Ringling advertizing "First Time In America" in the 70's has upset some folks on the "history channel," apparently because they or the circus has never taken liberty's with facts before Ringling did in the 70's? What was Blacaman's nationality? I have heard many different version's over the years?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Blacaman
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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Wade,I recall reading Blacaman,firstname Pietro, was Italian.
Rob.
Wade,
What year would this have been from? From your post you know some history about this character...Please share...
Also did he "wrestle" alligators,like the performer Tahar from the mid 1980's....
LMAO
Vincent/San Diego
Vincent,
My knowledge of Blacaman is shady at best. If we are lucky maybe Bobby Cline, Dick Flint, Richard Reynolds, John Milton or some one else will enlighten us.
I have always wondered how a deal like this works. If you don't hire someone because of their race, color, sex or look it is called discrimination. If that's the case, if you hire someone specifically because of their race, color, sex, or look what is that called? Did Hagenbeck use Indian mahout's because they were skilled, or because they were Indian and looked more exotic with the elephants? Did Hagenbeck "sneak" a more politically correct human zoo in the back door, without folks realizing it?
Wade
Wade,
I'm thinking Hagenbeck and others simply file the hiring of those with a specific "look" or "ethnicity" under the broad umbrella of "Casting". Hiring in this case would cover two bases.
1.they look the part
2.they can do the job
I assume, Blacaman fit he bill for what Haenbeck perceived might look attractive or interest the paying customer.
There was a time not long ago, you would go to Benihana, and have your meal cooked and presented from Yoshi Takahara from Tokyo, now the chef is Manuel Ramirez from Chula Vista.
Vincent/San Diego
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stOTx4k3HvE
Vincent,
Funny stuff, but of so true. LOL As you and I are both on the same page when it comes to "racial/sexual equality" the withholding of employment because of race/color/sex being discrimination, have got to come up with a more ominous word then "reverse discrimination" for the giving of employment because of race/color/sex. Every liberal far left cause has it's foundation and basis in the same thing that they claim has made their life so very unfair.
Wade
Thomas,
Great link, thank you for posting. That's twice you knew something that I didn't. Have you gotten that smart, or did I get that stupid???? I note that our friend, Raffaele De Ritis had done some great postings in 2008 on his blog about Blackaman that I missed. Here are the links:
http://raffaelederitis.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-blacaman-gallery.html
http://raffaelederitis.blogspot.com/2008/03/more-on-blacaman.html
Showbiz censored a comment I made as "racist" because I pointed out that the two performers on Ringling who get the most press are the black ringmaster and the black horse presenter. The numerous other performers whose participation require a great deal more talent than these two individuals barely get an introduction in the shows. David thought it was racist to point out that their race had anything to do with the press they recieve. Like Universoul finding African Americans to present animal acts to fit the theme of the show and to give the impression that there are atually African American performers out there. Since 'Satin', King Charles, and of course the Satin girl who presented the big and little act you trained, can you think of any others? Vanessa Thomas was a good performer, but not an act.
So, it is racist to mention facts like this, but not racist to hire based on race.
Similarly, it is not racist to herald the first black president, but VERY racist to wonder, out loud, whether he was nominated to attract a demographic which historicaly has a poor turn-out at the polls, and just as racist to speculate whether it was the Felds strategy to attempt to attract an audience demographic which generally do not attend circuses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a954rBFz6kQ&feature=related
Anonymous,
I have been thinking about how to answer your question, as it is a very valid one, that I have questioned most of my life. Showbiz was wrong, way wrong, but it was his choice to read it as "unseemly" if that was his interpretation. The "Satin" girl you mention was not a "Satin" girl. She was Bernice Collins a show girl, whoops sorry, wrong word today, dancer is now the accepted pc term, from the Red Show. She was one of about 35 dancer's between the two show's and I always "assumed" because Charly Baumann had attempted and failed to teach her to work his tiger act in 1982, that she was the only one of all the girls with "some animal experience." It had to be, there was no other reason for the Feld's to chose her for the task. She did massive amounts of publicity in each major "black market" we appeared at the one year she presented the act. Literally none in the major "white" markets we played that year. You make the call.
How hard would it have been to produce a troupe of white unicycle basketball players called the King Larry Bird Troupe? Not hard at all. But would they have been as popular as a troupe riding on the wave of the Harlem Globetrotters? I've coined a world in my own vocabulary called back-end racism. That's where you use race to your advantage, but gag if it is used against you. Back-end racism sneaks in the back door cloaked by a heavy covering of liberalism, and before you know it or realize it, there it is. Back-end racism like BET and Miss Black America contests, offend me as much as making someone sit at the back of the bus, or making them drink out of a certain fountain because of their color.
Was it wrong to fire the white golf analyst(who was a close friend of Tigers) who pondered if Tiger Woods would serve fried chicken at the Masters dinner if he won, but not wrong to fire black analyst Charles Barkley for his back-end racism for giving a double finger to white Maverick basketball fan's and referring to them as low life's who work at McDonald's so they mean nothing to him?
My only grand child at this stage of my life is a handsome wonderful boy named Riley Wade, my son Eric's son. His mother is half African American and half Irish. The term used to be mulatto. I don't know really what they want to use as a proper description anymore, so use what you want, it doesn't matter to me or Riley Wade. My youngest son Taylor is presently engaged to a beautiful African American girl. Taylor is Czech on his mother's side, and German/Norwegian on my side with Russian way back. If Taylor and Ivy have a child what with he/she be called? Will we wait to see what "color" he/she is before describing? Insane, absurd, and ridiculous!!!! He/she will be an American, just like I am, just like my son's are, and just like Riley Wade is. Not a black American, not a white American, not yellow, green, or red. An American.
Racism was/is evil. Mankind realized that, and made massive stride's to eliminate it, because there was no justification. In many respect's back-end racism is a worse evil. Worse because we know what it is, but make massive stride's to capitalize on it, while making alibi's for it.
Wade Burck
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