Talk:Blanche Bruce

Untitled

Since Bruce's main claim to notability is his colour, isn't it curious that he is very clearly white in the portrait? I think the caption should make some mention of this. Soo 11:30, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

I guess that depends on what your definition of "black" is. To most Americans he is definitely black. In 19th century America he might have been considered "mulatto," a very un-politically correct term today. In other cultures, he might be considered mixed or white. Almost all "black" Americans are of mixed European and African ancestry to varying degrees. Recent DNA studies suggest that American blacks are 30-40% European on average. The article does note that his father was white, so no additional clarification is necessary, I think. --D Monack 20:59, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

I agree that the article states enough of the facts. His claim to fame was achieving political positions during Reconstruction, in addition to having gained an education. He was born a slave according to the law.--Parkwells (talk) 20:37, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Psychosis

A new psychosis has been developed in the United States recently. People like to identify "the first black" this-and-that. I don't believe that a white man can produce a black child. I believe that U. S. Senator B. K. Bruce was colored. 71.240.9.73 15:34, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

Noting "the first black" is hardly a recent phenomenon in the United States. Its been going on since the colonial era. Also "colored" and "black" are synonymous in American usage, though colored is now considered an antiquated term. Happy MLK Day. -- D.M. ^(talk) 21:04, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

Some people have dedicated their lives to the task of re-writing the racial history of the United States. The psychosis is their pet project. Topeka, Kansas is supposed to be the place with "the first black" kindergarten. Gene Mingo is said to be "the first black" professional football player to kick field goals. The psychosis is ubiquitous.

Early in 1961 I was eating a bowl of cereal and watching television when the newscaster (anchorman) said that President Kennedy had mentioned "Blacks." That was the first time that I ever heard Negroes being called "Blacks." Prior to 1960, the term "colored" suited the aims of the Americans, so they said either "colored" or "Negro." I had passed my 21st birthday by 1960, yet I had never heard anything resembling the phrase "the first black" before 1960. A news reporter named Mal Good was the first Negro to hold a microphone on television, but he was not called "the first black." He was a brown-skinned colored man.

During the Clinton era (1993-2001) Mr. Vernon Jordan was called "the most powerful black" in Washington, D. C! I call such talk blarney, hype, and tinsel. 71.240.106.21 19:06, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

How is it "re-writing" history? It's merely adding to our understanding of history. To most of those "firsts" you mentioned I would say "Who cares?" Nevertheless, if they are true, those facts should be mentioned in the relevant articles. Black, colored, or Negro, whatever the term, Blanche Bruce was, in fact, the first one in the Senate. That's at least worth mentioning in this article.

And again, "black" and "colored" mean the exact same thing in American usage. No one is literally "black", just as no one is literally "white". If you think "black" and "colored" are different, you'll have to explain to me how and how we should determine who belongs in which category. -- D.M. ^(talk) 19:32, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Numerous terms were employed long ago. Slave was probably the commonest term. The closest term to "black" was probably Guinea negro because he had no white or other qualities. Cuffy was a term. There are many pages on the Internet which speak of "the first black" while ignoring the former terms. I believe that people are re-writing the history of the United States.

Mal Good was one of the news reporters who went to Dallas, Texas in 1963 when President Kennedy was bushwhacked. On some of the old films, he can be seen holding a microphone.

I still have the taste of milk and corn flakes in my mouth since 1961 when I heard Negroes called "Blacks." I was stunned. 71.240.106.21 20:11, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Slave was never synonymous with black or Negro. Even in the bad old days people made the distinction between slaves and "free Negroes". The shock you felt when your heard someone called "Black" in 1963 is probably then same as the shock I'd feel if I saw someone described as "Negro" in Wikipedia. Similarly, Helen Keller is not described as "blind, deaf and dumb", which is how she was described while alive, because the language has changed. We use modern English in this encyclopedia. Black is not the same as Guinea negro as you describe it because almost all black Americans have some white ancestors. The difference between them and Blanche Bruce is a matter of degree. In America, for better or worse, people are not black based on their skin tone but based on their ancestry. Some black people are so light skinned that they can "pass" for white, but they're still considered black by most Americans. -- D.M. ^(talk) 20:37, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

I personally agree that "black" is a poor descriptive term for human beings, but then, so is "white". Humans come in many colors but black and white are definitely not among them. (Brown and pale pink, however, are.  :) The reason why "Negro" and "colored" passed out of usage owes more to their history of use by those who oppressed and mistreated them; they provide an uncomfortable reminder. Therefore it seems that many today prefer the term "African-American", which of course does not apply to everyone who was once called "black" because of course not all "blacks" necessarily are of African stock... The issue is so complex that I try very hard to stay neutral. Let them be called whatever they want to be called, and why get so worked up about it? -Kasreyn 12:33, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Search term: "the first black"

One of the search engines contains over 9,000 pages with the term "the first black" in use. The ubiquitous psychosis has helped to balloon most of those Web pages with the now hackneyed phrase "the first black" being in use. I have seen too much of it. 71.240.8.218 18:02, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

If your problem is with the wording then suggest a way to rephrase it. -- D.M. ^(talk) 22:35, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

Bi-racial was commonest

Before 1960, and the appearance of "Blacks" in the United States, the (formal) descriptive was bi-racial. I have not heard that word being spoken or seen it in print for at least 40 years.

