1950
Mr Luu Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Brrr brrr brr-brr brr-brr brrr brrr
Brrr brrr brr-brr brr-brr brrr brrr
Brrr brrr brr-brr brr-brr brrr brrr
Brr-brr brr-brr-brr brrr

Take me riding in a car, car
Take you riding in a car, car
Take you for a ride or take you for a ride

Oh, going for a ride in a car

Brrr brrr etc.

Click clack, open up the door, boys
Click clack, open up the door, girls
Front door, back door, boys and girls
We're going for a ride in a car

Brrr brrr etc.

Ships in the sky go sailing by
Dogs and the kitty-cat can walk by
Ships in the sky from the bowling ball
Oh we're going for a ride in a car

Brrr brrr etc.

(Imson F?) goes brr-br-brr
(Imson F?) goes brr-br-brr
Brrr brrr brr-brr brr-brr brrr brrr
Brr-brr brr-brr-brr brrr

I'm a gonna sing you home again
I'm a gonna sing you home again
Brrr brrr brr-brr brr-brr brrr brrr
Brr-brr brr-brr-brr brrr

I'm a gonna let you blow the horn
I'm a gonna let you blow the horn
Wa-hooo, wa-hooo, wa-hooo
Wa-hooo, wa-hooo, ride in the car

Brrr brrr etc.

Take me riding in a car, car
Take you riding in a car, car
Take you for a ride or take you for a ride
Oh, going for a ride in a car

Brrr brrr etc.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song "1950" by Mr Luu are playful and repetitive, meant to convey the excitement and fun of going for a ride in a car. The opening lines consist entirely of the sound of a car horn, setting the tone for the rest of the song. The repetition of the brrr brrr sound evokes the feeling of the car moving along the road, punctuated by the occasional "click clack" of the car doors.

The first verse invites the listener to join the singer on a ride in the car, with the lyrics "Take me riding in a car, car / Take you riding in a car, car / Take you for a ride or take you for a ride / Oh, going for a ride in a car." The chorus is simply the repetition of the brrr brrr sound, emphasizing the sensation of movement.

The second verse refers to the sights that can be seen while driving in a car, such as "Ships in the sky go sailing by / Dogs and the kitty-cat can walk by / Ships in the sky from the bowling ball." The final lines of the verse, "Oh we're going for a ride in a car," reinforce the sense of adventure and possibility that comes with being on the open road. The song ends with the singer inviting the listener to blow the horn and continue the ride together.

Overall, "1950" is a lighthearted and joyful song about the simple pleasure of going for a ride in a car, and the sense of freedom and fun that comes with it.

Line by Line Meaning

Brrr brrr brr-brr brr-brr brrr brrr
The sound of a car engine starting

Take me riding in a car, car
I want to go for a drive in a car

Take you riding in a car, car
I want to take you for a drive in a car

Take you for a ride or take you for a ride
I want to take you for a drive or go on a date with you

Oh, going for a ride in a car
Excitement for a joyride in a car

Click clack, open up the door, boys
The sound of a car door opening

Click clack, open up the door, girls
The sound of a car door opening

Front door, back door, boys and girls
Everyone is welcome for the drive

We're going for a ride in a car
Excitement for a joyride in a car

Ships in the sky go sailing by
Imagining flying objects in the sky

Dogs and the kitty-cat can walk by
Imagining animals walking by while driving

Ships in the sky from the bowling ball
Imagining objects that resemble ships in the sky

Oh we're going for a ride in a car
Excitement for a joyride in a car

(Imson F?) goes brr-br-brr
The sound of a car horn

I'm a gonna sing you home again
Looking forward to bringing someone back home safely

I'm a gonna let you blow the horn
Allowing someone to make noise with the car horn

Wa-hooo, wa-hooo, wa-hooo
Making a joyful noise

Take me riding in a car, car
I want to go for a drive in a car

Take you riding in a car, car
I want to take you for a drive in a car

Take you for a ride or take you for a ride
I want to take you for a drive or go on a date with you

Oh, going for a ride in a car
Excitement for a joyride in a car

Writer(s): WOODY GUTHRIE

Contributed by Matthew C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS

No Related Genres

More Genres

No Artists Found

More Artists Load All

No Albums Found

More Albums Load All

No Tracks Found

Genre not found

Artist not found

Album not found

Search results not found

Song not found

Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Zeyev

10y↑26

Thank you, thank you, for your accurate, nuanced view of the 1950's.

