Wind and Wireless
With Great Responsibility
Why Do We Think It Was So Long Ago?
What years were Baby Boomers born into? 1950s, right? I just saw a reference from an article with Dr. King Jr. — 1968. Our parents were teens during segregation. Ruby Bridges is still alive.
That means our parents' golden years — the time they feel nostalgic about, the time they want to go back to — were during segregation. That’s the America they remember fondly. That’s what they want back.
Why do we think it was so long ago? By design.
The way it's taught in schools, it's framed like it was ancient history. "A long, long time ago..." They only use black-and-white photos. So it feels like the 1800s — like something so far removed that we don’t need to worry about it. But that’s a trick. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of color photos of Dr. King. Of protests. Of mobs. Of America, not that long ago.
So why would an entire country try to forget something that big?
Let me ask you this: are there photos in your parents’ attic? Or in a shoebox under your grandparents’ bed? Photos of them — or people they knew — doing unkind things to people? Things that, if they came to light, might make others think differently about them? Maybe things that would make even you not want to be around them?
Maybe it’s easier to pretend it was all “a long time ago” than to face the truth.
Maybe forgetting is just self-preservation.
Sources Cited:
Color Photos of Dr. King – RareHistoricalPhotos
Ruby Bridges Interview – NPR
Teaching Hard History – SPLC