Now, February is "Black history month" in the United States."

I would like to wish Abraham Lincoln a "happy 197th birthday" (he was born on February 12, 1809). He (and his associates) produced all of this racial messiness by being opposed to the establishment of a completely separate State for Negroes. 71.240.90.180 15:00, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Only Freedman in the Senate

Given that he was not the first Black man in the Senate (that was Hiram Revels. Bruce was, for eighty years, the last, though), just the first to serve a full term, I'd think that that's the more relevant detail.

And what's all this about playing with "his master's son" when right above, it states that his "master" was, in fact, his father (something I did not previously know)? Lewis Trondheim 13:55, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Stub

This article is more of a stub, and is poorly written. The one section about him needs improvement. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Murphb1220 (talk • contribs)

Wrong year?

I'm just translating the article into German and found a mistake, I'm afraid. The article says that he moved to Missouri in 1850 to become a printer's apprentice. When he was nine years old? I think it must have been 1860, so there is no gap to his attempt to become a soldier in the civil war as well. I'll put it into the german article that way; if I should be wrong, I'd like to be noticed. Otherwise it should be corrected in this article here. --Scooter ^{(this one)} 14:18, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

I haven't found a reference for the date yet, but 9-years-old was a typical age for a slave boy to begin an apprenticeship. 19 would have been considered a late age. My bet would on 1850 being correct. —D. Monack | talk 18:46, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, it really might be that way - and it only sounds strange nowadays. But the Congbio link also says: "...left his master at the beginning of the Civil War..." And there's also the tripod link with information that appears quite different from what is written in this article. --Scooter ^{(this one)} 23:30, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Presidential candidate?

"Pioneers in presidential race: First black presidential nominee in 1880; U.S. has seen 13 total" by Bonnie Winston http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/blackhistory.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-02-12-0014.html states "The Almanac of Women and Minorities in American Politics and other sources place him as first among African-American candidates, with a nomination at the Republican convention in 1880 in Chicago. But other sources say he was nominated for vice president in 1880 and again in 1888." More info on this? Шизомби (talk) 02:22, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Senate historians account and this page differ remarkably

Can someone more knowledgeable on the life of this remarkable man please try to edit this article to make it more historically accurate? There are major differences between the description given in the official record from the US Senate's historian and on this page. This page does not even mention him fleeing to Kansas where he was first freed. Here is the US Senate's version of his history, with the relevant link: http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Former_Slave_Presides_Over_Senate.htm 1878-1920

February 14, 1879 Former Slave Presides over Senate

On February 14, 1879, a Republican senator from Mississippi presided over the Senate. In this instance, the Senate's customary practice of rotating presiding officers during routine floor proceedings set a historical milestone. The senator who temporarily assumed these duties had a personal background that no other senator, before or since, could claim: he had been born into slavery.

Blanche K. Bruce was born 38 years earlier near Farmville, Virginia. The youngest of 11 children, he worked in fields and factories from Virginia to Mississippi. Highly intelligent and fiercely ambitious, Bruce gained his earliest formal education from the tutor hired to teach his master's son.

At the start of the Civil War, Bruce escaped slavery by fleeing to Kansas. He attended Oberlin College for two years and then moved to Mississippi, where he purchased an abandoned cotton plantation and amassed a real estate fortune. In 1874, while Mississippi remained under postwar military control, the state legislature elected Bruce to the U.S. Senate. Several years earlier, that legislature had sent the Senate its first African-American member when it elected Hiram Revels to fill out the remaining months of an unexpired term.

Blanche Bruce's Senate service got off to a sour start when Mississippi's other senator, James Alcorn, refused to escort him to the front of the chamber to take his oath of office. As Bruce started down the aisle alone, New York Republican Roscoe Conkling moved to his side and completed the journey to the rostrum. The grateful senator later named his only son Roscoe Conkling Bruce.

Withdrawal of the military government in Mississippi ended Republican control of that state's political institutions and any chance that Bruce might serve more than a single term. That term, however, proved to be an active one as he advocated civil rights for blacks, native Americans, Chinese immigrants, and even former Confederates. It was during a heated debate on a bill to exclude Chinese immigrants that Bruce made history at the presiding officer's desk.

After leaving the Senate, Bruce held a variety of key government and educational posts until his death in 1898.

Reference Items:

Mann, Kenneth Eugene. "Blanche Kelso Bruce: United States Senator Without a Constituency." Journal of Mississippi History 38 (May 1976): 183-98 (end quote) Michaelh2001 (talk) 18:59, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

Freed by his father?

The article currently says that he was freed by his father, but my humanities teacher says that's not true at all. I'm not sure about the reliability of Politico as a source... 67.155.76.106 (talk) 19:44, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

It meets the guidelines set down in WP:IRS. Your humanities teacher doesn't. The biography The Senator and the Socialite on page 65 agrees with Politico. One of the most important lessons you can learn in school is that your teachers aren't always right. Also: question everything. —D. Monack ^talk 23:14, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

Alexander Kelso Davis

Was he related to Alexander Kelso Davis? FloridaArmy (talk) 14:55, 2 October 2021 (UTC)

Oberlin College v. Oberlin Academy

Bruce's entry says he went to Oberlin College but I suspect it is far more likely he trained as a teacher at Oberlin Academy. FloridaArmy (talk) 15:01, 2 October 2021 (UTC)