew something was amiss, even
> though there was an N or a C on your birth certificate. To read
> mine, is like reading a book. Even though my Father was in Italy,
> during WWII, my BC had what he did prior to the war, my Mother's
> maiden name, her color and a bunch of insignificant stuff, too
> stupid to mention and that I was the second "live" birth. Even
the
> word "Creole" has a meaning, in that it means I was born of some
> European extract and inside the City proper. The Cajuns, on the
> other hand are those French/Indians, in the bayous, country-side
and
> swamp dwellers, usually considered, low-class, by those born in
the
> City. Thus my dissassociation with anything Cajun. In my case,
it
> was the French. If a Black person, had a Spanish surname, it
meant
> they descended from the Spaniards, that settled the Floridas,
> Carolinas and the Gulf Coast, that never spoke a word of Spanish.
> The dominant language was a French patois, unlike the Haitians of
> Saint Domingue. I still speak some French and cannot understand
> what the Haitians are saying. Your narration of what Asbury Park
> was, its' purpose and the origins of the founder, are telling. As
> in all regions of this country espousing democracy, there was
racial
> hatred everywhere, not just the South. Your history was very well
> stated and I appreciated the professionalism, with which you told
> it. Thanks!
> --- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "justifiedright"
> <justifiedright@> wrote:
> >
> > 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.
> >
> >
> Most histories are distorted; not just the history of this town.
> Most are white-washed to paint a more pleasant atmosphere, where
> selling tourism is concerned.
> >
>
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