Monthly Archives: November 2019

20th Century, African American, History, Minnesota, Politics, Uncategorized

Humphrey on Civil Rights

Unknown

1948
Hubert Humphrey makes an impassioned plea for civil rights at the Democratic National Convention. His speech offends Southern Democrats, who walk out of the convention, but sets the party on a course toward the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“To those who say that we are rushing this issue of civil rights–I say to them, we are 172 years late!” -Hubert H. Humphrey at the Democratic National Convention*

Hubert H. Humphrey saw the United States as the emerging leader of the free world after World War II, but dared to question its authenticity. The specters of fascism, communism, and racial balkanization were very real in the aftermath of WWII. It also underscored the dichotomy of winning liberties for those outside the US while ignoring the racial injustices at home. What did he see as the root cause and motive for the Civil Rights movement?
“For us to play our part effectively, we must be in a morally sound position.” ***

Yet, by what means would America redefine itself and reclaim this “morally sound position”? Humphrey posited our need to lead by example of a consistent standard, not a double standard on rights. Humphrey proposed the notion in this address that human rights exceeded the value of states’ rights.
“To those who say that this civil-rights program is an infringement on states’ rights, I say this: The time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and to walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.” ***,****

Further, he willingly threw down the gauntlet of human rights with the full knowledge of its opposition within his own party. The locus of this opposition were Southern Democrats concerned that the Civil Rights movement made our Supreme Court stronger than State law. Their debate over the next decade centered on the Declaration of Constitutional Principles, also known as the “Southern Manifesto”, arguing that the Tenth Amendment limited the Supreme Court from overreach into their State law. See Tenth Amendment below:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Humphrey’s address rang the bell on a sixteen year, tag-team wrestling match of our national conscience. Most legislators agreed that something must be done about racial injustices, but disagreed as to the proper method Constitutionally. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed, it had more Republican than Democratic support. The roll call tally of June 19, 1964 shows that 82% Republican “Yeas” and 18% “Nays”, and 69% Democratic “Yeas” and 31% “Nays”. ***** Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona embodied the position of Republican critics. He voted to end segregation, and was an active member of the NAACP, yet objected to Title II and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Why? He felt they could interfere with the rights of a business to do business with or employ whomever they chose. Additionally, he had reservations that these Titles could be misused to usurp States’ rights and free speech of the individual. ******

In all, this riveting oratory decries the courageous heart of Hubert Humphrey. Though viewed as emotional grandstanding to his detractors, he willingly spoke his conscience, and the conscience of millions. He dared ask the question, “What is to be done when America’s head conflicts with our heart?”

So we seek You in this moment, Father. We come to You asking insight and wisdom as to Humphrey’s rhetorical line in the sand. How did this speech affect You?

First, we ask forgiveness for the racism of Humphrey’s era. We have offended You first in our legal, cultural, and personal false assessments of African-Americans. Granted, Minnesota’s culture was less legally overt and more free than many states, but we acknowledge the subtle and quiet prejudices that hurt these brothers and sisters: we tolerated red-lining in housing, we tolerated discriminatory lending practices, in many ways, we zoned African-Americans away from us. We have practiced associating crime with a color, and negated the noble contributions of many minorities. Will You forgive our misbeliefs and unbeliefs? We have denied You when we deny Your Image in our African-American brothers and sisters. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy!

Next, we thank You for the life of Hubert H. Humphrey, and the gift You placed in his heart of having the courage of his convictions. Clearly, he was willing to be misunderstood, even by his own, for daring to call out injustice. We commend him in his intense moments at the Democratic National Convention held at Philadelphia Convention Hall on July 12-14, 1948. Will You continue to give us leaders like him who are willing to speak the raw truth in love and respect?

We acknowledge to You the pains of betrayal at the hands of our beloved! WE acknowledge to You the oceans of these judgment’s past. Will You forgive the judgments’ of Democrats towards those of their own, mostly but not limited to Southerners who expressed dissent at Humphrey’s take on civil rights? Will You forgive Democratic dissenters of Humphrey’s vision their counter judgments’ and bitterness? Will You forgive Republicans their judgments’ of those within their party who voiced dissent to the Civil Rights Act? Will You forgive the counter-judgments of those led by Goldwater towards those who supported Humphrey’s ideals?

