Sunday, June 14, 2020
This Jewish Lady's Experience With Blacks
Nadene Goldfoot
I don't remember any Blacks attending in my Abernethy Grade School like my father had at Failing Grade School, both schools in Portland, Oregon, but I do remember some Blacks at my Washington High School in SE Portland. We had several Chinese and Italian families plus another Jewish family on our street, and at Abernethy there were also Greek students, too.
Dick Bogle, a Black student and I walked home together many days from Washington High. I lost him at Hawthorne Blvd when I would cross it and Dick turned left, and I continued to Ladd's Addition. I was a Freshman then, and Dick was a Senior and the Sports Editor of our school's newspaper. He was Black and a big wheel. We eventually started comparing experiences that had hurt us, and he told me of the time when the editorial department of the school newspaper had a picnic at a park and wanted to rent boats to go boating. "All could buy a ticket", said the ticket taker, "except Dick, because he was Black". The group decided not to do it after all. Dick felt bad because he had been the cause of their missing out on something they all had voted to do.
I told him of eating in the cafeteria and overhearing students talk about Jews and how they disliked them. This was right at my own table. Since my hair was quite light, a dirty blonde, I wasn't suspected of being Jewish and I piped up to say, "I AM JEWISH. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?" Or something to that affect. That was my first experience with anti-Semitism. We Jews weren't invited to join the popular sororities, either, so we had our own Jewish sororities that took in Jews from all over Portland, not just from one school. We met at homes, usually on Sunday. We had our own dances. All that was about to start for me as the year developed.
Then one day Dick asked me out on a date, and I said I'd have to ask my parents first. My parents said no. I was expected to date only Jewish boys. We continued to be friends, anyway, and of course he graduated and I didn't get to walk with him anymore. "Bogle was raised in a multicultural neighborhood on Southeast Tibbetts Street, an area that included Italian, Chinese, white, and black families." He must have graduated in 1947 when I was 14.
Dick became a policeman, and then advanced to detective. He became the TV announcer on channel 2. He was in City Hall as head of the Fire Department. He was an outstanding person. We'd run into each other every once in a while. One time, I remember, when he was a policeman in uniform, I was driving into North Portland and into a black neighborhood and Dick was there. For some reason I stopped and talked to him while having my mother and my two children in the car. He told me to keep my doors locked and windows rolled up while going through as it was a dangerous neighborhood. I thanked him for the warning, and felt so glad to see him again.
I moved to Israel in 1980 and returned just before Thanksgiving 1985. One of the first people I purposely saw was Dick at channel 2 after a cousin had told me he was then working for channel 2. I had the chance to tell him a little about Israel and how important it was. He checked later, he told me, with some Federal appointee who told him all the reasons why I was correct and that Israel was most important to the USA.
At the end of Dick's life, he was on the radio broadcasting Jazz music and using his own material for this, as he was an expert on Jazz music. He knew how to pick the great stuff that made listening such a pleasure.
I had a good experience with my one and only Black person. Dick may have known a few other Jewish students at Washington High, being who he was, a very friendly, outgoing, and intelligent person always interested in other people, and no doubt with us he had a good experience. He worked for the Mayor of Portland and she was a Jewish lady, and he told me, a hard taskmaster! Now I'm confused. Vera Katz, Jewish, was mayor from 1993 to 2004. I saw Dick in the end of 1985. Had he worked for Mildred Schwab who was mayor from 1972 to 1987? She was Jewish, too! Dick probably knew both ladies. I think he worked for Schwab.
I check and found that we Jews make up only 2% of the American population. We're facing an inordinate amount of anti-Semitism today. It was very bad when our parents were looking for jobs in the 20s and onward till about the 60s. One difference in the world is that Israel's birth May 14, 1948. Right after the 1967 War when Israel won against unbelievable odds, there was a huge amount of praise for this little state. Then the accusations started up by slander.
Blacks are 12.1% of the population today. They were 10% to 10.5% when Dick and I were in high school. You'd think that the end of the Civil War should have freed them and made their situation so much better, but their position as servants and slaves lingered onto the minds of people around them, and their color so easily identified them as "being different." There have been so many times when they've tried to gain some respect.
The Watts Riots or Rebellion that started in California August 11, 1965 was when I was in California and there with my children on a trip to Mexico. We were on the border of it. It "lasted for six days, resulting in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries and 4,000 arrests, involving 34,000 people and ending in the destruction of 1,000 buildings, totaling $40 million in damages." Lyndon Baines Johnson was president then. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the president before Johnson from 61 to 63 who had done so much to work Blacks into our white society.
The Watts Riot happened 55 years ago. That's two generations worth. Well, we Jews are feeling the anti-Semites, too with their joint hatred that includes Israel, the only Jewish state in the world. It seems that situations get worse before they get any better. Let's all hope this times it gets better for all of us.
However, my biggest fear at age 85 is that all these rioters that have been marching for days on end in Portland and then always ending their march with those who riot and destroy businesses will in 2 weeks or less come down with the Corona virus because they have been packed so close together and yelling together with so many without masks. Actually, in 5 days they might feel the start of the flu. This is a flu pandemic, not the ordinary flu, and it affects and damages just like these late-night rioters, harming one's heart, lungs and so on permanently.
If people aren't more careful, there won't be many left on this planet to vote or even think about making improvements for anyone!