We moved back to Montgomery in 1954. My mother drove our maid back and forth instead of firing her during the boycott; many of our neighbors simply fired their maids. We left Montgomery in 1961 when it was under martial law for its reprehensible behavior when the Freedom Riders came through.

Although most people considered us "white" when they first met us and we did drink out of "white" fountains, we regularly received mailings from the White Citizens Council in the next county that reminded us we weren't quite as white as our neighbors.

Kids from the north side of Montgomery came to my "white" junior high - past another "white" junior high. Busing was not the central issue then or later.

If you want, I can share how my father help to foster desegregation in housing in Minot, North Dakota, in 1962.

Odysseus the first

10y↑97

As a Brit there are many things I admire about the USA but the period of segregation and racism is a horrible stain on its recent history and I can't help but feel a pang of pride that such a thing never happened in Britain.
Theres a wonderful true story about British reactions to segregation of American troops stationed in Britain preparing for D-Day.
A investigation was launched to see how American troops and British civilians were getting along and one investigator went into a local pub not far from an American base, and he asked the landlady if there had been any problems, any fights that sort of thing between the troops and the locals. The landlady replied "oh no, lovely fellows they are, nice to all the girls always quick to buy a round" etc etc.
"really?" replied the investigator, "no problems at all?"
"Oh no they're wonderful" said the landlady dreamily.
"Are you absolutely sure?" demanded the Investigator.
"Well..", the landlady said, "there is one thing…"
"Yes, what is it?" Inquired the investigator.
"Well I don't want to cause a fuss", said the landlady timidly, " I like the Americans very much but I don't much care for the white ones they brought along with them…"

I love that story.

NinjaNezumi

10y↑7

The first half of the decade was a massive wartime recession. This can be seen by the lack of 2 story houses (no they were not the result of the atomic bomb fears as many revisionists tried to claim). You also bypassed the fact that "urbanization" was a result of the Highway and Interstate initiatives (created as a result of the Cold War).

The only people who say it was an era of consensus are people who are historical revisionists.

The Civil Rights movement began in the early 1900s, and suffered through two major false starts, but did manage several major court victories before the 1950s, it did not begin in the 1950s. It gained a solid foothold in the 1950s.

The reason why people say Rosa Parks was tired is because she actually said she was tired in multiple interviews. She was not staging a boycott on that day, nor was she part of the boycott, she attended a "couple of meetings" but "was not serious" by her own account. You can actually do a friggin search on YOUTUBE and find that out through any one of her half dozen interviews that pop up on the search.

The complicated issue with Rosa Parks was she was already in the BACK of the bus according to her position. She was technically behind the line. She told the twit who demanded that she move that she wasn't going to. She got pissed off that a white guy asked her to move even FURTHER back.

Honest to god, I like you, and I was hoping to post this on my site for my novel - a historical fiction of a black superhero in the 1950s - but you have so much mis-information here it's unbelievable.

All comments from YouTube:

KoDOmega

10y↑1.6K

Please don't erase Claudette Colvin. Rosa Parks is an extremely important figure in the civil rights movement, but let's not forget the fifteen year old girl who beat her to the punch, but wasn't used as the face of the Montgomery boycott because she was an unwed mother.

J K

4y↑16

Unwed teen mother who was known to cuss alot. The left has come a long way, nowadays Colvin would be championed. Civil Rights leaders had more modesty and better p.r. back then.

Kadie_.

4y↑19

FINALLY , someone who acknowledges her !! I did a project on her in the 5th grade and nobody knew who she was 🤦🏾‍♀️

Victor Bergman

KoDOmega you’re rigjt

Lopez

thank

3 More Replies...

OnTheNerdySide

10y↑233

What I've learned on Crash Course today: In the 1950s, the auto industry was the cell phone industry of its day, expecting their cars to be replaced every two years.

Sominboy27

4y↑3

Difference is, with a car if you had the correct vocational training it was easy to keep it running for 25 years. With cell phones they can wirelessly break your phone from headquarters at will.

David Harrison

10y↑10

That means as the cell phone industry evolves, their products will be designed to last longer and be replaced less often.

cmeflywva

10y↑273

I want to thank everyone at Crash Course for their wonderful work. I support them with their hopes of giving us the opportunity to learn about so many topics. I also am grateful to see the positive discussions after the episodes. I wish this had been available when I was in school but still grateful to enjoy now. Their dedication to provide access to all is to be commended. I will continue to support them through Subbable and hope that others will do the same.