In this, we may have judged our political opinions to be more sacrosanct than the relationship with the beloved human being in front of us. We have closed our ears to their objections, because it is easier to break relationship than listen to honest criticism of our political and personal doctrines and dogmas. We have feared our detractors, and closed our minds to the wisdom to be gained in real dialogue and debate. You have said, “Come now, let us reason together…” ******* We have turned it to “Come now, you are unreasonable!”

We have offended You in our failure to listen to our friends, and hear out our opposition in our zeal for our rights. We have attempted to gain a more just America, too often, by too much political and legal force. We have attempted to heal the bitter judgments towards African-Americans through bitterly judging those who disagree with our version of justice for African-Americans. Will You forgive and heal us then, free us in the present, and bless the future of Civil Rights? May we come to agree with Our Creator as to the worthiness and inherent value of every human being made in Your Image. We have failed to learn our lesson from the world’s first sibling rivalry where Cain hated and murdered his brother Abel over doing a good thing; an offering of thanks?!? In this we are 5778 years too late!

* P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org, is fantastic! Check it out! Images are from https://images.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl; again, an amazing resource!
** Photo credit: smithsonianmag.com
*** See transcript of this famous speech. (1948) Blackpast. “Hubert Humphry, Speech at the Democratic National Convention” December 14, 2010. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1948-hubert-humphrey-speech-democratic-national-convention/
**** See HHH give this speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xQZX5ZvcnY
***** See a photo of the official roll call vote. The Center for Legislative Archives “Roll Call Tally on Civil Rights Act 1964, June 19, 1964” On June 19, 1964, the Senate passed the Civil Right Act of 1964; 73 to 27. The House passed the amended bill on July 2; 289 to 126. https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/civil-rights-1964/senate-roll-call.html
****** Mooney, Kevin J. “The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Conservative Movement”, November 14, 2013. https://www.theblaze.com/contributions/the-1964-civil-rights-act-and-the-conservative-movement
******* https://www.biblehub.com/isaiah/1-18.htm

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20th Century, History, Intercession, Television, Uncategorized

1st TV Station in Minnesota

SEH

http://www.pavekmuseum.org/tctvchron.html

1948
KSTP TV becomes the first commercial television station in Minnesota, broadcasting the
Minneapolis Millers’ baseball game.*

Already a pioneer in Minnesota radio by 1928, Stanley E. Hubbard looked to a future when images would be sent or “broadcast” through radio waves.** His curiosity and thirst for discovery provided the groundwork for a career of innovation. Please peruse the following timeline from the company that still bears his name; Hubbard Broadcasting.

“In 1938, KSTP purchased the first television camera ever sold by RCA. Innovative as always, Stanley Hubbard immediately began experimenting with television technology.

Stanley E. Hubbard had always held 25% of the stock in KSTP. In March 1947, in an action following an arranged transfer of stock the FCC granted approval for Stanley E. Hubbard to acquire (with financing) the remaining 75% of the stock in the company.

KSTP-TV went on the air on April 27, 1948, as the first television station between Chicago and the West Coast. The TV station settled into its brand-new studios on the line straddling the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The station’s first slogan was “Where the Twin Cities Meet.” Commercially supported broadcasting, a strong commitment to local news coverage, and a mix of entertainment and public affairs programming were core to the station’s mission. Among many other firsts, KSTP was the first television station in the nation to have a full half-hour late newscast 7 days per week. KSTP-TV has been in continuous operation since 1948.” ***

So we turn to You, and contemplate the formation of KSTP so many decades ago. You are the One who created the laws of science, “How does X happen?”, and most importantly You gave meaning to science; “Why and for what purpose does X happen?”
May You be forever praised, our dear Mind of the Universe!

Will You remind us of parallels of the science of television in Your Word? We need to meditate on Your newscast, even if it’s projected to us from thousands of years past. What is on Your channel today, Yeshua?

“And when they came up out of the water, the Ruach of Adonai caught Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, for he was going on his way, rejoicing. And Philip was found at Ashdod; and passing through, he was proclaiming Good News to all the cities, until his coming to Caesarea.” Acts 8:39-40 MJLT NCS ******

Many before the author have struggled with the meaning of these verses. Mainly, what is meant by the text, “the Ruach of Adonai (the Holy Spirit) caught Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more”? Some have said that it simply meant the Holy Spirit prompted Philip to move on to the next town, and that the eunuch, totally immersed in a holy moment, was not to be disrupted.

