More presentation things...

I went to the Library of Michigan on Wednesday and found some really cool books to just pass around the class, and possibly pull some information from. The one that I am really pumped about is a book that is comprised entirely of Detroit headlines from WWII, unfortunately, the print on the actual articles is pretty teeny tiny, but the headlines are clear and show how the press was relating the US war effort to the community of Detroit. The other is a pictorial work, that shows the war effort in Detroit armament plants. It's a clear way to visualize the new mix of workers as a result of the war, and see how the plants looked and operated.

I am planning on using Monday to work on my power point, and to hopefully find some good community sources in terms of art, sports and music. The Tigers were a good way for workers to bond, especially at the end of the war when the Tigers took the World Series in 1945, so I might try to find more info on that as well, I have mostly seen that in relation to the white male workers, and veterans returning from war, more so than the black migrants and the women.

So that's where I stand in terms of presentation stuff, it's definitely still in the works!

GO STATE! :)

Presentation Plans

So, today I have been looking for good sources online to use in my presentation. There are some sources at the Library of Michigan, that are picture chronicles of Detroit during WWII, and I think that will be a really good source. Also, as I have been thinking a lot about music. Detroit, while being the motor city, was also an area that jazz was developing during the 40's, and a hot spot for jazz music. While I have been trying to find ways that the newly migrated black community was outside of the workforce, I am wondering if I could find a link through jazz music. But so far, I have no decisive evidence that the two (workers and jazz) had common factor, other than that they were both going on in Detroit. So the hunt to find a reflection of the work force in the community continues...

Either way, I think during my presentation I am going to use a power point, and while I want to provide the class with information about the workforce and their unionism and fight for equal work and housing rights, I think it will be more interesting for the class to see representations of the changes in Detroit's community as the influence of black workers, and southern workers changed the citizenry and the face of the community.

So, fingers crossed that I can put together a presentation that is interesting, because I don't want you guys to fall asleep and be counting down the seconds until it is over. Luckily, Detroit has a history that is full of art, and music. And there were are a lot of pictorial histories of Detroit from what I have seen, so again, here's hoping I can put together an engaging presentation!

Diego Riviera Mural--The Arsenal of Democracy

Rough Draft Meeting

Okay, so I met with, Micalee today and am feeling pretty good about working on my final. Mostly just have to narrow things down, and provide more information as I can find it on the community. Because my topic is so ingrained into different historical events. I just have to edit some, and find some more information regarding life outside of the workplace, and interactions outside of work.

Tomorrow/this weekend I am going to write up my book report, I am thinking I am going to do it on Reo Joe, but I also really liked the Great Arizona Orphan abduction, which is fresh in my memory. So I guess I will just see what happens.

I am going to hit up the MSU library again this weekend in hopes that I can find more material that relates to community, I have had a hard time finding good information of things that were going on in Detroit with each community to bond them outside of the workplace, and outside of the common fight between each.

Overall, I am feeling pretty good about the course. Hopefully the final will turn out to meeting her expectations, and can be something that I can be proud of, since I have put so much time and effort into it)

Hope you all have productive feedback to work from with your final!

Ready, Set...Rough Draft.

So, I haven't blogged much this week because I have been working on the rough draft. I think my paper came together well, and it ended up taking a pretty different tone than I had even anticipated, but I am happy that my rough draft is complete. But a little scared to meet with Micalee! Hopefully this paper isn't rubbish? haha.

Anyway, I guess in the mean time, I need to get my book report written, and get crackin' on my presentation. I am hoping to find good sources for the presentation to make it interesting, I don't want it to be boring and have all of you guys counting down the minutes til' it is over!

See you all in class tomorrow!

PBS: RACE: The Power of Illlusion

http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_03_i-godeeper.htm

I found this link to a PBS site that starts a time line from 1905, which outlines some citizenship issues for various races in the US. I don't have time right now to write more on it, because I am between classes, but I thought it was an interesting supplementary source to support today's discussion on legal and cultural citizenship.

Have a good one!

Christopher Walken, SNL Census skit...classic.

Census (Best of Christopher Walken SNL)

This skit was all I could think of during our census exercise in class today. It's one of my favorite skits ever! Definitely worth clicking the link, and laughing watching SNL on Hulu for a few minutes.

Hope you guys enjoy!

"Tanks and Industry" DATP, 1940-1997

I just watched a great, short, federally sponsored video on the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant! I have had it for a while, checked out from the library, but I just now go around to watching it after finishing some reading from another primary source from the library.

I am glad I waited to watch it, especially because both sources I have just finished (the book, and the video) are biased from opposing perspectives.

The book I have been working through, is a primary source from the secretary of the NAACP, whose primary focus is the actions taken by the white community during housing shortages caused by the tank production industry in Detroit. The focus is not a patriotic, praising of the tank industry for its role in stopping Nazi Germany, but from the perspective of an African American male, whose community here in America was being bitterly ravaged by racial animosity.

On the other hand, this video I just watched, called "Tanks & Industry: The Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant, 1940-1997" was produced under contract with the US Army. Therefor, the main focus is how "flexibility and teamwork" between the industry, labor, and military" to combine their efforts to fight off the Nazi forces. And the focus is on the fact that there was an effective work force, which there was in terms of production. There is one interviewee, a labor historian from Oakland University, named Dr. John Barnard who comments on the volatility of the community at this time. He mentions the female workforce, child care issues, the separation of families as men are at war and women are working as well as running a home. This of course, is an important aspect of the community. However, he does mention the racial aspect which is far more relevant to my study, he states that the housing shortages, which resulted in federal funds pouring wholly into the industry, left fierce competition for housing, and resulting is the "fierce racial tensions", and that this was the biggest altercation during the war at home.

Comparing these two side by side, is making me really think I need to divide these two sections of writing. One, from the militant, and industry perspective of what was happening in Detroit during tank production in WWII, the clear recognition that there was a great success in the production of defense, and that Detroit Tank Production was truly making an impact on the war.

Then compare that separately to the reality behind the hard work. Yes, America was helping to win the war, but at what cost to its own community? Who was being affected by the shortage in housing? How were racial prejudices actually affecting the work force?

Lastly, I will try to clarify the results of these  issues that are happening behind the face of the Arsenal of Democracy. There is a whole different story that to this day, still is glossed over. The result was a deadly battle between white workers, and black workers. The result was striking, and militarization of the Detroit work force and community. And the notable event of course, was the Race Riot in 1943.


I still have a lot of work to do, and am feeling behind, and overwhelmed. As I stated before, a friend passed away unexpectedly this weekend, and since I have been spending a lot of time with his family, and have been grieving as well, my studies have fallen by the wayside, making the catch-up I now have to play seem very daunting.

Hope you guys are all coming along well in your drafts! See you all tomorrow in class!