Not Exactly the Good Ole Days

Unearthing history is a mixed bag.  There's the excitement of discovering something over 100 years old.  Glimpses of the past sometimes cause a sense of romanticism of ages gone by.  Yet on closer inspection the bubble can be burst about those good old days.  Every generation since the beginning has had its bright spots and those that are equally dark.  We've all seen how individuals, groups, and nations cover over, justify, rationalize, deny or try to rewrite history, as if that makes the truth go away.
A couple of the articles on these old newspapers bring to light the darkness of the times.  In 1906 a Congolese man named Ota Benga  was housed in the bronx zoo as an exhibit in the Monkey House. He would entertain the crowds by shooting arrows, drinking soda and playing with the monkeys.
Black clergymen like the Rev. James H. Gordon protested, “Our race, we think, is depressed enough, without exhibiting one of us with the apes,” Mr. Gordon said. “We think we are worthy of being considered human beings, with souls.”
That same year, James Jeffries, was persuaded to make a comeback after retiring as a world champion boxer.  Can you hear the music from Rocky?  The darkness of the story comes to light when you discover that the persuasion to return to the ring came from white supremicists who wanted to prevent a black boxer from becoming a champion.  Jeffries, who had been living an opulent lifestyle and was overweight was no match for Johnson.  His legendary career was now capped with the defeat of his lifetime. 
How fitting that the old newspapers were used for sealing wood and hidden behind paneling.