As I turn from the drive to clean off a friend’s wheelchair ramp,

I stop on a bitterly cold, but still morning before dawn,

to see a message left for someone to read,

if only I knew how to read this language.

I almost don’t clean if off

to leave it for my friends to see with the dawn and their coffee.

I snap a photo and text him to say I apologize

for destroying the message of artwork the storm left for them.

He, an artist replies, later

He texts that performance art allows for the destruction of a preexisting piece of art.

So many discoveries about art, life, and neighbors

the world is beautiful, if we only stop to see it.

© words and picture by Dan DeMarle 2/28/2020

Dear angry white person

I understand that you are angry at being told you are just part of a group of white people.  As a white person myself, my former 4-year-old self could relate.  Oh sorry, would you prefer a person of whiteness?  You likely have lived your whole life thinking you had no color, that you were literally without color, after all, you are not black, or brown, but you are certainly tan or get this one, skin-colored, which in American strangely means white. Skin colored, on at least three continents means many different things, but sorry not white.  Oh, sorry, I think you are upset because in America, the land of individuality, you have been grouped into a demographic or worse, a racial group.  Which means, of course, that you have a race.

Your angry response tells me a few things about you.  Now, of course, these are generalities and may not apply to you, but they do to many of the people in our little club of 245,532,000 million white people or 77.7% of the US population as of 2013.  If you are upset at being identified with your racial group, it suggests that you are one of two things. The first a very privileged person whose parents or parent never traveled with you broadly, or if they did, they brought you to places like Idaho (91.% of white) or Iowa (90.6% white), or maybe you grew up in Pittsford, NY, which in the 2000 census was an amazing 92.6% white.  The second is that you went to these places but only looked at your game boy or iPhone screen the whole time, or you are just completely oblivious.  Regardless, the idea being is that chances are you have never been in a situation where you were the clear minority.  Chances are you have never traveled to a majority nonwhite country or continent.  My guess is that you have also never been the only white person or person of whiteness in any social situation, such as a wedding, or a restaurant.  You have never been in that situation and seen another white person, and felt that hey that person is in my tribe, sorry demographic group per the US Census.  You know when you travel abroad and see that other American on the tour bus, and run to greet them and talk about American stuff.  I, of course, pretend to be a Canadian, or just try to hang out with the locals.

I am also assuming that, if you are religious, that you are not a member of a minority religion in the United States. You are not a Sikh, Muslim, or probably even Jewish.  Because if you were, you would likely know what it feels like to be the “other.”  You are also most likely straight, not gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer.  If you were, regardless of your racial group, you would know what it is to again be the “other”. No, most likely you are a straight white man or woman who just has not gotten out much, so you have never been forced to see yourself as part of a group, or as not part of the group, you are currently in.

So that also means that you have for years and probably decades never had to think about or consider all the benefits you have received simply from being a white person in America. For example, you were likely told a white view of American History.  You probably believe that the land you live on was always yours, or it belonged to people like you. That manifest destiny was a good idea because our founders were white so God had given them this land, even though it was already occupied. It’s amazing, just think you are in your house, and someone walks in and says, “this is now mine, because God said so, oh and here are some blankets with the coronavirus on it, to make things go easier.”  You probably are not up on the genocide we white people committed against, and still are attempting to commit against the First peoples (that’s Indians probably to you).  You probably aren’t aware that for over 100 years NY was a slave State and some of your wealth (wealth? yes even if you are dirt poor, you have wealth it seeps from our skins) comes from that history of enslavement. If you live in a house or rent a house, if you look at your deed, you may discover that you live in a house that used to have a restrictive covenant that prohibited the house from being sold to a nonwhite person or gasp a Jew. Which can help explain why there are still no or very few nonwhite people or Jews on your street. It’s not because they don’t want to be your neighbor, really it’s not.

I could go on and on, but my main point here is to actually say congratulations.  You have discovered whiteness. Simply the fact that you are angry about being grouped into that massive group of people we call white, means you have taken your first step.  There are many stages of racial identity awareness, just as there are stages one goes through when they discover they are gay, or whatever.  Unfortunately, likely because of the facts above, you are a white person who never has taken a single step on that wonderful, scary, horrible journey of discovering your racial identity.  As a white person, it is not a pretty process, we literally have our powers because our fellow white people committed genocides and much, much worse things. It’s like a gang came through and beat and tortured people before you arrived in town, and when you show up everyone is so scared and traumatized by what they did, that you get treated like a king or queen and you just assume its because they like you.  So you opened the door, and now the question is, will you scurry back into your house built of straw or begin to take a few steps along the way.  If you do there are so many good guides and books and shows to help you on your way.  Yet, it all starts with a few words, just like in AA, say it with me “Hi, my name is _____ and I am a white person!” Come on you can do it.