Others hone in on the idea that Philip was “caught away” miraculously, in a moment, much like other messengers of G-d:
Elijah – I Kings 18:12, 2 Kings 2:11
Ezekiel – Ezekiel 3:12-14
Paul – 2 Corinthians 12:2-4
Were You functioning as a TV station, only in reverse, broadcasting Your prophets to disappear and reappear in new locations? We invite Your insights, and ask that lead us to think on the dazzling depths of Your knowledge! We praise You that either interpretation is easily within the framework of the the Author of Space-Time and Spacetime!

“Next, we ponder the miraculous appearance and disappearance of the Messiah to his disciples on the road to Emmaus. Cleopas and an unnamed disciple walked with the Master for about seven miles along this road, but neither recognized Him. Below we finish with the text:
“And when they came near to the village where they were going, and He gave the impression of going on further, but they constrained Him saying, ‘Remain with us, for it is toward evening, and the day has now declined,’ and He went in to stay with them. And it came to pass in His reclining (at mealtime) with them, that haven taken the matzah bread, He blessed it. And having broken the matzah, He was giving it to them, and their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, and He became unseen by them. And they said to one another, “Was not our heart burning within us as He was speaking to us on the road, as He was opening up the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:28-32 MJLT NCS ******

Like the first example, there are many ways these words have been interpreted over the ages. The crux of the matter lies in the meaning of the phrase, “…and He became unseen by them.” The Greek term used is the adjective “aphantos” which can mean: disappearing, invisible, hidden, non-manifested, or invisible. Lord, again we are astonished and perplexed; this time You simply non-manifest from the disciples’ table? Clearly, we have only scratched the surface of Your Omniscience and Omnipresence, but we thank You for these inklings recorded long before humanity’s discovery of telecasting!

By the same token, as citizens of Minnesota and of Your Eternal Principality, we applaud Mr. Stanley E. Hubbard! We commend his diligence and curiosity to You! Stanley, somehow, was a reflection of Your Brilliance and Divine Rationality in his trust of the science behind TV; irregardless of how impossible it seemed to his detractors, images could be projected over radio waves because it was logical!

It also makes sense that we express gratitude, as a people, for the work of the Hubbard family and the impact of KSTP. Why did You choose us, a sort of insignificant place in the middle of a huge continent, to receive the blessings of the pioneers of TV? We would be hard pressed to explore the daisy chains of lives impacted by the alternating currents projected from the tower at 3415 University Avenue Southeast! How many lives were impacted by a single news event, and how many secondary relationships are influenced in turn? Yet, we have inherited the advantage of thousands or millions of news and informational messages through the medium of KSTP?!

Undoubtably, we are so glad today that we are the inheritors’ of a reliable news source! We thank You that the Hubbard family has stewarded fair and even-handed news coverage for at least two generations; right up the middle, just give the people the real story! Will You bless their forthright honesty, and the integrity of our media present and future in Minnesota to “give to us straight”?

Additionally, we thank You for those who laid much of the theoretic foundations for television that Hubbard could build upon! Will You allow me to recount them to You, Lord, and recite their blessings to humanity? All heaven and earth who have ears to hear and eyes to see, will You join me in humbly honoring the scientific acts of acknowledgement of these scientists of the Mind of G-d?
We thank You for the mind of Paul Nipkow and his rotating disc!
We thank You for the mind of Heinrich Hertz that discovered how make radio waves!
We thank You for the mind of Sir Oliver Lodge and his transmission of a radio message!
We thank You for the mind of Philo T. Farnsworth and his TV scanning system!
We thank You for the mind of Vladimir Zworykin and his use of cathode ray tubes!
We thank You for the mind of John Logie Baird and his use of a Nipkow disc to broadcast images! *****

Speaking frankly Jesus, it seems true that all who accumulate observational scientific knowledge, regardless of their personal assessment of Your Ultimate Reality, simply bring humanity closer and more parallel to Your Eternal Thoughts! What say You, Lord?Will You bless the work past of these men, bring more discoveries to their fields’ present, and move us to attach those scientific discoveries to Your purposes? Amen.

