Knowledge of Jim Crow events: A quick, informal survey
posted by Kaimipono D. Wenger
I’m curious as to what level of knowledge people have of some important Jim Crow events. If you’ve got five minutes, please make a comment, to fill this out this brief, completely unscientific survey. Feel free to do so anonymously or pseudonymously. I’m not trying to embarrass anyone, I just wonder to what extent certain events are known or unknown, and this is enough to give me some general sense.
1. Demographic questions
a. What is your approximate age?
b. What is your gender?
c. What is your race?
d. What is your level of education?
2. Survey questions. Please state what you consider your level of knowledge about each of these events. Please state whether you have “no knowledge of the event,” “little knowledge of the event,” (you have heard it mentioned, but don’t know what it’s about), “some knowledge,” or “lots of knowledge.” (Yes, it’s not a great methodology, but it’s enough for this purpose.)
Okay, here goes. Please state what you consider your level of knowledge of:
a. The Colfax Massacre (a.k.a Colfax Riot)
b. The Wilmington Race Riot (a.k.a. Wilmington Insurrection)
c. The St. Louis Race Riot (a.k.a. East St. Louis Riot)
d. The Tulsa Race Riot.
e. The Rosewood Massacre (a.k.a. Rosewood Race Riot)
f. The Greensboro Massacre.
That’s it. Thanks!
May 18, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Tags: Civil Rights, jim crow, Race, survey
Posted in: Civil Rights, Race
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Responses (40)
Anon - May 18, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Male, 34, JD:
a. Colfax: None
b. Wilmington: None
c. St. Louis: None
d. Tulsa: None
e. Rosewood: None
f. The Greensboro Massacre. Little knowledge (used to live in NC, so have heard of it).
I would say I otherwise have better-than-average knowledge of the civil rights struggle among peers my age; I can tell you who Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner are… though maybe it says something about the world we live in that my best recall is about two dead white guys.
Justmeherenow - May 19, 2009 at 1:08 am
M-53-14yrs edu(/approx2yrscollege)
(a)no (b)no (c)no (d)yes (but thanks to your, Kaimi’s, commentary concerning it once when you were giving context when the MountainMeadowsMassacre was being discussed; then I read the Wikipedia article and googled it) (e)a newspaper article, some googling, and the movie trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1i21vbPevU (f)no
Jerry Stephens - May 19, 2009 at 5:21 am
age: 63
gender: male
education: JD, PhD (ABD)
Colfax: some
Wilmington: some
St. Louis (i.e., East St. Louis): some
Tulsa: lots
Rosewood: some
Greensboro: some
vanon - May 19, 2009 at 5:51 am
age: 26
gender: male
education: JD
(2)(a)-(f): no knowledge of these events, at least by name
Kaimipono D. Wenger - May 19, 2009 at 5:52 am
Good catch on the St. Louis riot, Jerry — I typed this post up quickly after a day of paper editing, and totally missed putting in that a.k.a. I just added it in now.
pal - May 19, 2009 at 6:00 am
Interesting that you want to know gender but not race. I’d think that would be a very significant factor.
Kaimipono D. Wenger - May 19, 2009 at 6:04 am
I didn’t put race on it? Wow, I was brain-dead when I typed this up. Fixed.
Kaimipono D. Wenger - May 19, 2009 at 6:07 am
(I was editing my paper at the same time — it makes me think I should go back and check those last few edits again …)
John Armstrong - May 19, 2009 at 6:47 am
30/white male/PhD (math, not history or anything like that)
Little knowledge about each. The names sound familiar, like I’ve run across them before, but never looked into the details.
Bob - May 19, 2009 at 6:49 am
25
Male
White
Law student
No knowledge of any of these events
Anonymous - May 19, 2009 at 7:13 am
36/F/caucasian/Masters,JD
I have little knowledge of The St. Louis Race Riot and the Greensboro Massacre.
I have no knowledge of the rest.
I wonder if geography also skews the result. I learned about the St. Louis Race Riot because of where I grew up.
Nate - May 19, 2009 at 7:15 am
29/White Male/JD. No knowledge of any of the events. Raised in the Midwest.
Ignorant Prof - May 19, 2009 at 7:17 am
Mid-30s, Female, White, Post-Graduate Degrees
I am familiar with none of these events except Rosewood, and I am familiar with Rosewood only because I happened to read Like Judgment Day kind of randomly.
anonymous - May 19, 2009 at 7:18 am
Male, 53, JD:
a. Colfax: None
b. Wilmington: None
c. St. Louis: None
d. Tulsa: None
e. Rosewood: Read several articles about it.
f. The Greensboro Massacre: None
anonymous - May 19, 2009 at 7:19 am
Failed to note that I am white.
