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Use of Ocoee railroad station as a Memorial

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Posted by rdamon on Sunday, July 5, 2020 1:55 PM

"The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become members. The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution."

 

https://nmaahc.si.edu/

 

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, July 5, 2020 3:21 AM

I simply did not know that.  Thanks.  Probably was too busy with whatever N ew Orleans spare time I had devoted to trolley riding to learn!

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Posted by York1 on Saturday, July 4, 2020 3:13 PM

daveklepper
But other than the Slave Quarters at Williamsburg, I don't know of other museums on slavery of African-Americans.   Is there, are there?

 

Louisiana has one of the best at Whitney Plantation, upriver from New Orleans.

 

https://www.whitneyplantation.org/

 

 

The Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge has quite a few preserved plantations that illustrate not only the slave owners' lives, but also the lives of the slaves and their living quarters.

York1 John       

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Posted by daveklepper on Saturday, July 4, 2020 3:03 PM

The Federal Government does support the Smithsonians Native American Museum in Washington, which does tell the story pretty accurately.  In addiion, near it, will be museum specially for those Indians who served in the Armed Forces, to open in November.  But i agree that some local museums or other commemoration to specific events are appropriate in addition.

But other than the Slave Quarters at Williamsburg, I don't know of other museums on slavery of African-Americans.   Is there, are there?

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Posted by 243129 on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 11:10 AM

Let us not forget the indigenous population, the 'forgotten minority', from whom we stole this country and who are still persecuted to this day. These trepidations occurred around the same time as the Tulsa Massacre but are mired in obscurity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osage_Indian_murders

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 11:01 AM

Overmod
 
daveklepper
And possibly there are other towns and cities where non-white people were similarly driven from their homes. 

Well, of course there's Greenwood, a story recently in the partisan news.  And Rosewood.  I suspect there were many more around that time. 

How many of those places would officially build the kind of reminder against injustice that the German example constitutes, rather than devolving into wrongheaded 'white shaming' of one sort or another, remains to be seen, though.  This is an age of blame and retribution, not repentance accepted for healing, and I suspect many communities where historical atrocities occurred may not be eager to spend scarce resources on something that only threatens to stir up protest attention.

One thing I wish would happen is that some of the activists who have adopted 'never forget' crowdfund a standing charity expressly for building and maintaining these sorts of memorial. 

It is seeming that 1920 was a time of extreme persecution all across the country of black citizens...Tulsa and the above mentioned incidents.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 9:49 AM

Quote:  This is an age of blame and retribution, not repentance accepted for healing,.....

A real shame.  What can we do to change that?

1.  Police in the USA should try more to recruit non-white members.  Instead of "Defunding," there should specific funding for just that purpose.

2.  Wharever funding the USA gives to the Holocaust Museum in Washington should be at least matched or exceeded by a fund for the kind of memorial I hink for Ocoee and for other cities.  Possibly, the injuries suffered by Native Indians, Chinese, and Japanise-Americans, as well.  (I think  Mormons might be insulted to suggest they need this, since they have done a very good job about presenting their own history and suffering in the historically accirate "Legacy" in thier acoustically and visually first-class Imax Theatre in Salt Lake City.)

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 7:44 AM

daveklepper
And possibly there are other towns and cities where non-white people were similarly driven from their homes.

Well, of course there's Greenwood, a story recently in the partisan news.  And Rosewood.  I suspect there were many more around that time.

How many of those places would officially build the kind of reminder against injustice that the German example constitutes, rather than devolving into wrongheaded 'white shaming' of one sort or another, remains to be seen, though.  This is an age of blame and retribution, not repentance accepted for healing, and I suspect many communities where historical atrocities occurred may not be eager to spend scarce resources on something that only threatens to stir up protest attention.

One thing I wish would happen is that some of the activists who have adopted 'never forget' crowdfund a standing charity expressly for building and maintaining these sorts of memorial. 

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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 2:06 AM

Done.  Email yesterday.  To the email address you noted.  I will post any replies, unless confidentiality is requested.