* P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org, is fantastic! Check it out! Images are from https://images.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl; again, an amazing resource!
** Marks, Susan. “Television in Minnesota, 1928–1961” https://www.mnopedia.org/television-minnesota-1928-1961
*** https://hubbardbroadcasting.com/our-company/history/
**** Want to know more? “KSTP Radio City family album.” Minneapolis, MN. KSTP. 1944. https://www.worldcat.org/title/kstp-radio-city-family-album/oclc/37656418&referer=brief_results
***** Woodford, Chris. “Television”, Internet. May 16, 2018. https://www.explainthatstuff.com/television.html
****** Scriptures cited using the “Messianic Jewish Literal Translation of the New Covenant Scriptures” based on “Young’s Literal Translation” by Robert Young LL.D. revised by Kevin Geoffrey. Perfect Word Publishing, Phoenix, AZ.

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20th Century, Americana, Food, History, Minnesota, music, Uncategorized, women

“Hormel Girls”

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The Hormel Girls, hormelfoods.com

1948
The “All GI Girls Spam Post 570” drum and bugle corps becomes the Hormel Girls—a 60-woman troupe of multi-talented entertainers. They star in a network radio show and hit the road in a 35-car caravan, making music and leaving cents-off coupons across the U.S.A.*

To properly put the Hormel Girls in context, one has to define their raison d’être; Spam. Though many of us now associate the term with unwanted solicitations and advertising on our electronic devices, it was and is an incredible food product. So what is Spam?
It’s a brick of spiced ham, sealed over by an edible gel, and then vacuum packed into a compact tin. **

Allegedly, the tinned meat was birthed out of necessity and Midwestern ingenuity. Hormel foods had tons of pork shoulder that would go bad. An employee had the bright idea to pre-cook spices, broth, and the leftover ham and sell it in a tin. Their frugality and common sense started a revolution; a meat product that seemed to keep forever.

As we entered World War II, Hormel already had the right answer at the right time. Over 150 million pounds of Spam were consumed by U.S. forces during it alone. *** In addition, Spam sustained millions around the post-war world through the “Lend-Lease Act”. ****

The incredible success of the Allies in WWII, as well as for Hormel Foods, brought new challenges and convictions to the mind of Jay Hormel. He wanted every vet to have a job and community upon return. Many of these veterans were women who had honorably served their state and nation as: WAC’s Women’s Army Corps, WAVES Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, and SPARS Women’s Coast Guard Reserves (Acronym derived from “Semper Paratus” Latin for “Always Ready”). To this end, Hormel created the all-female American Legion Spam Post 570 in Austin, Minnesota. Post 570, in turn, birthed the idea of the “Spamettes”; an all-female drum and bugle corp that would be an attractive and wholesome promotional tool for his company. *****

Locals, however, were less enthused. After three weeks, neighbors “filed a motion for a temporary injunction to stop the rehearsing.” ******* Maybe the fault was Hormel’s generous incentives to the young women. Given that they started with a base pay of $50/week, (they were only paid $50 a month in the service), they were offered a $100 bonus if recognized for leadership traits, another $100 each if they placed in a contest, and still another $100 if they won first place!?! ****** All their hard work paid off, placing them at 13th of 49 entries; a very respectable showing considering the men’s groups had been together for years. *****

Wanting to capitalize on the goodwill these young women created, Hormel sought to give them wider exposure through radio. Under the tutelage of choir director Richard Wendelken and orchestra director Eddie Skrivanek, the five dozen Hormel Girls landed on a big band sound with safe arrangements of familiar songs of the day. Many likened them to Sammy Kaye or Kay Kyser; hip but palatable for a wider audience. The first broadcast of “Music with the Hormel Girls” aired on a single radio station, KHJ in Los Angeles, on Saturday, March 20, 1948. *****

From this starting point, the group eventually garnered a nation-wide audience broadcast over 227 ABC radio stations. ***** To enhance their visibility, the group played local shows and made in-store appearances coast to coast driving 35 identical white Chevy sedans. Such a long entourage combined with the posters and promises of coupons, samples, and prizes by an advance team more than piqued local interest in the Hormel Girls, and by association Hormel Foods.***** Nearly sixty years later, World War II Veteran and Hormel Girl member Eleanor Jones recalled that “we really did connect with the housewives. They would flock around us and ask for our autographs.” *******

Lord, thank You for being an inventor. Intrinsically, each form of life is a masterful combination of so many refined systems working in balance. Extrinsically, each individual life balances within a framework of relationships within it’s ecosystem. We can be classified by species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, and kingdom, yet we retain the possibility of adaptation. Everything in Your creation seems to point us towards this paradox; we are individuals that operate as a unity. You are Eternal Father, embodied Messiah, and Holy Spirit. Will You guide us to ponder such inward and outward relationships as we remember the Hormel Girls?