Bullrun27

Facts that poeple think is wrong

Prince Ali

6y↑1

facts

Zeyev

10y↑26

Birdeaor

10y↑4

@Zeyev Thank you for sharing

Zeyev

10y↑18

@Birdeaor We arrived at Minot AFB in the summer of 1962. My father was the director of Personnel for the installation. One of the things that directorate does is allow people in housing surplus areas to offer their homes for rent to base personnel who can't find adequate housing on base. Larger families that can't fit into base housing are just one of many reasons. My father found that some people were offering housing but had restrictions that were legal at the time but greatly annoyed him. He ordered the people handling the offers to tell the offerors that they either wanted to rent or they didn't. Period. No restrictions based on color or creed would be accepted. They wanted the money more than they wanted to remain bigots. It's hard to live up to a legacy like that. Individuals can make a difference.

Thanks for asking.

Birdeaor

10y↑4

I'd like to hear that story, yeah

MossitaBrenande

10y↑396

Isnt it funny how this video has the most dislikes out of all the Crashcourse videos! Some people do not like the history of America!

BluePlanet

4y↑24

No. It has as many dislikes as it does because he’s simplifying history along racial lines, which in itself isn’t entirely honest. Of course there were problems in the 50s, but he’s being way too simplistic in the way he’s analyzing the decade. Just being white wasn’t a ticket to prosperity in the 50s. There were plenty of areas in the Deep South where you had large numbers of poor whites. You also had loads of white people in Appalachia who’s lot didn’t improve during the 50s. His implication that whites in general had it easy is just not in line with reality. He’s being obtuse and reductionist.

Lance Bitoy

5y↑5

@Irgendwas im Wald no like after 5 years thats sad

Zelda Williams

yes, I read your comment and its also one of the shortest at 11 minutes and 58 seconds. 🤔 I wonder why? 🙄

4 More Replies...

JonnyXrep

10y↑474

I still find it mind boggling that this happened only 60 years ago and that a lot of the racist fucks from that time are still alive to this day.

Im spedman

I know it should have lasted longer

Isha Raj-Silverman

7y↑10

Jeff Sessions comes to mind...

eternia15

7y↑3

JonnyXrep gee are implying that the world is filled with people you might not like or perhaps even disagree with?

gigi black

9y↑31

+JonnyXrep racist people will always exist.

4 More Replies...

Brian Hutzell

6y↑7

A topic like civil rights certainly brings out the trolls. Thank you, John Green and Crash Course, for providing a valuable educational series. Intercourse the trolls!

And, since the Scottsboro Boys case was mentioned briefly in this episode, I will here recommend Kander & Ebb’s musical “The Scottsboro Boys,” which is based on the case. The show is not without controversy, but it has helped bring this often forgotten incident to a broader public.

Ben Hyclak

10y↑19

This episode really provided some good insight in the mentality of people in the 50's. I can really see how this decade brought in the rise of Science Fiction and dystopia stories from people like George Orwell and Ray Bradbury. The seemingly perfect lives masking inequality and fear of speaking out, are all elements that show up in the Science Fiction of the 50's and 60's.

Cadwell Turnbull

9y↑146

It is interesting, almost two years after this video was made, and 60 years after it was put up, South Carolina's Confederate Flag was finally forced down. History is long but bends towards justice.

Hythrall

10y↑17

I don't usually comment on videos, and I adore history but my comment isn't really about the content but the tone. I love the tone of these videos. I love how they come across and always manage to make you stop and review how things from our past here and abroad effect us now and how our outlooks are changed by our past. Thank you so much for these videos, I look forward to them every week :)

Nnnejra

10y↑2

I love how entertaining and clever you are in passing on knowledge, but what I like most is how objectively you can explain such complicated subjects. Keep ROCKING!

Walter Brouwer

10y↑14

I just learned more in 12 minutes then in my 1 1/2 hour history class.

Anakin Skywalker

4y↑4

And here we are FIGHTING FOR A BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS AGAIN IN 2020

Gabriel de Sousa

10y↑2

Thank you for helping me revise and get a little more broad context for my exam earlier today! It helped me out a lot. I'll probably watch the entire US History series later in the summer, post-exams, when I have the time; I really enjoyed the three I watched.