And anyone who wishes to join this effort is most welcome.

And possibly there are other towns and cities where non-white people were similarly driven from their homes.

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Posted by rdamon on Monday, June 29, 2020 9:41 PM

I believe the train station in Ocoee is now home to the Lions's Club.

You may want to reach out to them.

https://www.ocoeelionsclub.com/

 

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Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, June 28, 2020 8:54 PM

Here is the letter, and you are welcome to comment:

 

דוד לוידבן יעקב יהודה קלפר,ישיבת בית אורות, שמואל בן עדיה 1, הר הזיתים, ירושלים  94000

 

David Lloyd ben Yaacov Yehuda Klepper, Yeshivat Beit Orot, Shmuel ben Adiya 1, Mt. of Olives, Jerusalem 97400 ISRAEL

 

 

28 June 2020, 5 Tamuz 5776                 >99I>            25.06.20, ה' תמוז, תש"פ

 

Officers and Members of the Lions Club

 

Taylor Street,  Ocoee. Florida 34761, U.  S.  A.

 

 

 

Mr. Richard Frank, City Manager

 

150 N Lakeshore Drive. Ocoee. Florida 34761, U.  S.  A.

 

 

 

Dear Fellow Citizens,

 

 

 

I am writing to present information and ideas, not to suggest a specific action, but two news reports came to me at about the same time, and perhaps the connection between them may be helpful to you:

 

A new Florida law will bring more education and recognition to the victims of the Ocoee Massacre of 1920, when a white mob on Election Day lynched a Black man dedicated to expanding voting access, then torched the Black community, forcing their exodus from the city.
 
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency  (Excerpted)
 
BERLIN (JTA) – Nearly 80 years after the last train sent Jews to almost certain death from the main railway station in Wurzburg, a memorial to those who perished was dedicated in the German city.
 
The memorial, designed by artist Matthias Braun, features a collection of suitcases, backpacks and assorted travel gear made of stone, ceramic and other materials.
The luggage – its owners unseen – stands in front of the main station. Nearby are information steles with historical photos.
 
In a modern twist, one can scan QR codes on the luggage to learn about the Jewish population and history of each town that had someone deported on a train to the Theresienstadt concentration camp outside Prague, in then-Czechoslovakia.
Each sculpted suitcase has a twin in one of those towns.
 
The last major deportation from the Wurzburg station took place in June 1943.  Before the Holocaust, the Lower Franconia region reportedly had the highest density of Jewish communities in Germany. Between 1941 and 1944, some 2,069 Jews were deported from the area to Theresienstadt.
For the project, local artists were asked to create a symbolic piece of luggage in all 109 towns in Lower Franconia that had prewar Jewish communities. So far, 69 towns have participated.
 
One suitcase does not refer to a particular town. It is open and contains the poem “Little Ruth,” by the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, whose family fled Germany in the 1930s.
 
The verse is dedicated to his childhood friend Ruth Hanover, who was murdered in the Sobibor death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
 
Another component of the memorial is an ongoing youth education project, started in 2018, that focuses on lessons to be learned from the history.
Funders include the city of Wurzburg and other local towns. The total costs are expected to reach 250,000 euros (about $280,000).
 
Due to social distancing measures designed to hinder the coronavirus pandemic, only about 50 people attended the ceremony – the legal limit for now. It was livestreamed on the website of the project initiators, DenkOrtDeportationen.
 
Wurzburg is midway between Frankfort and Nuremberg.
 
Hope this is helpful, very best wishes and respect,
Signature.jpg
Dave Klepper, Student, Yeshivat Beit Orot in Jerusalem, USA Army Veteran

 

 

 

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Use of Ocoee railroad station as a Memorial
Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, June 28, 2020 7:56 PM

I'ver weritten the City Manager and the Lion's Club on Use of m the SAL Station as a Memorial to those forced to leave in 1920.

I'll attach the letter to return email anyone contacting me at daveklepper@yahoo.com.

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