https://www.pulpinternational.com/pulp/entry/Photo-of-Ella-Fitzgerald-in-jail-in-Houston.html
Today in 1955 in Houston, musicians Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Illinois Jacquet, personal assistant Georgiana Henry, and concert promoter Norman Granz were arrested, ostensibly for the crime of illegal gambling. Five undercover cops had barged into the backstage area at the Houston Music Hall during a mid-set break and caught Jacquet and Gillespie playing craps. Fitzgerald was having a snack. Henry was nearby, as assistants tend to be. And Granz was arrested for blocking the cops’ access to Fitzgerald’s private bathroom because he feared they might plant drugs—a trick he’d seen before. The photo shows Fitzgerald and Henry. The despondent singer told gathered reporters, “I have nothing to say. What is there to say? I was only having a piece of pie and a cup of coffee.”
The gambling charge was, of course, just a pretext. Ella and company were actually arrested for playing to an integrated audience. Segregation had been made illegal the year before, but local authorities weren’t budging in their attempts to keep the city divided, and jazz music, because of its popularity and tendency to elevate black culture, was feared by the old guard as the thin edge of the wedge of equal rights. Back then, opponents of equality called non-segregated shows such as Fitzgerald’s “forced integration,” because whites had no option to partake without mingling with blacks. The phrase is eerily similar to “forced diversity,” which you hear a lot in 2022, and will continue to hear in upcoming years.
Racism is such a dumb concept.
To stay in power, you need an “other” to keep the masses under control.
Sure, still really dumb concept that people fall for.
Americans really learned to take racism to another level
England should have killed The Puritans, not allowed them to escape.
The UK fucked their whole economy because someone working at Tesco had an accent. Also, who do you think was importing slaves to the American Colonies? They have no room to talk.
She is one of the greatest. I could listen to her and Louis Armstrong every day and never tire of it.
I remember going on a serious old jazz kick and downloaded so much ella fitzgerald and other jazz after playing (replaying?) some of the fallout games.
Serves her right for corrupting white people. /s
Pretext arrests are really about plausible deniability. Even today on fact-checking websites like Snopes, the arrest is not fully labeled an incident of racist harassment. They were actually gambling, goes the logic.
Snopes if anyone cares:
Was there any evidence of money changing hands, or merely playing a dice game was enough?
Snopes said the Houston Post reported:
Sgt. W.A. Scotton said saxophonist Jacquet had the dice in his hand as the troop of officers walked in. The troop confiscated the dice and $185 in cash. Then they agreed to wait until the first show was over before taking the performers to the police station.
Looks like the pic posted here has been mirrored.
http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/files/legacy/EllaArrestPOST2aSmall.jpg
https://cdm17006.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/images/id/4509/
There is another write up on it: https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/vol-8-no-1-Illinois-Jacquet1.pdf
Wonder how many of the cops and their bosses regularly got together to play poker…
Who is the other person?
Her personal assistant, Georgiana Henry.
https://kbin.social/m/historyporn@lemmy.world/t/837361/-/comment/5169633
“Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz legend, arrested in Houston for singing in front of a racially diverse
an integratedaudience, 1955”That’s what “integrated” means.
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Can you explain your reasoning?
It’s white washing.
Your chatgpt comment explaining the white washing theory is embarrassing, you should just delete both comments lol.
the irony of using a racially charged term like “white washing”
White washing means washing (aka painting) your house with a chalk wash. It covers up the dirt and makes the wall look all clean again. In this sense it’s also used figuratively.
Not washing your skin white or whatever.
rAcIaLLy DiVEr-fucking white and black audience. There.
The use of “integrated” here provides specific historical context.
While it may, it is white washed history.
The term “integrated” implies that separate facilities for black and white people were simply combined, without acknowledging the systemic racism and discrimination that necessitated segregation in the first place. By framing the situation as an issue of integration rather than addressing the root causes of segregation and inequality, it minimizes the harm and oppression that black people faced and continues to face.
This white washing of history and reality serves to downplay the struggles and experiences of black people, making it seem like their fight for equality and civil rights was simply a matter of integration rather than a battle against deep-seated racism and prejudice. It overlooks the violence, discrimination, and resistance that black individuals and communities had to face in order to gain equal access to basic rights and amenities.
Furthermore, the term “integration” can also imply a form of assimilation, where black individuals are pressured to conform to white norms and standards in order to be accepted. This erases the distinct cultural identities and lived experiences of black people, and reinforces a hierarchy where whiteness is the default and superior norm.
In conclusion, the use of the word “integrated” in regards to black people being allowed to use the same facilities as white people is a form of white washing that minimizes the struggles and experiences of black individuals, perpetuates a narrative of assimilation, and fails to address the systemic racism and oppression that continue to impact black communities today. It is important to recognize and challenge this kind of language in order to promote a more accurate and inclusive understanding of history and social justice.
edit: I guess y’all aren’t a fan of critical race theory. A little too woke for Lemmy.