To modern ears it may sound like sarcasm, but today we truly thank You for the invention of Spam; this hardy food helped millions outlast bitter times of war and scarcity! We thank You for the unnamed author or authors of it’s recipe. Will You bless the creativity and diligence of our food scientists’ in the present and future of Minnesota? Will You bless all at Hormel Foods from top to bottom? Will You bless the hog farmers, factory workers, truckers, longshoremen and shippers of Spam? We commend their hard work and overtime in an age of such incredible demand! Will You bless our present and future food industry workers to meet and surpass the needs of multitudes like they?

We thank You for Jay Hormel; survivor and Veteran of the Great War (WWI)! We thank You for the sympathy and empathy for all veterans seared into his soul through that experience. We remember and applaud his acknowledgment of the service and sacrifices of these heroic women!

Where others who had made vast fortunes considered its’ female employees a drain on the bottom line, he increased their pay four times! Then gave them bonuses!
Where others displaced female vets, he saw fit that they had their own place in Post 570!
Where others pushed women out of the factory, he mentored them out of the factory into the spotlight!

Sadly, Jay Hormel seemed to be the exception to the rule. War propaganda that taught our sisters and mothers to be “Rosie the Riveter” now pushed them go home. Dear Lord, for some, this about-face worked, but for others life had permanently changed. We have opposed those we could have lifted. We closed our ears and ears to their talents. We broke faith with them. Forgive us where we offended and wronged Your Image by sinning in these same specific ways against: the WAC’s, the WAVES, the SPARS, and all the women who worked the home front.

We thank You for each and every Spamette and Hormel Girl! We thank You for the lessons they absorbed during their time of service that prepared them for this opportunity. We thank You that they said “Yes!” to so many challenges: to the rigors of travel, the discipline of refining their individual talents, learning to perform for a live or radio audience, learning how to sell to a huge variety of people, learning how to professionally present themselves, gaining skills in representing a company, and symbolizing what is possible for the “girl next door”!

Will You bless all female veterans present and future to: take chances, think big, make mistakes, learn from mistakes, and retain such adaptability to go beyond their classification? Will You give them the same spirit of balance in relationships; to exercise moments of individual greatness while remaining a unity? Will You give them the same sense of humility to recognize Your moments’ for them; even if it’s disguised as an everyday, quotidian tin of Spam?
“The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.” I Samuel 2:7 ESV *********

* P.T.H. cites timeline formerly at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm
The Minnesota Historical Society Web site, http://www.mnhs.org, is fantastic! Check it out! Images are from https://images.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl; again, an amazing resource!
** https://www.foodwine.com/food/egg/egg0798/slth0798.html
*** Smith, Andrew (May 1, 2007). “The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink”. Oxford University Press. pp. 559–60.
**** Howard Yoon (July 4, 2007). “Spam: More than Junk Mail or Junk Meat” (npr.org).
***** Sullivan, Jill and Keck, Danelle D. “The Hormel Girls”. pp.282-308 https://www.public.asu.edu/~jmsulli/documents/FINAL_Hormel%20Girls.pdf
****** “It’s A lot of Noise Shippan Point Says: All-Women Drum and Bugle Corps, Seeking Legion Title, Arouses Community’s Ire,” New York Times, Aug. 24, 1947, p5.
******* Jones,Eleanor. telephone interview with Jill Sullivan, April 5, 2007. Cited in “The Hormel Girls”.
******** Want to give the Hormel girls a listen? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-4Ok5qI7J4 “Tater Pie by the Hormel Girls”. ArchiveMan78. YouTube. May 7, 2018.
********* https://biblehub.com/1_samuel/2-7.htm

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