Georgina Phelps

10y↑2

I really love my gcse history spec, because one of the things we're covering right now is youth culture from 1930-2000 and the other day we got to spend a whole period listening to tracks from each of those decades and makes notes on the popular genres and artists and the social context. We spent a lot of time afterwards on the 50s which was so cool.

acorn_leaf

7y↑2

Thank you so much for these awesome videos! Have you considered, or previously discussed, issues in regard to First Nation people or Native American genocide in America? I'm pursuing a degree in History with a certificate in Public History and I notice in my University here in South Dakota that the issue isn't very deeply addressed or dissected.
Thanks for what you do!

J Q

5y↑3

Interesting that you discuss the invention of TVs and mention of civil rights yet the murder of Emmitt Til is not mentioned which preceded the bus boycott and helped fuel the civil rights movement thanks to Mamie Tils approval of an open casket for all the world to see..yes via TV.

kermit

4y↑148

POV:your here because your history teacher sent you here to learn about civil right while in quarantine..

Devin Pendergast

4y↑1

kermite you’re right I have my ap us history test this Friday 😬

Elizabeth Smith

8y↑8

Thanks for helping me write my essay on the 1950s John!

Tara Sardana

7y↑1

This video is amazing! I have a project on a few of these similar topics and this really helps me understand this situation. Would love to see more of your videos! Keep up the great work!

Sam Leheny

7y↑3

There's a great Podcast by Malcolm Gladwell, Revisionist History where he looks at the desegregation of school in the US and makes an interesting case that the whole transition would have gone much smoother, and the fruits would have been seen decades sooner if a focused effort was made to integrate black teachers as well as just black students.

Kate Farley

4y↑2

Wow, the auto industry absolutely changed the economy. I also like when he mentioned the key problem and said we believed in equal opportunity, but didn't actually provide it.

Dice Role

10y↑3

Thank you for all your videos, I've learned so much over the last couple of months. You, your brother and the creative people behide the scenes are f'ing GREAT!!!!!

HOLDEN

GREAT videos John. US History AP Exam is tomorrow and doing some last minute review - these videos really help! Keep up the great work, the videos are really enjoyable to watch, not to mention informative!

Ryan Healy

8y↑1

Thank You for helping me study for my History 1302 Unit 4 Test John and the entire team who makes these videos possible

The Rainbow Psychic

4y↑2

Slave owners in the South reacted to the 1831 Nat Turner slave revolt in Virginia by passing laws to discourage antislavery activism and prevent the teaching of slaves to read and write.

Estefanía Bedo

10y↑1

Hi, i'm from Mexico City . On saturday i have final exam of U.S History, and these videos really helped me to understand and memorize American Hisotory. Even though my teacher graduated from Harvard, you
did everything clearer. Thanks a lot.

LadyJuse

10y

I would love to just study the 50's. It has always been a decade that has fascinated me.

The Andromeda

10y↑1

Thanks to everyone who shared in the comment section! It's really interesting knowing what you went through at such hard times.

Michael Au-Mullaney

I love the way John always sounds so surprised when it's time for the mystery document!

Paul Kris Manengkei

10y

Hey John I'm really interested about the US civil rights movement. Can you recommend good books to read about it?

Wellcraines

10y↑1

brilliant writing once again. love this series.

eiriankageno

Thank you for bringing up the Mendez case. I’m glad California (or at least the part I live in) is trying to admit to some of their mistakes now. When I was a kid we never heard of California segregated schools. We also didn’t really talk about the Japanese internment or the Mexican American war, for that matter. Nowadays, all of that is, thankfully, taught.

Kathryn O'Donnell

4y↑1

This is a great video!! He explains the 50's very well.

Abby Ji

4y↑8

Martin Luther King Jr. was a real hero.

Not8upwthit

10y↑5

It's a disgrace to us all that these disgraceful attitudes even supported by the Jim Crowe laws allowed....what must be defined as crimes against our own. it's beyond words to define just how wrong these things were....never forget there is always a reckoning

Breandan Gibbons

10y↑2

The 1960's were also an extremely important time in the Civil Rights movement, with John Carlos and Tommie Smith, as well as Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X. Further in the 60's the more "radical", as they were called at the time, views got more of a spotlight and there were many separate facets of the Civil Rights Movement, would be interesting to hear a compare and contrast sort of thing, or see what others have to say.