Male, 53, JD:
a. Colfax: None
b. Wilmington: None
c. St. Louis: None
d. Tulsa: None
e. Rosewood: Read several articles about it.
f. The Greensboro Massacre: None
anon - May 19, 2009 at 7:53 am
31, female, white, BS
a: the name sounds familiar
b-f: no clue
anon - May 19, 2009 at 7:57 am
27, white female, JD – raised in Chicago
No knowledge of any of the events.
stefan - May 19, 2009 at 8:12 am
42 years old, male, white, Ph.D. in economics.
a. The Colfax Massacre (a.k.a Colfax Riot) — some knowledge
b. The Wilmington Race Riot (a.k.a. Wilmington Insurrection) — little knowledge.
c. The St. Louis Race Riot (a.k.a. East St. Louis Riot) — little knowledge.
d. The Tulsa Race Riot. — some knowledge
e. The Rosewood Massacre (a.k.a. Rosewood Race Riot) — none.
f. The Greensboro Massacre. — none.
Despite some reading in legal and labor history and US domestic history during WWI my exposure to the political effects of these events is very limited and I’d like to know more about how the politics of them played out in different arenas. ‘Some knowledge’ above often just means ‘I’ve heard about it and it is on my list of questions about how the US worked’.
Law prof - May 19, 2009 at 8:47 am
1a. 40
b. M
c. White
d. J.D./M.A. in U.S. history (!)
2a. Colfax Massacre — some knowledge, but not by name, I had to look it up
b. Wilmington Race Riot — no knowledge
c. St. Louis Race Riot — little knowledge
d. Tulsa Race Riot — some knowledge
e. Rosewood Massacre — some knowledge
f. Greensboro Massacre — no knowledge
My knowledge of 2a and 2d is pretty sketchy, but I believe I read a long newspaper article a couple of years back about either Tulsa or St. Louis. Also, I’ve read a book about Chicago’s race riot in 1919 but that’s not on your list.
Dave - May 19, 2009 at 8:51 am
White, M, 45, J.D.
Heard of Colfax massacre, no knowledge of any of the rest.
A Guy in Seattle - May 19, 2009 at 9:09 am
1. Demographic questions
a. What is your approximate age? 59
b. What is your gender? Male
c. What is your race? White
d. What is your level of education? Some college
2.
a. The Colfax Massacre Little knowledge
b. The Wilmington Race Riot No knowledge
c. The St. Louis Race Riot Some knowledge
d. The Tulsa Race Riot. No knowledge
e. The Rosewood Massacre Lots of knowledge
f. The Greensboro Massacre. Little knowledge
It is embarrassing for me to admit I have such little knowledge. I grew up in the South in the ’50s and ’60s, and I remember about “white” and “colored” bathrooms and drinking fountains, so my first-hand knowledge of racism is very good. (Guess I say that in my defense, since I’m very much anti-racist.)
dmv - May 19, 2009 at 9:15 am
1a. 26
1b. Male
1c. Whitey
1d. JD
2a. Little
2b. None
2c. Some
2d. Some
2e. Little
2f. Some
Ed - May 19, 2009 at 9:41 am
1. 63, white male, JD + masters level courses in history
2. Colfax — moderate
Wilmington — none
St. Louis — none
Tulsa — moderate
Rosewood — moderate
Greensboro — moderate
Marc Bohn - May 19, 2009 at 12:42 pm
1. Demographic questions
a. What is your approximate age? 30
b. What is your gender? M
c. What is your race? C
d. What is your level of education? JD
2. Survey questions.
a. The Colfax Massacre (a.k.a Colfax Riot) – A little knowledge
b. The Wilmington Race Riot (a.k.a. Wilmington Insurrection) – None
c. The St. Louis Race Riot (a.k.a. East St. Louis Riot) – A little knowledge
d. The Tulsa Race Riot. – None
e. The Rosewood Massacre (a.k.a. Rosewood Race Riot) – Some knowledge (seen the movie)
f. The Greensboro Massacre. – A little knowledge
Nathan - May 19, 2009 at 12:51 pm
1. Demographic questions
a. What is your approximate age? 35
b. What is your gender? M
c. What is your race? White
d. What is your level of education? Masters
2. Survey questions.
a. The Colfax Massacre (a.k.a Colfax Riot) – None
b. The Wilmington Race Riot (a.k.a. Wilmington Insurrection) – None
c. The St. Louis Race Riot (a.k.a. East St. Louis Riot) – None. Grew up close to East St. Louis, just know that you don’t want to stop there.
d. The Tulsa Race Riot. – None
e. The Rosewood Massacre (a.k.a. Rosewood Race Riot) – None
f. The Greensboro Massacre. – None
Ian - May 19, 2009 at 1:14 pm
1. Demographic questions
a. What is your approximate age? 27
b. What is your gender? Male
c. What is your race? White
d. What is your level of education? Law Student
2. Survey questions.
No knowledge of any listed event.
