Here’s a picture of a (fictional) MIGRANT from the planet Krypton to the planet Earth, specifically the United States of America. What’s the backstory?
“It was drawn by Superman comic book artist Wayne Boring around 1949, and it was stamped on a protective schoolbook cover (one of which recently sold at auction for $805) and a poster.
“But the comic is MORE than a quaint piece of Americana; it’s a relic from a largely forgotten nationwide tolerance MOVEMENT that swept the country for MORE than a decade. Powerful people in government also suspected Superman’s brand of patriotism was … anti-American propaganda…
“Educators deliberated how, and if, they should teach students to accept racial, cultural, and religious differences. After all, the ethnic MAKEUP of America was quickly changing. The first wave of the Great MIGRATION saw nearly 2 million African Americans move north and west to cities. While most classrooms remained segregated, even the whitest schools were increasingly mixed with the children of different immigrant groups.
“In 1938, the New York City Board of Education began requiring students to learn about how MULTIPLE groups contributed to American history. When World War II erupted one year later, the demand for tolerance education spiked. The New York Times reported in 1939 that ‘Instances were cited of teachers in New York City and elsewhere being ‘ridiculed, harassed and otherwise impeded’ by pupils under the influence of, and stimulated by, Nazi doctrine.’
“To nip foreign propaganda in the bud, schools across the country joined the tolerance MOVEMENT. MILITARY leaders encouraged it, too. They knew that American troops, many of them fresh out of school, would fight their best if they learned to set aside their differences.”
There’s MORE in this 2018 MENTAL Floss article. It’s interesting how this 70-year-old picture still MATTERS.
Of course, we want all kinds of people, no MATTER their MAKEUP, to MARVEL at that MATERIAL posted at ABC Wednesday.
wowie! That was important to post! I love the message and that I run across quotes by founding fathers and important leaders thru time with that same message. Some people seem to have forgotten that message in their bid to isolate our country. Thanks!
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Wonderful Roger…. but at the same time so sad, so sad, that it is not just historie but still alive and kicking
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yup – I’ve seen that image make the rounds time and again. I wonder when the Majority (especially the ‘Moral’ one) will truly heed his words?
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Very apt message, Roger.
Over the years, migrants have contributed a lot to America.
Maritime Trade- Odisha And Bali Connection- Anita
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Wow, maybe I should save my stuff – old posters could become an item when my grand kids are adults:):)
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I remember another great M word from my school days – Melting Pot! The USA is a melting pot of many different cultures.
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We need more of that ‘propaganda’ now ~ ‘when will we learn?’ ~ Great post for M!
Happy Days to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
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Very timely as we sometimes read in newspapers about stray incidents of assaults on migrants happening in America.
Roger, I noticed the absence of my image in the list of community members today.
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