Well, crap.

So, a friend of mine passed away unexpectedly on Thursday. Since then, I have literally not paid any attention to my homework. I am hoping that I will be able to focus tomorrow to finish up studying for a mid term in econ that I have on Thursday, a book report on Thursday, and interview by Wednesday, and finish using my resources for this course that are due back to the Library of MI by Wednesday.

Feeling pretty overwhelmed. Sorry I don't have anything productive to report tonight.

Papers... and Gillian Welch

Okay, so class yesterday helped a lot, actually. I haven't really been able to take the time yet to organize the structure of my paper, and was worried about it having a weird flow to it because it deals with more than one issue. But since we are able to do headings, it has made me feel a lot more organized. Now I am finding it is easier to break down the structure and organization of my paper, so that the reader will be able to clearly recognize how all of the factors of my topic play important roles, and how these factors effected each other.

I have planned that this Friday and next Wednesday are going to be good days to spend some serious time on writing. Unfortunately, I am in three other demanding history courses, all of which assign papers like it is nobody's business, so I am running into a bit of a time crunch in terms of writing book reports, essays, research papers, presentations, etc. Hopefully I will be able to make some time to play catch-up after I take my next econ exam on Tuesday. Exams really threw me off this semester, mostly because I am in some classes that I had to really buckle down and study for, which meant neglecting spending time on other classes. So I am still feeling a little unorganized.

So after I write a paper this Friday on Serfdom in Imperial Russia, my time will be on this paper! Then next Wednesday, I will be back to the Library of Michigan to re-check out some sources I am still working through, as well as spending some time working with one of my primary, and one of my secondary sources that are not in circulation, and must be read on site.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow's class, though. I think it will be cool to take a peek at the artsier side of history. On that topic, I also would recommend (to folk music fans), checking out a song called "Miner's Refrain" by Gillian Welch. She is amazing, and this song makes me think of our 201 class every time it pops up on my ipod!

See you guys in class!

UAW-CIO Cartoons

 "The United Automobile Workers-CIO commissioned this film to ease ethnic tensions at the union's integrated southern branches" -taken from youtube description.

1946 Brotherhood of Man cartoons!

I found these cartoons last night that were actually made by the UAW-CIO addressing the new "neighbors" that a white man could expect to have after the war! It's blatant stereotypes are really interesting to see as a cartoon, especially as it was critically acclaimed at the time it came out. This video is the first of a series. But shows the worries of white communities who were diversified after WWII.

Creeper at the Lib. of MI.--Ladies, please read!

Soooo....

Today I went to the Library of Michigan again to work on some reading that is out of circulation, so I have to read it at the library. And this guy sat behind me at a computer and had asked me a question about how to use the internet on it. Then wouldn't stop trying to talk to me while I was studying. Then before he left he says: "Ma'am, do you know how to get to the CATA station from here?" I said "Nope", but since I had my laptop in front of me I told him I could look it up. While I did this, he started talking about how he was on vacation, and moving but that he had lived in 44 of the 50 states. I said "Cool, I have only lived here and AZ." That's when he went into a story that went something like:
"I was in Tucson not that long ago, I got shot three times and stabbed right here...(points to his side)"
"Geez, that's crazy" -me
"Yeah, these guys were trying to steal some expensive stuff we had out in a park while we played football, I ended up stabbing the guy in the neck though. The homicide officer told me right away that charges wouldn't be pressed though....because it was clearly self defense"

Ummm, what!? lol. So I give him directions and send him on his way. About 45 minutes later, I go to walk out the front door, and notice that he is waiting outside. And I knew that he had heard me say on a phone call that I was leaving at about 4:30 for a meeting I had at 5. He had also said that he was walking back to the CATA, so I am not sure why he would still be outside of the doors almost an hour later. I told the lady at the desk to make sure he didn't kill me, and a nice older man offered to walk out at the same time.

Moral of the story: BE CAREFUL at the public library...especially if you are there as a single female, because there are some creepers. Just be sure to be aware of your surroundings! 

Super-duper creepy.

But I did get some reading done that is useful to my paper, so that is good! :o)

The Auto Industry: REO v. Detroit

So I am a little behind on the reading, I have about 30 pages of REO left, I am hoping to finish them on the CATA on the way to class in the morning!

Because my research centers around the auto industry as it was restructured for war time production in Detroit, REO is really great for finding similarities. Of course this comes in the form of the unions, the UAW-CIO, is also important in my research. Key also to both my research and REO is race and gender relations. The role of racism has turned to center of my research in the study of the "Detroit Arsenal of Democracy".

I think this reading is helpful for how to structure my research, because it is (in many ways) similar in terms of industry, unionization, and race and gender. I am excited to talk about REO in class and hear what other people thought of the reading since I wasn't in class last week!

See you guys tomorrow! :o)

Primary Sources, NAACP

Right now I have been working on reading through one of my primary sources for my research. It is a book that was published the same year as the race riots, and is from the perspective of the secretary for the NAACP. I am liking this source for the fact that it is giving me a lot of info on the UAW, and the fact that the race riots did not occur in any of the plants, but only outside of them. In my reading today, the author cites the lack of violence in the arsenal plants to a few reasons. The first being a "firm stance against discrimination and segregation of Negro workers by the UAW-CIO". Another factor was that since the military took over the plants in Detroit during wartime production, armed guards in the plants were under orders from the Army to "maintain order at all costs"

Also important to remember though for this source, is that it is an African American writer, directly after the riots, so there is bias that is coming into play because it is clearly an emotional issue. Walter White felt that the riots were an inneviatable result of "anti-Negro motivations of the Detroit Police Department", and white aggressors, specifically the Polish and Italian citizens in the area, and "white aggressors"

I still have a few headings to read under in this book, but it was definitely a good find in the Library, and one of the first primary sources I have really delved in to.


Well, I suppose that's it for now! See you guys in class!

Bronchitis & REO

So I am bummed, I missed class today thanks to having both bronchitis and a sinus infection. Bummer! I actually was out camping in the Manistee National Park over the weekend and while it was great, it definitely didn't help my being sick.

I am still working though my research. Currently I am reading a primary resource written by the secretary of the NAACP on the race relations in Detroit during WWII. I really like it so far, it has a lot of information, but is clearly biased. I think that this is a great source though!

I hope I didn't miss TOO much in discussion today, and I will also be missing Wednesday because I will be out of town. So I am hoping I can find a way to get an idea of what the discussion over REO Joe was about this week!

A personal note about REO:
It turns out my Great Grandpa who passed away before I was born was actually at Union Local President at at REO. He was also present at the MLK "I have a Dream" speech. So I am going to talk to my grandmother for some more insight about his role at REO. I actually realized this because my mom saw the book and asked if she could read it. When I asked her why she would want to read "REO Joe"? That's when she brought up my great grandpa, so I am pretty excited to have a resource that is so closely related to my family to use as a supplementary resource along with the reading.

I will be posting throughout the week/weekend, but I won't be in class until I get back into MI. So I will see you all in class next week!