Resource:
My memories
https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/bogle_dick_1930_2010/#.XuZGFEVKiUk
https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/watts-riots
 |
| My Abernethy Grade School graduation in 1946. We had one Black boy, one Chinese, Fenton Su and the rest of us were just mixtures. I didn't know the Black boy in the picture; maybe he was in the class. There are 43 students here. I was mad about Carl Burbano, whose father was from South America. He was our paper boy. |
I don't remember any Blacks attending in my Abernethy Grade School like my father had at Failing Grade School, both schools in Portland, Oregon, but I do remember some Blacks at my Washington High School in SE Portland. We had several Chinese and Italian families plus another Jewish family on our street, and at Abernethy there were also Greek students, too.
Dick Bogle, a Black student and I walked home together many days from Washington High. I lost him at Hawthorne Blvd when I would cross it and Dick turned left, and I continued to Ladd's Addition. I was a Freshman then, and Dick was a Senior and the Sports Editor of our school's newspaper. He was Black and a big wheel. We eventually started comparing experiences that had hurt us, and he told me of the time when the editorial department of the school newspaper had a picnic at a park and wanted to rent boats to go boating. "All could buy a ticket", said the ticket taker, "except Dick, because he was Black". The group decided not to do it after all. Dick felt bad because he had been the cause of their missing out on something they all had voted to do.
I told him of eating in the cafeteria and overhearing students talk about Jews and how they disliked them. This was right at my own table. Since my hair was quite light, a dirty blonde, I wasn't suspected of being Jewish and I piped up to say, "I AM JEWISH. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?" Or something to that affect. That was my first experience with anti-Semitism. We Jews weren't invited to join the popular sororities, either, so we had our own Jewish sororities that took in Jews from all over Portland, not just from one school. We met at homes, usually on Sunday. We had our own dances. All that was about to start for me as the year developed.
 |
| Dick in 1937 with mother, Kathryn Hall Bogle, who was a reporter for the Oregonian. Father was a businessman and then worked as a postman. We talked about our parents, and later on, I did the genealogy of his family for him and found it so impressive and interesting with his ancestor coming from the Islands that I thought someone should do a movie about them. Dick was really into finding out as much as we could. |
 |
| Dick working at Channel 2, KATU, in 60s |
I moved to Israel in 1980 and returned just before Thanksgiving 1985. One of the first people I purposely saw was Dick at channel 2 after a cousin had told me he was then working for channel 2. I had the chance to tell him a little about Israel and how important it was. He checked later, he told me, with some Federal appointee who told him all the reasons why I was correct and that Israel was most important to the USA.
At the end of Dick's life, he was on the radio broadcasting Jazz music and using his own material for this, as he was an expert on Jazz music. He knew how to pick the great stuff that made listening such a pleasure.
I had a good experience with my one and only Black person. Dick may have known a few other Jewish students at Washington High, being who he was, a very friendly, outgoing, and intelligent person always interested in other people, and no doubt with us he had a good experience. He worked for the Mayor of Portland and she was a Jewish lady, and he told me, a hard taskmaster! Now I'm confused. Vera Katz, Jewish, was mayor from 1993 to 2004. I saw Dick in the end of 1985. Had he worked for Mildred Schwab who was mayor from 1972 to 1987? She was Jewish, too! Dick probably knew both ladies. I think he worked for Schwab.
I check and found that we Jews make up only 2% of the American population. We're facing an inordinate amount of anti-Semitism today. It was very bad when our parents were looking for jobs in the 20s and onward till about the 60s. One difference in the world is that Israel's birth May 14, 1948. Right after the 1967 War when Israel won against unbelievable odds, there was a huge amount of praise for this little state. Then the accusations started up by slander.
Blacks are 12.1% of the population today. They were 10% to 10.5% when Dick and I were in high school. You'd think that the end of the Civil War should have freed them and made their situation so much better, but their position as servants and slaves lingered onto the minds of people around them, and their color so easily identified them as "being different." There have been so many times when they've tried to gain some respect.
The Watts Riots or Rebellion that started in California August 11, 1965 was when I was in California and there with my children on a trip to Mexico. We were on the border of it. It "lasted for six days, resulting in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries and 4,000 arrests, involving 34,000 people and ending in the destruction of 1,000 buildings, totaling $40 million in damages." Lyndon Baines Johnson was president then. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the president before Johnson from 61 to 63 who had done so much to work Blacks into our white society.
The Watts Riot happened 55 years ago. That's two generations worth. Well, we Jews are feeling the anti-Semites, too with their joint hatred that includes Israel, the only Jewish state in the world. It seems that situations get worse before they get any better. Let's all hope this times it gets better for all of us.
However, my biggest fear at age 85 is that all these rioters that have been marching for days on end in Portland and then always ending their march with those who riot and destroy businesses will in 2 weeks or less come down with the Corona virus because they have been packed so close together and yelling together with so many without masks. Actually, in 5 days they might feel the start of the flu. This is a flu pandemic, not the ordinary flu, and it affects and damages just like these late-night rioters, harming one's heart, lungs and so on permanently.
 |
| The nightly parade of Portland protesters going down SE 11th heading for town, on June 13th's evening. They were so loud, they were heard blocks away. Protesters calling for police reforms and an end to discrimination against black Americans are marching and gathering in Portland again Saturday for the 10th consecutive night, part of a wave of unrest that has spread across the globe. |
Resource:
My memories
https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/bogle_dick_1930_2010/#.XuZGFEVKiUk
https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/watts-riots