© by Dan DeMarle 2/25/2020

Part of a series on the truly heroic and forgotten African American Rochester based badasses. In February, we recall Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X, but history has forgotten some of these truly noteworthy people. This group includes the African American men and women of Rochester and in some mentions of Corn Hill. In the Semi-Centennial History of the City of Rochester published in 1884, Amy Post (who lived in SW Rochester) wrote the chapter “The Underground Railroad.”  Amy Post, and the Post House on what is now Post Avenue in the 19th Ward was a very important station and destination for escaped slaves traveling on the Underground Railroad.  The Post family along with two other local farmers and their farms were key station masters on the Underground Railroad, so Amy Post knew of what she spoke.  These reports of the role of African American men and women in Cornhill are also substantiated in the account of William Falls (Democrat and Chronicle on 6/20/1881) in his article “A Few Leaves from the Diary of an Underground Railroad Conductor.” (see below at bottom).

The first two sections are from “the Underground Railroad” by Amy Post. In that Chapter, she relates a number of stories. Here are two of them. 

© words by Dan DeMarle 2020

So in one version of the story, the person responsible for the founding of all of SW Rochester was a black enslaved woman named Jenny. SW Rochester was initially the settlement of Castletown at what is now Brooks Landing. The settlement was developed and owned by the Wadsworth brothers, James and William, who developed and owned the majority of land west of the Genesee River and who settled in Geneseo. They both came west from Connecticut in 1790 with three hired men and a “favorite family slave named Jenny.” Jenny is reported to have saved both of their lives when they were struck sick with swamp fever, and when James and the hired slaves went back to Connecticut, worked with William to build a house and survive the winter. William never married and family lore suggests that he and Jenny were together thereafter. If she was still alive, Jenny would have been emancipated in 1827, 37 years after coming to NY. Because the Wadsworths developed most of Western NY, Jenny was a huge part in that development. She was also reportedly a huge influence on generations of the Wadsworth family which included a Union General in the Civil War, and a US Senator. Jenny is reported to have had a daughter, and that daughter may or may not have moved to Liberia once it was founded.

From the D&C on 2/19/1984.

There is additional information on Jenny as well from Wayne Mahood’s book, General Wadsworth: The Life and Wars of Brevet General James S. Wadsworth. Here are some snippets, literally.

© words by Daniel DeMarle 2020

For those concerned about institutional racism and wonder how it still looks, I offer you exhibit A and Presidential election cycle.  The first two states to vote, Iowa and New Hampshire are vastly white States. This means that presidential aspirants have to spend considerable time addressing the needs and issues of white voters.  Let that sink in, for sometimes over a year, presidential candidates have to be steeped in white concerns.  The National media who cover these candidates then show us, the Nation, a year of coverage of white people talking to these candidates about their concerns.  NOT the concerns of any other groups.  This seriously normalizes the belief in white superiority.  This needs to stop.

© words by Dan DeMarle 2/12/2020

Rochester has a history of remarkable African Americans. While much of the focus of Black History Month is rightfully on Martin Luther, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, this focus comes at the cost of not remembering our own. This remarkable history should be remembered and celebrated, so let’s start with Father Thomas James.

As the NY Times reported on 7/25/1884 “The man was Rev. Father Thomas James of Rochester, one of the pioneers of the race against slavery in this country, and who now nearly 80 years old, is lecturing, that he may raise money to pay for an operation upon his eyes, by which he expects to make himself good for 15 years more of work. Father James was born a salve in Canajoharie, New-York, and when 18 years old escaped to Canada. He began preaching in 1829, organizing a colored church. Soon after he commenced to lecture against slavery, and was mobbed 16 times, as he said last night. He was first to stand up for his rights on railroad trains, and in 1841, which in Massachusetts, he refused to go into the “Jim Crow” car.  After a struggle, he was ejected from a first class coach, and on his taking the matter into court won his case, which led to the doing away of prescription in that State.  During the war (the Civil War) Father James did much service in relieving slaves, and was a member of the military police under Gen. Palmer in Kentucky.”

For more information, and there is much more read his wikipedia page.

© words and pictures Dan DeMarle 2020