MovieChat Forums > Ragtime (1981) Discussion > The treatment of African Americans in th...

The treatment of African Americans in the North

posted 18 years ago by Katz5
10 replies | jump to latest

I rewatched this film last night and it remains one of my favorites.
What was unusual, to me, was the racism by exhibited by the Yankees. This was after the Civil War was won by the North. The plot is driven by a racist act, and the Father character would not initially allow Coalhouse Walker, or the baby, into his home.

The "North" has been depicted in movies like "Gods & Generals" and "Glory" as noble, compared to the South. Ragtime, and a few characters in Cold Mountain, seemed to indicate that not everyone was kind-hearted, especially to African Americans, in the North.

I'd be interested in hearing from others on this topic.

[–] ronfakename 17 years ago

you know there's still racism in the north right? and the KKK had a large following in the north as well.

[–] Bookluvah 17 years ago

Some movies definitely like to simplify things by drawing a very thick line between North and South. Everyone in the South was racist and everyone in the North wasn't. That's just not the case. History isn't black and white. There were southern abolitionists and later on white civil rights fighters just as there were KKK members and racists in the North. You just can't generalize.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] wvanderburg 17 years ago

My friend, you have stumbled onto one of the greatest myths in American History: Nationwide acceptance of Blacks after the Civil War. Father in the book and movie reflects the "old school" vision of America that Black and White did not mix on any societal levels, period. He was of the mind set that blacks were like children that could not fend for themselves. And it didn't matter what part of the country you lived or were born in: it was a nationwide perception.

The North after the Civil War, even though abolishionists would state otherwise, did not welcome blacks to the area. The Abolishment of Slavery movement just wanted blacks free, but didn't offer a suggestion of what they were to do once they were free. You've immediately got 4 million plus people wanting to prove themselves, they actually have no clue as to what just hit them. It's like throwing a life preserver to a drowning man but not pulling him to shore. Willie Conklin represents the bigotry apparent in America in seeing someone you view as less of a person than yourself, own status symbols of higher means than you possess. Coalhouse's ownership of a car is this perceived "white only" status symbol, even if the car was Ford's "Car for the Masses".

[–] FCA1975 8 years ago

Many, if not more than half of all, white people on both sides if the Mason-Dixon line before and after the war are and forever will be racist POS's. That is all the explanation that is needed.

[–] Ithilfaen (183) 7 years ago

lol here you are again and this time, you are making up racist statistics too. Kudos, you are officially as bad as the white racists you hate.

[–] liscarkat (17173) 3 years ago

A tiny number of white people on either side of the north-south line are racists today, by the traditional, normal, correct definition of the word racist. Going by the current woke definition, every newborn white baby two seconds old is a raging racist.

[–] TimMC (9143) 3 years ago

WRONG WRONG WRONG!

The Northern USA was, is. and always will be, WOKE AS FUCK.

No one in the Northern USA has ever uttered a racist word in their life.

All racism and is segregated in the Southern USA.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

The Civil War was deeply unpopular in the North even though the cause was obviously just, there were "draft riots" in New York, men didn't want to be drafted to fight to free the slaves.

If we ever needed a reminder that a huge proportion of human beings and the American population are complete assholes, look at the response to the pandemic over the last year and a half.

[–] Popcorngal (4483) 2 years ago

The attitude of the wealthy white family to take in the Black mom and her kid was very rare indeed back then. I have heard about the movie for a long time. I really like period films. I am also keen of a few ragtime tunes. I was in my early teens when this film came out.