Thanksgiving was officially revived by in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, the "Great Emancipator", who has been attacked by Lerone Bennett, of Ebony Magazine, for being in favor of a "lily white America without Native Americans, African Americans, and Martin Luther Kings."
Funny things seems happen to Thanksgiving Presidents
Robert Stacy McCain has an article in the Washington Times detailing some of the latest anti-Thanksgiving horrors.
"Multiculturalism has taken its toll on the reputation of the small band of Protestant separatists who landed at Plymouth Rock in November 1620.
"Only 51 of the 102 who arrived aboard the Mayflower survived the first harsh New England winter. Now the question is whether the Pilgrims can survive political correctness in the 21st century. [Pilgrims' progress? November 25, 2003]
McCain reports that the Plymouth, Massachusetts, Board of Selectmen
"erected plaques at Plymouth Rock declaring: 'Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims and other European settlers. To them, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their culture.'"
There are four problems with Thanksgiving: 1) white Pilgrims, ("an offensive representation of one gender, one race and one historical period"); 2) ungrateful Indians, who pick Thanksgiving to highlight their unthankfulness; 3) modern immigrants, who feel that Thanksgiving has nothing to do with them, 4) [unmentionable], to whom thanks are given. Here are some examples:
Indians Not Thankful
"During an interview on Monday’s Today with the author of a book urging families to learn more about the history of Thanksgiving and to appreciate being American, NBC’s Ann Curry countered: 'You know there are some American Indians who feel that Thanksgiving should be a day of mourning not a day of celebration because of what happened to their people.'"
A group of Skokie 1st graders got an unexpected lesson in cultural sensitivity Friday when their principal wouldn’t let them dress as American Indians for their annual Thanksgiving celebration.
After a parent complained that the costumes the children had made might be offensive, the principal told the kids to leave their construction-paper headdresses on the classroom shelves.
Those who had opted to be pilgrims fared no better. Their paper black hats and bonnets also were banned, and for the first time in more than two decades, the 1st graders at Madison School commemorated the events of October 1621 in their school clothes.
American Indian groups in Chicago applauded Principal Pete Davis' decision. Leonard Malatare of the American Indian Center said generic Indian outfits tend to promote Hollywood-style stereotypes of American Indians.
Pilgrims Not Diverse Enough For 21st Century School children
From "A Celebration of Diversity: Immigration and Citizenship," [a UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA School of Library and Information Science teaching tool for grade school]
Objectives
Understand the basic concept behind diversity
Explore and compare the differences and similarities of classroom members
Identify the ethnic backgrounds of people in the class and further explore these backgrounds
Understand that the United States of America is now mostly made up of people from other places called immigrants…
Multicultural Thanksgiving Dinner
Review what diversity means.
Read the story of the first Thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Native Americans in Plymouth. There are several stories about Thanksgiving available in the school or public libraries. One you might try is The First Thanksgiving by Linda Hayward, The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Elaine Raphael and Don Bolognese, The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh, or a more modern version which includes the concept of immigration, How Many Days to America by Eve Bunting.
Thank God? Isn’t that illegal?
"So enjoy Thanksgiving while you can, folks; it could be struck down as unconstitutional by the courts any day now. Just last week, President George W. Bush issued a Thanksgiving proclamation asking God 'to continue to guide and watch over our country.' That kind of talk has got to make somebody mad. [Pray that Thanksgiving won’t become a legal battle By Andrea Neal, Indianapolis Star November 26, 2003]
And there’s one new protest group that’s being heard at Thanksgiving.
When Mason Cooley said, years ago, that "Radical historians now tell the story of Thanksgiving from the point of view of the turkey," he was joking.
"Michelle Easton of the Clare Booth Luce Institute related a personal story of her success with school choice after she pulled her 6th grade son out of public school when he was required to write a Thanksgiving essay from the point of view of a turkey."
Ah, well. I suppose some animals, like some religions, and some countries, are more equal than others.
Understand the basic concept behind diversity