Arnaud H

10y

It's sad there are thumbs down on a video like this one... this is a great short series,or whatever the category under which this falls under

Rimaz Aboelgasim

I have literally watched the civil rights videos 1000 times... No joke. Amazing. It totally helped me with my essays in GCSE

Adam J. Bulava

10y↑1

Hey Guys,
As a High School History teacher I love your videos as a great starting point for major topics in U.S. and world history. I have a love of teaching U.S. government as well. If you are looking for someone to help you make Crash Course episodes on U.S. government. You can contact me through my YouTube account. Thanks for your consideration.

Adam J. Bulava

WWZenaDo

10y↑10

Excellent video!! It's interesting to think that during most of America's history, average Americans were not in a "middle-class" strata in any way... Also very pertinent to the present situation in America - it sounds like the imbalance of wealth in America today has some historical precedents, & if Americans want to get back to the relative prosperity of the 1950's, that top 1% needs to be legislated into a lower income level.

xxXxII24IIxXxx

10y

Are you going to do another crash course on history after this one finishes? Maybe one specifically on European History? I love history and I've loved the Crash Course World and US Histories. I would love to see another history series.

Livy Woodward

7y↑1

Please please can you do a video on Thatcherism in the UK? I LOVE your videos, they help with my revision so much! We had a modual on Thatcher that was taught terribly last year and my whole class is struggling to teach ourselves, I've got them all watching your videos for the American topics and a couple on British History would be amazing!

Sheila Arnold

8y↑4

great job. will recommend to teachers and students.

Medjay Aleksindres Merytsekhmet

Excellent video! It's ironic that Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne Division, a division he had used in the invasion of Normandy. But getting back on track, thanks for the video, it really helped me out with my revision. Thanks!!!

Face Mandella

10y↑57

Just learning about the trials African Americans had to face makes my heart sink. God, I do not want anyone to ever go through anything like that again. I'd give my life so that it wouldn't happen again.

RL Viridianツ

@Face Mandella and don't eat KitKat. They use child labour

Face Mandella

10y↑1

Luckily I don't buy from either.

Elias Chevette

10y↑10

Then stop buying electronics made by slave workers. AKA Apple or Samsung.

1 More Replies...

Alex Torres

7y↑1

I use these videos for my college courses and they help so very much

Mr.

8y↑1

Gave me a tear at the end. I believe in the US Constitution.

Val Zod

10y↑24

Note to John: the american civil rights campaign actually started in the late 1800s. Some of the first civil right leaders were, booker t. Washington, w.e.b. dubois(yeah they had opposing views but they were leaders iin their own right not to far from mlk and a younger and narrow miinded malcolm, p.s. he grrew up and his last disposition was closer to mlk's) and marcus garvey and whole slough of others. The time your discusing; the 1950-69 era, was actually the end of the civil rights movement if you add the 70s. To say it started in the 1950s is to cut off at least 70 years of work put in by people frrom all kiinds of cultures and backgrounds. I know your doing a time piece and this time is the turning point for the movement with the introduction of that double edged sword known as the t.v. in which americans were granted an eye into the horrors their country was commiting but please recognize that this is not the beginning but the near the end.

Thanks. I didn't forget to be awesome and neither should you

Bullrun27

Killer kl-rt actually the foundations started in late 1800s but it spring up by new deal and ww2 so John was right

Val Zod

10y

@Birdeaor Yeah its pretty funky

Birdeaor

10y

@Richie Lomas Yeah, it's weird, you get notifications both for comments on the original post and for direct responses to your posts.

Richie Lomas

10y

@Birdeaor my bad. I'm used to only getting notifications to responses to my comments

Thomas Walmsley

10y↑1

I do believe Booker T Washington and others were covered in an earlier episode that looked at their period of history. That time isn't ignored, it just isn't in this episode.

4 More Replies...

Julia G.

4y↑2

Thanks! You helped me a lot by making this video. I am going to write an english test tomorrow in my english class about Martin Luther King and Malcom X.
Greetings from Germany! :)

Kevin Witko

10y

The congregationalists(puritans) that you talked about in one of the first episodes also supported the civil rights movement. Would have been a nice addition with the theme of change

artemisfowl52

10y

One aspect of the Civil Rights movement that textbooks, classes, and videos usually only barely touch on is the level of contention that was felt and displayed. People upset with the vitriolic nature of congress today forget that sweeping changes sparked actual violence and riots to the point where observers were questioning the stability of the United States. The civil rights movement, while nonviolent, was not pleasant, and involved African Americans upsetting social norms and people who did not necessarily have anything against them in particular. MLK made tightly controlled and calculated decisions that we would rail against today. Understanding this can help us better understand what's going on today, no matter what side you are on.

