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Archiver > APG > 2003-11 > 1069112737


From: Ray Beere Johnson II <>
Subject: [APG] Race and Blind Spots (and Academics)
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 15:45:37 -0800 (PST)


Elizabeth;
Since I have mentioned a few of the horrors
perpretrated in the South in the name of "racial
purity", I should also confess that the state of
Vermont, where several of my own ancestors are
from, was revoltingly enthusiastic in
establishing a "eugenics" program, in pursuit of
breeding a "master race". And apparently the
highest number of forced sterilisations carried
out in the US were performed in California!
I guess that Northerners absorb a version of
history which teaches that, in the South, whites
and blacks did not and could not marry. It would
appear to be one of those dangerous half-truths,
with just enough fact behind it to make it seem
plausible. It also shows that history, at least
as taught in the schools, can have as many errors
as any amateur genealogy the academic historians
like to criticise.
In the end, we are all human; people
everywhere are easily persuaded to believe they
are superior, whether that "superiority" rests on
race, or on formal academic training. And as
often as not, those most convinced of their
superiority are the least so.
I am not suggesting that we should not
strive for a certain academic acceptance of what
we do. What I do mean to say is that we should
not allow ourselves to value our profession based
upon the evaluation academics provide. If we
strive to do the best work we can, and develop
methodologies which lead to sound results, then
what we do has value. Academic acceptance is only
the icing on the cake.
Ray


=====
Ray Beere Johnson II - Genealogist
279 East Central Street, Suite 259
P. O. Box 95
Franklin, Massachusetts 02038


FAX: 508-541-6788

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