Day 356 Then and Now

November 30, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

Charles and Fayette Streets, 2015. The word democracy appears on the marquee on the left.

Charles and Fayette Streets, 1954. Baltimore Gas and Electric archives on the Baltimore Museum of Industry's site. http://www.thebmi.org/portfolio/hoopers-restaurant/

I grew up in Baltimore City, lived in a segregated neighborhood and went to a segregated elementary school. After the Supreme Court’s 1954 decision, I went to integrated Woodbourne Junior High and Eastern High. At Frostburg State College, I was selected to participate in a special seminar/research class. Work on my self-chosen research paper in 1964, An Abuse of American Justice, introduced me to CORE and SNCC. Before the introduction of personal computers and the Internet, I had to type my final paper. This was ten years after school integration and there were only two black students at Frostburg, and both played on the college football team. I began attending a hidden black church in Frostburg and sometimes played the piano during services.

Today, prompted by a Baltimore Museum of Industry photo contest, Then and Now, David and I drove around Baltimore to compare city scenes now with photos from years ago. I took several photos today but earlier I had photographed a scene at Charles and Fayette Streets, location of Hooper’s Restaurant and the scene of a 1960 sit-in protesting segregation in public places. Black student protesters were refused service, refused to leave and were arrested. The case was appealed and ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court.  

Now in 2015, Hooper’s no longer exists, public places are integrated and the pace of life has quadrupled. From current news and protests today, it is obvious that we still have a long way to go regarding civil rights but history has taught me that positive change does happen. My wish is that it will not take another 50 years.

My gift today is a sense of history.

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Baltimore Museum of Industry

Day 357: Time

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

              

Day 230 Ephemeral

July 27, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70^th year where I write and illustrate a blog on each day’s gift.)

The National Gallery of Art exhibit, The Memory of Time.  
“I stop being just the observer of light, as it spills into the house and moves through it in the course of the day. Here I have become a participant in creating these images of light  I am moving the curtain to change the formation of a line of light that starts out being razor-thin and over the hours grows into a thick band of light.” ~ Uta Barth

The relationship of time and truth to photography continually prods me. With some hubris, I delude myself that I have power over time with a slight movement of a finger on a shutter. I believe that I can capture the present—a moment of meaning—and suspend it within time’s dervish. Light waves of truth bend around my perception. In the future, I can return to this past and re-arrange it to create my own reality. When photographing, I am always in the present but when looking at photos, I am in the past.

Today I saw a thought-provoking photography exhibit at the National Gallery of Art, The Memory of Time. The introduction describes it as “…work by artists who investigate the richness and complexity of photography’s relationship to time, memory, and history.”

From a very early age, I have always held a sensitivity to the power of light and shadow. Lives slide through this narrative landscape of light and shadow but the edges never remain the same because light constantly moves. Maybe this is why I was especially struck by Uta Barth’s triptych of light entitled “to draw a bright white line with light.” She immerses us in the transient nature of light and shadow. I stepped back to take a photo of the three photo panels with David standing in front of them. 

Truth is always a subtle blurring of time, light and memory.

My gift today is The Memory of Time.

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> Day 231: Coming Home

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

More on Guns

A little perspective please!

© Photo by Bonnie J. Schupp

Before I begin, let me make clear that I believe we should keep the Second Amendment and that we should not take away everyone’s guns. I have fired guns for target practice maybe two or three times during my 68 years…guns that belonged to other people.  I do not own one but there are guns in the homes of both of my daughters. 

Now, let us put some things in perspective with just a few of many possible points to make. I realize these suggestions are simplistic and that they would require much more complexity in implementation:

• Staunch Second Amendment supporters believe we should not mess with the Second Amendment at all. They claim it is sacrosanct.  Many believe that we should put absolutely no conditions and no restrictions on gun ownership. It is interesting to note that when the Second Amendment was written in 1791, we were still fighting the Indians (Native Americans) in our country. (See history notes at end) We have now reached a point in our history where we need to determine restrictions for gun ownership and use.
   
•  We need to first of all to consider what is best for the good of all. Should we forget all restrictions for the sake of gun owners in this country or do we take into account all the lives lost because of guns? Although we can never eradicate gun deaths, there must be something we can do to at least reduce the number of deaths caused by guns (and the number of mentally unbalanced people who pull the trigger in mass killings). 

• We have a right to own a car, but with certain restrictions. We need to take a driving test, get a license and buy insurance.  We must use seat belts in our cars and helmets while riding our motorcycles. We get tickets if we park our cars improperly. We get tickets if we speed or go through red lights. We cannot drive the wrong way on a one-way street. 

• Some argue that we cannot ban even certain types of guns because they are already in use among a large part of the population and it would be impossible. And why not? This did not make a difference when it was discovered that asthma inhalers were harming the environment…just a tiny bit. As of December 31, 2008, no CFC-propelled inhalers could be produced, marketed or sold in this country. 