W K

5y↑1

The one downside to the civil rights outcome is that we now think of rights in terms of groups, but rights by definition must be exclusively individual. Whites do not have rights. Blacks do not have rights. But each individual person has rights. That is the most fundamental aspect of liberal thought all the way back to the beginning of the Enlightenment, and we've managed to obscure it by focusing on groups instead of individuals. The effect has been to diminish the rights and freedoms of us all as reactionary movements against Enlightenment liberalism, such as socialism, work to take rights away from individuals and give more power to the state. This was never the intent of the civil rights movement, and most who participated would be mortified by this result.

TheLoneWonderer 101

8y↑1

"late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided i was depressed , presumably because i rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."

(John Green)

Jay Shirley

6y↑1

Civil Rights Are Matters of Justice decided upon by the Supreme Court, not just political issues.

Gyrono

10y↑2

Question: Will crash course talk about the effect of McCarthian laws that affected the entertainment business, like the Hayes Codes?

QueerBoy

10y↑1

Thank you for doing these, John! the AP US History test is in 3 weeks, and we won't be able to do any review.

Boundless1071

10y

I learn more from crash course then i ever did in school so thank you :D you and your brother are awesome :D

You Can Disney Too

10y↑3

I hope in the next video we discuss the black college students from HBUC's who played pivotal part in the fight for civil rights. They are one of the first representation of brilliance Afro-American mind stepping to the forefront and to danger to counter myths about the abilities of minorities. Their strengthen, adversary and success would ripen the next generation of African-American students during the 80's and 90's.

Emperor Tikacuti

10y

Look what happened now.

Leah Dooley

10y↑3

I totally got the mystery document this week and I'm proud of myself

Chantelle

Thank you so much for this, it's really helpful!

delahaven

10y

Hey John, If you are at all interested, there is a book written by one of the Little Rock Nine, Melba, called "Warriors Don't Cry" . It was very informative about the personal sacrifice those nine students had to make in order to make one of the first steps for integration in schools.

Sean Lightbown

10y

Cool vid, thanks. Couple of observations. Although you reflected on civil rights movements/events pre 1950 - and I fully understand this is a video about that decade so the main focus should be there - I thought some more historical context would've been cool, such as the early work of the NAACP, and people like web du bois and Marcus Garvey, if only to highlight the attempts, and indeed, the completely ideologically opposite ideas in the early civil rights movement. Think some outlining of the

Caliconico

10y↑6

I believe that one of the biggest lies told now is that the Civil Rights movement achieved what it set out to do. I don't think that battle is won yet and I think that there is still a huge need for social activism now days. It isn't enough for the system to acknowledge its broken and fixed. There is still a wide gap between minorities, that need to be addressed from both sides; a change in culture and an institutional one.

Nat Lawrence

10y↑3

I agree. Martin Luther King's last march was not about integration or even about legal rights. It was about poverty and inequality amongst all Americans. If he had survived I believe the Civil Rights conversation would have shifted from simply Black-White, to the more broad divide of Rich-Poor, but instead he was assassinated and nobody has adequately picked up the torch. I think his death was a big reason the US failed to hold onto the equal wealth distribution and giant middle class it had during the 50s and 60s

EhrenSW

10y↑1

Thanks for mentioning sociology.
The world's most inclusive ology!

Alisha Dukleski

10y

This is great. Did like half my modern assessment for me.

Playoff PJ

10y↑17

You should've also mentioned Emmett Till, a 14 year old black boy from Chicago, who was brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi for merely speaking to a white woman named Carolyn Bryant in August 1955. Rosa Parks in an interview once said that she thought of Emmett Till when she decided to stand up for herself in December.1955. He was truly an inspiration and one of the sparks that started the flame that is the Civil Rights movement. Just saying.

hellothere

4y↑9

JUSTICE FOR FLOYD
JUSTICE FOR BLACK LIVES

Sam Berry

without your crash course I would have failed my final. your almost as awesome as your brother. 😁

pied pepper

I just wish he would have mentioned Claudette Colvin just once. I read a book about her for an English assignment a few years ago, and it is, to this day, my favorite book I have ever had to read for school.

mayanpaw

10y

I was kind of hoping to hear about Bayard Rustin in this episode and I'm still holding out hope for the next one, but still sigh, it kills me that not a lot of people know who he is.

