re: #229 Joe Bacon 🌹

I remember that the JC Penney store in my home town would not allow people of color or Jews to shop there.

They were told to go to the Sears store a couple blocks away.

Our borough pool “requested” that people of color stay away.

Other shops and clubs were “restricted”

And this was in Western Pennsylvania right before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed…

There was a small town in North Central Ohio where a bunch of relatives from my mother’s side of the family lived. It was all White even up into the 70s. Hell, it may still be, I sure don’t go there anymore. Those people on that side of the family are stuck in 1940, maybe earlier.

The town didn’t seem to have a written policy, just an accepted one by the town folk. They didn’t rent or sell homes to people of Color, especially the Black color. If a Black family moves in, it wouldn’t last long. I guess the not wanted signs were pretty strong.

Interesting point about the town. Very Germanic. My mother was 100% German. And the town was full of people with names like Frye, Schmidt, Metzger, Hermann, Gehrig and the like.

My one aunt though was 100% Mexican of Spanish heritage. She was White enough I guess. But she was married to a German, my mom’s Brother, my uncle Joe.

I’m pretty sure Archie Bunker was modeled after my uncle Joe. That man was a piece of work, even if he hated Nazi’s because he fought them in WW2. I guess he never saw the Nazi in himself though, since he fought them and all.

How bad was he and some of the relatives on that side of the family? They lived all of 30 miles away and I can’t think of one time they ever came to visit us. This was my mother’s brother and other relatives. Why didn’t they visit? I think I mentioned I lived in a city and a neighborhood that had Blacks around us.

Yeah. I have plenty stories from the White side of things that show how bad and deep set racism is. I understand from my one brother that many of those relatives are still extremely set in their ways. Racist/Bigoted ways.

And then there is my own oldest brother. He and Uncle Joe got along let’s say. Sigh.