David Schraub - May 19, 2009 at 1:34 pm
1.
a. 23
b. Male
c. White
d. Law student
2.
a. The Colfax Massacre (a.k.a Colfax Riot)
* Some knowledge
b. The Wilmington Race Riot (a.k.a. Wilmington Insurrection)
* A little
c. The St. Louis Race Riot (a.k.a. East St. Louis Riot)
* None
d. The Tulsa Race Riot.
* Some
e. The Rosewood Massacre (a.k.a. Rosewood Race Riot)
* None
f. The Greensboro Massacre.
* A little
Lessie - May 19, 2009 at 3:02 pm
1. Demographic questions:
a. 27
b. female
c. Caucasian
d. bachelor’s degree
2. Survey questions:
Little knowledge about a, b and f. I’ve heard of each event, but don’t know anything about them. I’d never heard of c, d and e.
Syd - May 19, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Demographics:
a) 57 b) male c) Caucasian, d) Masters, everything but dissertation toward phd
Some knowledge of Tulsa and Rosewood, a little about Greensboro, pretty much nothing about the rest.
Patrick S. O'Donnell - May 19, 2009 at 3:37 pm
1.
a) 52
b) male
c) “white” hodgepodge
d) MA degree
2.
a) none
b) none
c) some
d) lots
e) lots
f) lots
Re: “lots”—comparatively speaking, not to the level of “expertise”
david berry - May 19, 2009 at 7:46 pm
a. What is your approximate age? 50
b. What is your gender? M
c. What is your race? Caucasian
d. What is your level of education? JD, DC
2. Survey questions. Please state what you consider your level of knowledge about each of these events. Please state whether you have “no knowledge of the event,” “little knowledge of the event,” (you have heard it mentioned, but don’t know what it’s about), “some knowledge,” or “lots of knowledge.” (Yes, it’s not a great methodology, but it’s enough for this purpose.)
Okay, here goes. Please state what you consider your level of knowledge of:
a. The Colfax Massacre (a.k.a Colfax Riot)
None
b. The Wilmington Race Riot (a.k.a. Wilmington Insurrection)
None
c. The St. Louis Race Riot (a.k.a. East St. Louis Riot)
None
d. The Tulsa Race Riot.
None
e. The Rosewood Massacre (a.k.a. Rosewood Race Riot)
None
f. The Greensboro Massacre.
None
janeannechovy - May 19, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I’m a 41-year-old white female with a very fine JD that cost me lots of money, but I’ve never heard of any of these events by name.
Brooke - May 20, 2009 at 5:56 am
1. Demographic questions
a. What is your approximate age? 40
b. What is your gender? Female
c. What is your race? Hawaiian/Chinese/Caucasian
d. What is your level of education? Master’s Degree
2. Survey questions:
a to e: unfamiliar
f: somewhat familiar
Anonymous - May 20, 2009 at 6:37 am
I’m a 39 year old male American with enough college credits to be called a “senior”, unfamiliar with any of those specific events.
(“American” race is what is written on every one of my kids’ birth certificate applications.)
john - May 20, 2009 at 7:08 am
59
male
white
jd
I have a fairly good familiarity with each. The Greensboro Massacre is an outlier.
Heronscape - May 20, 2009 at 4:12 pm
White female, 23, newly acquired JD.
The only one I vaguely remember studying in school and would recognize enough to say “it was some sort of race related shooting” is the Greenwood Massacre. I’m also from the South, which may explain that.
Ann Bartow - May 22, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Late now I guess but consider adding the Orangeburg Massacre:
http://www.orangeburgmassacre1968.com/
Notes From All Over - thru May 24 | Times & Seasons, An Onymous Mormon Blog - May 25, 2009 at 12:21 am
[...] Pop quiz. [...]
Anita - March 25, 2012 at 12:13 am
I know this is a few years later, but I would like to know if you drew any conclusions from this survey. I am thinking of asking people if they know what Jim Crow means. Thanks! asheth@uarts.edu
Andrea Saren - March 25, 2012 at 6:10 pm
63 year old white female college graduate (so long ago that LBJ’s maxim applies, “an education is what you have left when you’ve forgotten everything you learned.”)
Had not ever heard of any of these. Thank you for this information; will go look them up.
But I’m not surprised; I was talking to someone about the Vietnam War the other day and he did not realize that millions of Vietnamese died. He was also unaware that 500,000 Iraqis died because of the sanctions on Iraq for over a decade.
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