Kelly Chuang

For John Green may want to Google into this book from the days of Civil Rights and Jim Crow named The Negro Motorist Green Book. Really has an interesting history and helped African Americans who had cars and traveling through during this time out of peril.

Злюка ИзЛюка

10y

It's difficult to imagine something like "In the 1950s half of black families lived in poverty", especially when you're not an american citizen and you've seen a lot of sugarcoated movies like "Pleasantville".

go_go_gadget_gary

I know this video is a few years old, but I want to point out an error. When saying Orval Faubus' name, John pronounces his last name wrong. It's actually pronounced closer to saw or flaw, rather than what is said in the video. Other than that, great video!

Alexandria J_Hughes

8y↑1

this is a great video keep up the great videos!!!

Daisy Saunders

So helpful for my History Exams!

Naomi Koopmans

Thank you for posting this very informative video.

Odysseus the first

10y↑97

Tony Gambino

6y↑1

You mean the racism that you created when you started shipping them to the colonies?

Julius Smith

7y↑1

Churchill basically sanctioned an Indian genocide, what are you talking about.

English Cloud

7y↑8

When American soldiers drank in British pubs in WWII, many of them were so angry that there was no racial segregation that they would appeal to the American Embassy to instate a temporary segregation system. Of course the British government said no. Many fights would break out between American white soldiers and British black civilians in these pubs and the British soldiers would defend their fellow black Britons against the white Americans who they fight along side. That facts always fills me with pride a little to know that my ancestors were not discriminatory like the Americans.

QuatFax

10y↑1

Are you kidding? British imperialism was far more destructive than, and at least as racist as, American segregation. And while Britain herself may not have segregated her businesses, housing, and schools by law, she is just as guilty of cultural and economic racism. You never see a white face working at Sainsbury's or Tesco, do you?

26 More Replies...

Bella De la Cruz

4y↑4

Anyone here bc you actually like history and want to learn more about these issues

Arrawyn Gow

I'm writing a paper for school and one of the sentences was' Before the rights movement occurred, the majority of power laid in the hands of wealthy, white males.' but realised that its still in place after the rights movement

John Schroeder

10y

Part of the reason that Civil Rights changes could take place in Kansas was that it was not in the deep South. If Brown vs. the Board of Education had taken effect elsewhere, it would have been more difficult to move forward.

Concerned Geek

It's almost like you could say that the reason was there was a boom was because there was a source of cheap labor...anyways, I think that having a smaller lawn and less stuff is a pretty good trade if we all get to share the "middle-class" standard of living. Obviously, we're still not there yet, but maybe we can eventually change that...?

Samantha Wo

7y↑1

words cant express how much i love this guy. God must have been really happy when he created him

Christy Jordan

10y

Hi, nerdfighters! I am just starting out as a teacher, and am wondering how other educators utilize CrashCourse in their classrooms or in lesson planning. Thanks!

Johnny Bigbones

I use it a reasonable amount, though I work with many students who speak english as a second language, so I don't over use them as some of my students can't follow it. I mostly recommend it for the students to use in their own time as revision aids, rather than during lessons (when I can deliver the material at a pace that is probably more tailored to my groups). Still, they do love Crash Course videos - the Nerdfighters in my classes, at least!

Timothy Hartwig

10y↑1

Dear Mr. Green,
I am from the state of Wisconsin and I am a little miffed that you didn't mention the civil rights movement in the north. For just Milwaukee alone, it had the Open Housing Act and the 200 nights. So why did you focus on only one part of the country when we had 48/50 states at the time?

From a huge fan of Crash Course,
Timothy Mark Hartwig

Sheila Arnold

great job. will recommend to teachers and students.

globe999

10y↑1

I can't wait to watch this channel when I'm 50 years older and remembering how things used to be.

ali

10y

Let's just hope the internet/youtube/this channel/ are still around in 50 years... lol

Mr. Harker

10y

coming from the biology crash course, i found that i came to yet another really helpful crash course, thanks so much to the team,
a fan
mr moore

Sweet Little Owl

My US History teacher actually makes assignments based on these videos and we have to complete them by watching this video. I just wanted to let you know that, John.

