The Greenfield Recorder is in Dire Need of Racial Sensitivity Training

During the past twenty-plus years of living in this little town in the heart of New England, I could never shake off the feeling that racism was and is deeply embedded in many peoples’ minds. There are a few loudmouths not afraid of expressing their racism openly, but too many act in silence. However, sometimes there is that virtual “slip of the tongue,” and there is no better place looking for such mishaps than the local newspaper.

The Greenfield Recorder, the daily newspaper serving Greenfield, Massachusetts, and the people of Franklin County and North Quabbin, does not hesitate to publish controversial opinions, even when they are racially tainted. I applaud the protection of free speech, even if the screening process is relatively shallow. It is, however, not acceptable when the Recorder itself publishes articles using controvertible language.

I am referring to a December 29th, 2021, article in the Recorder’s Food & Farms section titled “Ring in the new year with Hoppin’ John and Skippin’ Jenny,” explaining the origins of black-eyed peas.

Let me quote: “They may have been brought to this continent by enslaved people from West Africa — or perhaps merely by their captors. The details are murky. However the beans came to this country, many enslaved people were doubtless happy to have a reminder of home. Slave owners fed the beans to livestock as well as servants…”

I personally am appalled by the reference to “happy enslaved people,” as well as mentioning “livestock and servants” in the same sentence. Slave owners’ servants were usually slaves.

If you’d like to read the full article, here it is:
The Recorder — Ring in the New Year with Hoppin’ John and Skippin’ Jenny

On January 4, 2022, I contacted Tinky Weisblat, the author of the article through her website but received no response.

On January 5, 2022, I contacted Joan Livingston, the Editor-In-Chief, with copy to Shawn Palmer, the Publisher. The answer was underwhelming: “Thank you for expressing your concerns. I honestly don’t believe the writer intended that sentence to be as you interpreted. She was not condoning slavery or the maltreatment of people, but was stating that the food mentioned would be familiar. But I will share your message with the writer.”

Honestly, this is the response I would have expected from my first-grade teacher but not from the Editor-In-Chief of a newspaper. I am surprised by the lack of journalistic sophistication and the level of ignorance.

The fact is, yes, the writer made an innocent mistake. Nevertheless, it was a mistake, and it should not be repeated. You don’t lose your face by admitting a mistake; you lose your face only by making the same mistake repeatedly.

Last but not least, let me share my wife’s letter to the editor, which was not published:

“This morning I read, and reread, an article published in your newspaper. I do not often read Tinky Weisblat’s column. Her style and her recipes are not usually my cup of tea. This morning, however, I did read her article and was appalled. When talking the origins of black-eyed peas, she wrote, “They may have been brought to this continent by enslaved people from West Africa — or perhaps merely by their captors. The details are murky. However the beans came to this country, many enslaved people were doubtless happy to have a reminder of home.” Wow. Just wow. I am sure those who were taken from Africa and sold into slavery in our country were not packing foods to remind them of home. These people were violently ripped from their homes and brought to our country where they were sold as property. They lived a life that consisted of being worked to death, being beaten, being raped, and then being sold or traded again. They were property. No matter what we were taught in school all those years ago, their lives were not happy and pleasant. Mentioning in passing that they must have been “happy to have a reminder of home” is demeaning to what slavery did to the people taken from their land and completely ignorant of the whole issue of slavery and what this meant for our country and our citizens. It is also ignorant of the fact that these biases continue today. Friends used the terms “insensitive language”, “blatant racism”, and “white privilege” when we talked about this article.

I would expect the Recorder and those who write for it to be more sensitive to their community and to think and reflect before they publish such an ignorant article.”