Posted on 03/01/2005 11:55:14 AM PST by WKB
OSCAR nominee MORGAN FREEMAN has discovered why he loves his home state of Mississippi so much - it's less racist than most other places in America.
The actor grew up in racial segregation in the Delta region, which was once considered the heartland of American racism, but he insists he never felt oppression until he moved away.
And now he has fond memories of his childhood, despite the fact he wasn't allowed to attend certain clubs and had to sit on the balcony of his local cinema because only whites were allowed downstairs.
He says, "It can't bother you if that's the way life is. If you were raised up in Africa and you ate worms it wouldn't bother you, would it? Same thing.
"I wasn't thinking about rising up and going up to the Paramount and demanding to be let in to the ground floor. I just wanted to go to the movies."
Freeman admits he once dreamed of getting far away from Mississippi, but now he lives there and owns a blues bar and restaurant in Clarksdale.
He admits the state is still one of the most friendly places on earth, despite it's dubious reputation.
He adds, "I grew up in a segregated society that was purposely, obviously, openly segregated. I wasn't given any BS about anything else and I went up to the north and you see it and it's insidious... You want to think you're free-er but you're not."
... but I also know
you love seeing it in here in font.
Actually a mirror is better
"Actually a mirror is better"
A mirror is DEFINATELY better. ;o)
I loved growing up there. It also helped that nearly all of my relatives lived there. Most of the elder generation is gone except for my mom who will be 101 on April 26 and her younger 80+ sister.
Me, too.
Yes, it was "just the way things were". As a child in MS I knew no different. Whites and blacks did not mix except in work and commerce. I picked cotten and cucumbers and corn alongside blacks who were just as poor as I and my family. We ate the same foods and we talked about the same music singers. We had the same sweat and worn out clothes. Never did I or anyone I know ever think that we were better than they were. It was only a few southern hotheads who carried the whole region into civil rights warfare. Hollywood has exploited that image for 50 years. It's not the real way it was.......
That's enough now...
for a while... at least.
A mirror is DEFINATELY better. ;o)
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Hollywood exploits whatever they can make money off of. If that means making movies at the expense of Mississippi, they will but I don't see such movies so popular anymore. Having said that, I couldn't live in Mississippi years ago with my family and lifestyle. The place today sounds like a better place to live than where I live right now.
You forgot Jerry Clowers. I got to meet him when he came to a fund raising for the high school band my daughter was in. Have lots of photos, too.
And you forgot ME :>)
"And you forgot ME :>)"
It goes without saying that you
are at the top of the list. ;o)
Mrogan Freeman was a president with integrity in the movie DEEP IMPACT. He's not ringing the victimhood bell, though he may well have a reason to. All of us who are Christians need to get away from the 'victim' mentality as well.
My favorite Civil War movie - first time I rooted for the Yankees.
And Steve McNair
Morgan Freeman ping.
What happened/is happening in the South is difficult to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it. There are some blacks and whites so close as to be family.
An earlier post listed Leontyne Price as a famous native. I had family in Laurel where she was raised and they were familiar with her story. Her mother was a servant of a white family, who recognized her talent early and provided her with music lessons, treating her much like they would their own daughter.
Some might dismiss such actions as just paternalism, but I think it was genuine affection. Yet, at the time, you had to contrast that with the fact they couldn't eat in the same restaurant. Since the 60s, segregation has disappeared but much of the friendliness remains as Mr. Freeman points out.
Michael,
Have you read Cliff Taulbert book, "When We Were Colored"? The book explains much of waht Freeman feels.
Was there when Cliff did readings for SCOTUS members. AJ O'Connor sponsored it. AJ Thomas and Ginny Thomas were there too.
It was extraordinary.
I don't think that's correct. I think that a sizable minority of black voters voted to keep the flag. IIRC, it was about 15% or so, maybe higher. (???)
would you two be interested in signing up for the MS ping list? If so, let me or WKB know by FreepMail.
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