Cara Ziegel

10y

Keep going! you're about a week or two behind us in US history! (homeschooling mom)

TheReviewSpace

10y↑41

Back when the middle class actually existed.

Russell Richard

10y↑34

I lived in Milwaukee for five years. It is factually correct that the poorest, least educated, and most dangerous part of the city is the area where the majority of black people live. As part of community service programs through university, I went to these places. I saw that, frequently, the wrong help was being given. We built community gardens in parts of the city where no one knew how to cook and being outside got you shot. It was like giving a band-aid to someone with a gaping wound. The service organizers had grandiose visions, but I think they forgot to ask the people living in these places what they actually needed to achieve the equality they are theoretically promised in this country.

TMP984

10y↑4

Sadly, when a government allows for second class citizenship (the pre civil rights era), they allow for poverty which breeds desperation in the human psyche.
Many of those black/visible minority families have been in those circumstances for so long (generations?), I bet money if you asked them what they needed, almost half wouldn't even know how to accurately answer that question. The other half would be too afraid of further heart break and disappointment to even admit that there was any chance of hope.
The problem with most community projects is they refuse to look to see just how deep the roots of the rotten tree have dug over time... Instead just offering to trim off the dead branches and leave the trunk bare and exposed with nothing to nurture itself...

tinglingchickenwing

5y↑2

You should make a video about Emmett Till

Please don’t forget about him because he never got the justice he deserved

Carolyn Bryant is still alive. Give her the disgrace she deserves

Maximillion Winters

10y↑2

I feel you John Green. I never got the backseat makeout session either :(

Blues120

Thanks for making these videos so I can study for my final 👌

Dwtslove M

10y

you are awesome, crash course is fantabulous, you guys should have your own show on tv.

NinjaNezumi

10y↑7

Live2Rise

10y↑3

@NinjaNezumi I give up. You show no interest in any perspective other than one you already hold. History is always open to interpretation and re-examination, and with new evidence comes new arguments and new perspectives. Simply dismissing all historical analysis that has come in the decades after any particular event(s) is going to limit your knowledge and is pretty stupid.

NinjaNezumi

10y↑1

For those who do wonder why I am anti-revisionist mindset, it's that when someone sets out with the mind to "revise history books", to create "buzz words" and to create "theories of unification", they are not revising history books to reflect the past, they are revising events in history in order to fit their own retelling of events.

This mindset is far different than from an examination mindset.

In short: it is one thing to revise a history book, it is another thing to write a history book.

Happy Days is a revisionist history of the 1950s. It is revised and distilled to represent something that didn't exist.

Live2Rise

10y↑1

@NinjaNezumi Why are so you anti-revisionism? There's not much point trying to debate with somebody who is so close minded and blinded by their own ignorance.

Live2Rise

10y↑1

Clearly you haven't even read it.

" But the period from the middle of the 1950s in the United States up to the impact of the crisis of the 1960s was not usual in this respect. It was an age of consensus. Whether you look at the writings of intellectuals or at the positions taken by practicing politicians or at the data on public opinion, it is impossible not to be struck by the degree to which the majority of Americans in those years accepted the same system of assumptions."

It was about conformity, a shared belief in individualism, free markets, capitalism, American exceptionalism, the threat of communism, the pursuit of happiness and the American Dream made possible through the high level of economic growth and prosperity awarded as a result of America's dominant economic position in the world. It symbolised common ground between left and right, but would be disrupted, undermined and contested in the following decades with the Civil Rights, Anti-War and Womens' Rights Movements.

8 More Replies...

CrashCourse

10y↑157

We're in the studio shooting CrashCourse right now. Did you catch last week's episode of Crash Course US History about Civil Rights?Civil Rights and the 1950s: Crash Course US History #39

ANDRES LOPEZ

4y↑1

Alluah Akbar

Alec Pugh

Was Elvis 100% Native American; and you just called him white?

Nick Trombley

How come you did not mention that the people that voted to deseragate white and black people where republicans #CrashCourse

42 More Replies...

Tay Smeez

4y↑1

"If I'm wrong, I get shocked" is the best part of this show. Flex that knowledge 😂

Haley Stiel

10y

This is great! But I'm still left with a big question: you said that they had been fighting for change for a while before 1950 but in the 1950s they started winning, why exactly in the 1950s?

Load More Comments...

More Comments

just now