Blog Assignment Two, Archives Visit.

Yesterday we visited the La Guardia and Wagner Archives, which is a place where many old and important items are kept and preserved. In these archives you can find artifacts, stories, speeches, or photographs pertaining to some important times in our history. During our visit there we went over what could be some of the different types of sources and what that may include. Things such as diary's/journals, video footage, or recorded speeches qualify as primary sources. We discussed how one may approach such documents, first noting whether it is a primary, secondary, or tertiary perspective being given or when and where this piece took place.

The document we looked at while at the La Guardia and Wagner Archives was a speech given by Mayor Robert F. Wagner on Wednesday July 22, 1964 at 6:45 pm on CBS-TV channel 2. This speech was in regards to the riots that had taken place in Harlem and other parts of the city a few days prior. Mayor Wagner starts by explaining that although he was away he was quickly informed of the riots and returned home. Upon his return he himself went to the streets to see firsthand what happened and the results of the riots. The evidence of the immense violence that had taken place was still evident although some of it had already been cleaned. He quickly establishes his stance on the riots being that law and order is what is of utmost importance and beneficial to all those involved. Mayor Wagner says how far the African American community has come due to law and order mentioning things such as the Supreme Court decision of ’54 in Brown v. Board of Ed and the recent passing of the Civil Rights Bill. He also goes on to say that without law and order not only would society not be where it is now but would be much worse. He also states that such acts of violence and chaos, such as the riots that had taken place, will not be tolerated and participants will face consequences.

Mayor Wagner ends his speech by speaking to those in the affected communities, the ghettos and low income areas. While visiting these communities he saw both the faces of the people he has tried to help and also those of the children of broken homes ready to fight, full of anger. He explains that he understands the perils of what these communities face and what may be the “..inevitable conflict between black and white.” Although law and order is an important part of today’s civilization, I think it may be a little naïve of the Mayor to think that will be the ultimate solution to this conflict. One may ask how much hope and tolerance can anyone be expected to have when they are plagued by the same hardships everyday with no end in sight? Yes the African American community has seen advancement by the hands of law and order but it has also seen disappointment at the hands of the same system.