Ah, yes. The 1950s. These years were all about rock ‘n’ roll, poodle skirts and sharing a chocolate milkshake at your favorite diner with your favorite person…Well, if you weren’t a person of color.
For people of color, the 1950s was a time of institutional racism and systematic oppression. The “Whites Only” version of the 1950s most people refer to didn’t exist for those of us that have the presence of melanin in our skin. For anyone that wasn’t the much more desirable Caucasian person, these years were all about integration, social reform and fighting for basic civil rights. In other words, while some people attended drive-in movies and Elvis Presley concerts, others were fighting for the right to be able to drink from the clean water fountain.
The pictures you see all over social media of teens and young adults in the 1950s having the time of their lives are a misleading representation of what was really going on back then. How many times have you seen a person of color in any of those photos? If the answer is zero, then you catch my drift.
Of course, a lot of people don’t pay very close attention to what they see on social media. They give it a quick glance and then it’s shared, retweeted or reposted. Starting today, I challenge you to start paying close attention. If you weren’t already aware, in most of the photos I’m referring to, the people in them are participating in activities you could go out and do right now. The next time you see a photo that falsely depicts this era and its racial tension, educate the person at fault and let them know why they’re in the wrong. Peer-education is the best type of education. Sometimes, people may not even know that they’re being offensive.
Besides, if 1950s fashion is what you’re into, there are plenty of places you can go to buy a cute little poodle skirt! Keep these things in mind the next time you “wish times were still like this.”