I grew up in a town in Ohio where John Brown built a tannery (well before the Civil War). That building was fucking well-built and was still standing after more than a century of total neglect, but in the mid-70s some Republicans on the city council had it condemned and torn down over the space of three days, too fast for anyone to take legal action to stop it. Ironically, they initially couldn’t tear it down and had to bring in heavy-duty demolition equipment to bring it down; at one point they were considering explosives. Today it is - you guessed it - a parking lot, ironically enough for a walking trail along the river.
They probably had it torn down just out of general hatred of history, not because John Brown was an abolitionist. Back then, even though Republicans were still assholes, they generally had the same distaste for slavery as everybody else. It took the Reagan Revolution (which kicked off the 1980 election cycle in Philadelphia, Mississippi for some reason) to make racism cool again.
You can watch the show or read the book The Good Lord Bird for a fictionalization of his life, on my list of to-watch and to-read for sure. Anyone have any critical reviews on those as to accuracy?
For those who, like me, don’t know who John Brown is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)
I grew up in a town in Ohio where John Brown built a tannery (well before the Civil War). That building was fucking well-built and was still standing after more than a century of total neglect, but in the mid-70s some Republicans on the city council had it condemned and torn down over the space of three days, too fast for anyone to take legal action to stop it. Ironically, they initially couldn’t tear it down and had to bring in heavy-duty demolition equipment to bring it down; at one point they were considering explosives. Today it is - you guessed it - a parking lot, ironically enough for a walking trail along the river.
They probably had it torn down just out of general hatred of history, not because John Brown was an abolitionist. Back then, even though Republicans were still assholes, they generally had the same distaste for slavery as everybody else. It took the Reagan Revolution (which kicked off the 1980 election cycle in Philadelphia, Mississippi for some reason) to make racism cool again.
Behind the Bastards did an episode on John Brown for the Christmas anti-Bastard episode a few years ago, definitely worth a listen.
Josh Brolin reads the last speech to the court that sentenced John Brown to death.
This is me, remembering I also didn’t learn about John Brown in school and being really pissed off about it
You can watch the show or read the book The Good Lord Bird for a fictionalization of his life, on my list of to-watch and to-read for sure. Anyone have any critical reviews on those as to accuracy?