Matt- This is really interesting. Never knew so much was involved into Valley Forge’s history. I appreciate you sharing this. Hope you’re well this week? Cheers, -Thalia
Presumably not included: a large sign directing foreign visitors to leave the town by sundown and the second Main Street USA for non-whites under threat of death.
One wonders if such visitors would have been allowed to eat in the restaurants of the floating Main Street USA. Perhaps a Bull Connor re-enactor could interrogate visitors about the racial compositions of their families before entering, for the authentic experience!
Originally, the post was going to have two parts, the second part speaking to the issue you raised. I decided to separate the racism into a separate post to make both more likely to be read. The forthcoming post draws from an April 1961 memo from USIA's Deputy Director to the White House though on "foreign diplomats — predominantly Africans — involved in incidents in the United States." The memo included details in three parts: "(1) a list of the incidents and their circumstances; (2) a brief summary of representative African reaction to recent incidents involving African diplomats; and (3) recent Moscow comment on and exploitation of this theme." From that memo... March 1961: Sierra Leone Liaison Officer to US, "Refused service in Howard Johnson restaurant, Hagerstown, Maryland"; January 1961: Secondary Secretary of the Nigerian Embassy to the US, "Refused breakfast in Charlottesville, Virginia, restaurant, given meal in a paper bag, and told to eat outside"; November 1960: Ambassador to the US from the Central African Republic, "Refused service in restaurant on highway near Baltimore. Unable to obtain service even after it was disclosed he was an African diplomat"; June 1959: Two Mexican employees of Mexican Consulate, Lubbock, Texas, "Refused service in a beauty parlor in Lubbock"; October 1957: Ghana's Finance Minister, "Refused service in a restaurant in Dover, Delaware, because of color; later breakfasted with President Eisenhower at White House."
"Most discriminatory incidents have involved African rather than Asian or Caribbean nations' representatives and each predictably has provoked prominent press play as well as heavy and sharply critical African press and public commentary."
Essential reading here is Mary Dudziak's book, Cold War Civil Rights (2000).
Thank you for taking my lightly snarky comment in stride and giving it such a wonderfully illuminating reply. I’ll be grabbing a copy of Cold War Civil Rights on that right away.
The USS Valley Forge went on to fulfill a minor role in a different US undertaking with significant public diplomacy implications - the space program. In March 1961 Valley Forge served as the primary recovery ship for the first (uncrewed) launch of a Mercury capsule.
Matt- This is really interesting. Never knew so much was involved into Valley Forge’s history. I appreciate you sharing this. Hope you’re well this week? Cheers, -Thalia
Presumably not included: a large sign directing foreign visitors to leave the town by sundown and the second Main Street USA for non-whites under threat of death.
One wonders if such visitors would have been allowed to eat in the restaurants of the floating Main Street USA. Perhaps a Bull Connor re-enactor could interrogate visitors about the racial compositions of their families before entering, for the authentic experience!
Originally, the post was going to have two parts, the second part speaking to the issue you raised. I decided to separate the racism into a separate post to make both more likely to be read. The forthcoming post draws from an April 1961 memo from USIA's Deputy Director to the White House though on "foreign diplomats — predominantly Africans — involved in incidents in the United States." The memo included details in three parts: "(1) a list of the incidents and their circumstances; (2) a brief summary of representative African reaction to recent incidents involving African diplomats; and (3) recent Moscow comment on and exploitation of this theme." From that memo... March 1961: Sierra Leone Liaison Officer to US, "Refused service in Howard Johnson restaurant, Hagerstown, Maryland"; January 1961: Secondary Secretary of the Nigerian Embassy to the US, "Refused breakfast in Charlottesville, Virginia, restaurant, given meal in a paper bag, and told to eat outside"; November 1960: Ambassador to the US from the Central African Republic, "Refused service in restaurant on highway near Baltimore. Unable to obtain service even after it was disclosed he was an African diplomat"; June 1959: Two Mexican employees of Mexican Consulate, Lubbock, Texas, "Refused service in a beauty parlor in Lubbock"; October 1957: Ghana's Finance Minister, "Refused service in a restaurant in Dover, Delaware, because of color; later breakfasted with President Eisenhower at White House."
"Most discriminatory incidents have involved African rather than Asian or Caribbean nations' representatives and each predictably has provoked prominent press play as well as heavy and sharply critical African press and public commentary."
Essential reading here is Mary Dudziak's book, Cold War Civil Rights (2000).
Thank you for taking my lightly snarky comment in stride and giving it such a wonderfully illuminating reply. I’ll be grabbing a copy of Cold War Civil Rights on that right away.
The USS Valley Forge went on to fulfill a minor role in a different US undertaking with significant public diplomacy implications - the space program. In March 1961 Valley Forge served as the primary recovery ship for the first (uncrewed) launch of a Mercury capsule.