• Some argue that we are over-reacting to several sensational news events and that we do not need to change laws because of these isolated events by a few mentally unstable people. However, it seems to make no sense that we do not act quickly to reduce gun deaths but we were quick to react to violence perpetrated by some people from highway overpasses. Now we see fencing/barriers on overpasses that make it difficult for people to throw rocks down at cars passing by below. 

• Some argue that it is unfair to restrict law-abiding citizens because of a few crazy people. Yes, but consider that we must take off our shoes when going through airport security. Consider that the open liquids we are allowed at this point are restricted. Consider that I must go through a body scan every time I fly because I have an artificial knee. Not even a note from my doctor will excuse me.  At a German airport, I was even given a hard time for my liquid lipstick! Ask me if I like this. Of course not! But I also do not want to die from a terrorist attack on an airplane. 

Here are my suggestions

All U.S. citizens have a right to own a gun but with these restrictions:

• Ban all assault and semi-assault weapons. No ordinary citizen needs this--military use yes but ordinary citizens no.
• Those assault weapons in homes now cannot be passed on to anyone after the owner's death.
• Make is mandatory to store weapons in a locked cabinet. (Yeah, I know...there are logistical concerns here but there are many accidental deaths caused by children who get their hands on their parents' guns.)
• Make it a mandatory prison sentence and large fine for parents whose children somehow gain access to their parents' guns. (Obviously, this mandatory sentence would be for parents not killed by their children.)
• Limit the size of clips so it will be more difficult to kill in great numbers.
• Regulate the sale of ammunition itself. I have to sign when I pick up my medical prescriptions.
• All gun sales should require a background check using a national database. (Much work to be done here.) 

Historical perspective

Times have changed since the ratification of the Second Amendment in 1791. Perhaps some modifications need to be made.

• In 1791 more than 200 years ago, the Second Amendment was ratified long before our more civilized and fair social society was established. We were in the Wild West era.

•  In 1791 Rhode Island became the 13^th state.

• In 1791 women were not allowed to vote.

• In 1791 white people owned African slaves.

• In 1791 we had written the Declaration of Independence not even 20 years before.

• In 1790 the first U.S. census count included slaves and free African-Americans but not Native Americans. 

• In 1791 a lawless frontier existed in some parts of the country where people had many protection issues in their daily lives.

• In 1850 California became the 31^st state.

• In 1871 the NRA was founded.

• In 1791 the "arms" we had a right to bear were less powerful than today's weapons: 

• In 1791 guns were single-shot muskets loaded with powder and ball for each shot.

• In 1791 guns were made by gunsmiths and had rudimentary rifling. 

• In 1791 guns were single-shot weapons loaded through the muzzle and fired by means of a flintlock.

• In 1791 guns did not have interchangeable parts (1798) and were not revolvers (1835).

• In 1791 guns were not breach loaded (1810) and did not use smokeless powder (1885).

• In 1791 guns did not load bullets from a clip (1890).

Recent study: Firearm Deaths Lower Where Gun Laws Strong (inconclusive cause-effect relationship but worth further investigation) 

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/PublicHealth/37722

 
 

 

Anne Boleyn

Hold on to your...head! On this date in 1536, Anne Boleyn was beheaded for adultery by her husband, King Henry VIII. Historians believe that the real reason might have been that Anne didn't produce a son for her husband. However, her daughter Elizabeth grew up to become one of the most influential queens in history.

Read more here at The Writer's Almanac.

(Image from The Historical Association.)
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Lankow, the Town that Once Was

Today we experienced some history from the Cold War...

Maja, Stella, Jeremy, David and me at Lankow.

©Bonnie J. Schupp

Jeremy and Maja took us to see Maja's family's old homestead, Lankow, a town that was bulldozed flat because it was too close to the East German border.

Maja's uncles took it upon themselves to put up this sign along the country road into town so that Lankow, and what happened there, would not be forgotten.  

©Bonnie J. Schupp

This used to be the center of Lankow until it was demolished in 1976.  
©Bonnie J. Schupp

Maja's father's family had to leave their home around the end of the 1960's.  
©Bonnie J. Schupp

This is a picture of Maja's grandmother's home, destroyed along with the entire village. 
©Bonnie J. Schupp

Before we left the site where Lankow used to exist, another car appeared and Maja talked with a man who had been part of the border police who were responsible for keeping East Germans contained. He came to the spot to remember. Even though his job was to police the area, he grew to care about the people who lived there. Before the village was destroyed, he left his post to continue advancing his career.

It is interesting to me that, years ago, these were times I read about in the news... events far away from my life. My high school history teacher talked about the politics of this time and I day-dreamed about my weekend date. These were places far away and people I didn't know. It was remote history.

But it is remote no more. I've walked on these places and met people who are part of this history.