[78-L] Stephen Foster

[DAVID BURNHAM]

Tom wrote:

Stephen Foster) who made a career of sorts, by depicting African-Americans as wide-eyed, lustful, disorganized, ignorant and inferior to whites.

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Maybe you  know different Foster songs than I do but I can't think of one Foster lyric which is guilty of this observation.  In my experience, Foster always depicted blacks as hard working, God fearing, family devoted, honest, fun-loving people.

It reminds me of a situation here in Toronto about 15 years ago when an African-Canadian school trustee was trying to get "Showboat" banned from a local theatre because it was so racist.  It was obvious from her quotes from the musical that she had no idea what it was about.  Paul Robeson championed "Showboat" and he was one of the most outspoken advocates for rights and equality for people of all backgrounds.

On a totally different subject, I once asked a Rabbi why Jews found the reciting of the "Lord's Prayer" so offensive.  He said it was obviously because of the references to Jesus.  I was able to point out to him that Jesus or any other reference to him is not mentioned anywhere in the Lord's Prayer - this was a Jewish prayer taught to Jews by a Jew.

People always seem to hear what they want to hear.

db