When I was going through some old photos recently that were left behind by the previous owner at the home where I live, I came across an old church program that dates back to 1932. It was from the Tremont Temple Baptist Church, in Boston, Mass. They had an altogether different phone system back then because the phone number was listed as LAFayette 7320. The first three letters in LAFayette correspond with the numbers for the exchange (523) on the telephone. Out of curiosity, I called information to see if there was still a listing for the church. The number is actually still the same except that the number is (617) 523-7320. Maybe times haven’t changed so much after all.
I also noted something else that has definitely changed but I don’t have the church program in front of me so I’ll get to that later.
tremonttemple.com/ContactUs.htm
Here’s a little about exchange names:
ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html
Originally, this scheme was meant as a mnemonic device for telephone number prefixes. When telephone numbers in the US were standardized in the mid-20th century, they were made seven digits long, including a two-digit prefix, the latter expressed as letters rather than numbers. (Before World War II, many localities used three letters and four numbers, and in much of California during this period, phone numbers had only six digits — two letters followed by four numbers.) The prefix was a name, and the first two or three letters (usually shown in capitals) of the name were dialed. Later, the third letter (where previously used) was replaced by a number; this generally happened after World War II, although New York City did this in 1930. Thus, the famous Glenn Miller tune “PEnnsylvania 6-5000” refers to a telephone number 736-5000, the number of the Hotel Pennsylvania, which still bears the same number today. Similarly, the classic Elizabeth Taylor film “BUtterfield 8” refers to the section of New York City where the film is set, where the telephone prefixes include 288 (on the East Side of Manhattan between roughly 64th and 86th Streets). This is why, in some works of fiction, phone numbers will begin with “KLondike 5” or “KLamath 5”, which translates to 555, a mostly unused and reserved exchange. This practice continues in film and television to this day, even though the prefix system has long been unused.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Amer … ering_Plan
Here’s a quote from Will Rogers who had attended the church on at least one occasion and the minister, Dr. James W. Brougher, is the same one that was on the church program. (Will Rogers was brought up as a Methodist).
When I die, my epitaph or whatever you call those signs on gravestones is going to read: “I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.” I am so proud of that I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved. And when you come to my grave you will find me sitting there, proudly reading it.
“One of his most famous and most quoted remarks. First printed in the Boston Globe, June 16, 1930, after he had attended Tremont Temple Baptist Church, where Dr. James W. Brougher was minister. He asked Will to say a few words after the sermon. The papers were quick to pick up the remark, and it stayed with him the rest of his life. He also said it on various other occasions” ~ Paula McSpadden Love
captureclients.com/quotes/Will_Rogers/
Here’s an excerpt from Will Rogers: A Biography by Ben Yagoda.
okreadsok.org/sixpack/thirds … cerpt.html
Tremont Temple Baptist Church
thehymnsociety.org/photos2000.html pluralism.org/research/profi … file=71817
Listed in the announcements on the church program, I read this quote about a quartet that was performing the following month. This was what I was referring to when I said that there was something in the program that was very different from today:
As a special musical attraction the Mansfield Negro Male Quartet , one of the greatest in the country, will sing the following numbers:
a. “Lord Help Us to be Mor” Humble in des World".
“A quartet of fine young colored men, their rich harmonies, coupled with the spontaneous sentiment so typical of their race, make an instantaneous hit.”
I’ve always loved listening to spirituals sung by black people. I loved to hear Ethel Waters sing “His Eye is On the Sparrow” at the Billy Graham crusades. But now we can’t refer to them as Negro, black or colored (perhaps colored being the more offensive of the three) without being politically incorrect.
Foreigners can’t keep up with American changes, and often think them foolish. Probably the most fashion-policed word anywhere is that with which Americans refer to their countrymen of African ancestry. In 50 years, that defining term has shifted from colored to Negro to black to Afro-American to people of color to African-American.
geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/8414/pc.htm
Other views on the subject:
itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/language … 04055.html npr.org/templates/story/stor … Id=6640858 iowalum.com/magazine/feb07/colored.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/ar … power.html cobb.typepad.com/cobb/2005/10/bl … ro__1.html everything2.com/index.pl?node_id … tnode_id=0
The words “so typical of their race” in the quote above (the Mansfield Negro Quartet), would also be considered offensive because this would be black stereotyping. What do you think about this? There are many other examples of black stereotyping.
I’ve always liked Sidney Poitier. He’s a gifted actor, very personable and he has had some excellent roles. He was mentioned in this article about stereotypes but the quote focuses on countertypes. The writer may be overanalyzing but his theory might bear some consideration.
A second useful function of stereotypes is in the use of what can be termed “countertypes.” A “countertype” is a positive stereotype (one which arouses “good” emotions and associates a group of people with socially approved characteristics) which evolves as an attempt to replace or “counter” a negative stereotype which has been applied previously to a specific group of people. Negative stereotypes of African Americans were attacked by countertypes in the 1960s and 1970s in movies such as Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Shaft , both of which featured strong, dynamic, intelligent black males. The process continues today with the positive portrayal of “Bumpies” (Black Upwardly Mobile Professionals) on television programs such as The Cosby Show and L.A. Law . The negative stereotype of “Women as Helpless Victims” has been challenged in recent years as well with countertypes on television ranging from the tough cops of Cagney and Lacy to the headstrong, independent Murphy Brown. And the negative view of Southern males as racist rednecks has been reworked through countertypes promoted in advertisements for the new South–television programs like Evening Shade , Designing Women, and Matlock , and the massively popular songs of country superstar Garth Brooks. Countertypes are important reflections (and shapers) of popular beliefs and vaules, but at least two characteristics need to be emphasized lest we permit good intentions to blind us to their real meaning and nature:
Countertypes are still stereotypes, and this means that they are still oversimplified views of the group being stereotyped. Many African Americans came to resent the “Sidney Poitier” stereotype of the black male which was an ubiquitous countertype in movies of the late 1960s and early 1970s, for example, because it seemed to imply that blacks were now simply slaves to another image promoted by white middle-class society–a different stereotype to be sure, but a stereotype nonetheless. The Poitier-countertype was often interpreted to be nothing more than a racist command for black males to clean up their acts, cut their hair, learn to speak English clearly and “properly,” and pursue professional goals. Black males labeled the Poitier-countertype with their own definition of the stereotype–an Oreo (Black on the outside, white at heart)–and argued that it meant only that blacks who were “better” than whites at the white man’s game were “acceptable.” A countertype, in other words, cannot be accepted at face value any more than the negative stereotype it is seeking to replace or meliorate.
Countertypes are often merely surface correctives–scratch an intended countertype and you will often discover an old stereotype lurking underneath. The Poitier-black male is one example of this characteristic as well. In addition to being too simple and entrapping, it is also possible to view this countertype as nothing more than the old “self-made black man pulling himself upp by his own bootstraps” image which characterized the efforts of turn-of-the-century African American conservatives such as Booker T. wasington, who sought to improve the lives of balcks without upsetting the fundamental balance of power in white-black relationships. This quality of countertypes is present in many other examples as well: beneath the “independent career-woman” there is often just a lonely dame who wants to get married; beneath the responsible teenager (Doctor Doogie Howser) there’s just a kid with a need for strong parental guidance and love; and beneath the humorous, well-intentioned nice guy L.A. Law yers there’s still a greedy weasel lurking ready to pursue a case for his own ends or compromise a client to protect the well-being of the firm. Perhaps the major lesson countertypes can impart to us is that stereotypes are very difficult to alter.
serve.com/shea/stereodf.htm
