Clearly, the display was not lost on the public of the day. It was Darwin’s views that caused this small man to be viewed as an evolutionary ‘throwback’.
Daily Telegraph Mirror, 26 Aug 1994.
Article image and caption, with attribution for photo.
Posted on 08/11/2020 11:11:22 AM PDT by fishtank
Bronx Zoo apologizes for putting a man in a monkey house. And evades the real reasons in the process.
by Gary Bates
August 2020
As far back as 1993 in our Creation magazine we wrote about the horrific and inhumane treatment of Ota Benga, a young African man who was taken from Congo in 1904 by noted African explorer and former slave trader Samuel Verner. Samuel Verner was known for his belief in evolution and for his support of white supremacist ideals. On his maiden voyage onboard the Roquelle from Antwerp to Congo, Verner was surprised that dark-skinned individuals were allowed to dine together with Caucasian shipmates. In a letter to his mother, he lamented that, “the helplessness of that race is simply appalling.”1 So from the very beginning of his journey to the West, Ota found himself strongly influenced by racist evolutionists.
(Excerpt) Read more at creation.com ...
Clearly, the display was not lost on the public of the day. It was Darwin’s views that caused this small man to be viewed as an evolutionary ‘throwback’.
Daily Telegraph Mirror, 26 Aug 1994.
Article image and caption, with attribution for photo.
As reported in July 2020, The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS, which runs the zoo) said:
“We deeply regret that many people and generations have been hurt by these actions or by our failure previously to publicly condemn and denounce them,” WCS President and CEO Cristián Samper wrote.
“We recognize that overt and systemic racism persists, and our institution must play a greater role to confront it.”
But was it really racism?
...
The apology misses the mark, completely.
As part of its mission to be more transparent, WCS is making all records and archives related to Benga publicly available.
While being politically correct and being swept up in a cultural tide, they are actually failing to be transparent. Although the zoo apologized for this racist action, nowhere in the zoo’s apologies or statements do they mention the real reason Ota Benga was put on display.
It was a belief in evolution, as clearly stated by the main players of the day themselves.
All five owners associated with Ota Benga—Samuel Verner, William McGee, William Hornaday, Henry Osborn, and Madison Grant—were well-known evolutionists of their day.”
From article:
“But was it really racism?
...
It was a belief in evolution, as clearly stated by the main players of the day themselves.”
Google Ishi the Indian and U.C. Berkeley.
Kramer fights with Barry the monkey.
https://youtu.be/-A9U_Y3L7XU
Google Ishi the Indian and U.C. Berkeley.
Captain Spaulding?
They did it in September 1906 without a word from the New York Times.
I read this book when I was a kid, I thought it was extremely sad and I felt so badly for Ishi. It’s always stuck in my head.
Putting a boy in would have been more instructive. ;)
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