DAY 24: GAMES WE PLAY

How good are you at playing Spades? This classic card game is immensely popular in the Black American community, and has a long history that is intertwined with slavery and segregation.

The game we know today as Spades is a derivative of a game called Bid Whist, which itself is a hybrid of the games Bridge and Whist. In the slaveholding South, playing cards was one of the few non-forced-work activities that enslaved people were permitted to do. During the Civil War, many formerly enslaved soldiers who were used to playing Bid Whistle spread the game further, and then the game became even more widespread during the Great Migration when millions of Black people relocated to escape life under Jim Crow. Another way the game was popularized was through the Pullman Porters—we mentioned them on Day 10—because they used to play cards on long train journeys. We’ll let Gabrielle Ione Hickman describe it: “African Americans were dealt a hell of a hand when we were forcibly brought to the American colonies as enslaved laborers. We ultimately played the hand we were dealt to the best of our abilities, eventually creating a culture that influences the rest of the world. Spades is a game our ancestors created to sustain themselves, to entertain themselves, to gather, to connect, and to hold a safe space for being Black. Generations later, Spades continues to bring us together.”

Whether you know how to play or not, we recommend this wonderful visual article by Gabrielle. It’s called “How You Play Spades is How You Play Life” and she even created a gorgeous accompanying card deck that features data, quotes, maps, and more. See images of the cards below, and check out the full deck here: Card Deck - “How You Play Spades is How You Play Life”

Photo of Gabrielle Ione Hickman's card deck titled “How You Play Spades is How You Play Life”

Down Low, Too Slow

A .gif of a high-five resulting in the hands turning into confetti.

A very festive high-five

Video “The High Five”

Speaking of games, do you know when the high-five was invented? Picture it: It’s October 2nd, 1977. The LA Dodgers are playing the Houston Astros in the last weekend of the season. Dusty Baker had just hit his 30th home run of the season and the crowd goes wild… Actually, everyone goes wild. Dusty’s teammate, Glenn Burke, approached Dusty with his arm raised above his head in excitement. As Dusty explains it, he wasn’t quite sure what to do in response, so he slapped Glenn’s hand in the air and boom—the high-five is invented. It’s one of the most commonly used celebratory gestures, and it emerged from that day.

Click the video image or follow the link below to watch Dusty and others reflect on this moment in a 10-minute short film called “The High Five.”

Game Week

It’s the final week of Black History Month 2023. Each day this week, we will share a game or activity. Today’s activity is an anagram game (you might be familiar with the popular version that rhymes with “Turtle”)—click the image below to access it.

Solved? Stumped? Find the answer here: SOLUTION

Yesterday’s Pop Quiz

Yesterday, we asked you “Which of these four statements is FALSE? [1] Ellen Craft disguised herself as a White man to escape with her enslaved husband. [2] Carmeline Atoye-Wilmington slowly poisoned her enslaver with nightshade herbs. [3] Henry Brown mailed himself north in a box. [4] Robert Smalls commandeered a Confederate ship and sailed to the free North.” Here’s how you answered:

The answer is B. We made up the name and the situation. Amazingly, all the other answer choices are true: The Crafts took their lives into their hands when they had Ellen pretend to be a (solely) White person and also a man during the long train journey to the North. Henry “Box” Brown really did mail himself to freedom by climbing into a wooden box that was 3x2x2 feet and was labeled “dry goods” and had one air hole at the top with a little water and a few biscuits inside. To get out of work that day, he burned his hand with sulfuric acid. His collaborators shipped him from Virginia to the address of an abolitionist group in Philadelphia. And yes, Robert Smalls did commandeer a Confederate ship and deliver it to the Union Navy with the assistance and cooperation of the other Black crew members.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pop Quiz question about the end of a publishing era…

Coming up

Check out some of the events happening throughout Black History Month 2023.

TOMORROW 2/25 – Black Children’s Books

What: A virtual event to “discover the latest books centering Black children's stories and celebrate the impact of real representation at this opening of a virtual ‘museum’ devoted to Black literature.”

Logistics: This event is being held online on Saturday Feb 25th from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Register here: Visit the Black Children’s Book Museum

TOMORROW 2/25 – The Black Experience

What: This free event will feature discussions and panels with local artists and speakers, and a keynote presentation by iconic activist and scholar Dr. Angela Davis. There will also be a performance by the Philadanco dance company.

Logistics: This free event is being held on Saturday Feb 25th at 5:00 p.m. at The Flynn, located at 153 Main Street in Burlington. Learn more here: The Black Experience 2023

TOMORROW 2/25 – Montpelier Community Gospel Choir

What: A choral performance and a welcoming of the new Artistic Director, Verdis LeVar Robinson.

Logistics: This event is being held twice: [1] On Saturday Feb 25th at 7:00 p.m., and [2] On Sunday Feb 26th at 4:00 p.m. at Unitarian Church of Montpelier, located at 130 Main Street in Montpelier. Admission ranges from $10-40. Learn more here: Montpelier Community Gospel Choir

2/26 – “BIPOC Soul Food Sunday” in the NEK

What: An affinity space open only to people of color to experience entertainment from Toussaint St. Negritude and a photo booth by I Am Vermont Too. Attendees are encouraged to bring any kind of dish to share.

Logistics: This event is being held on Sunday Feb 26th from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at The Whirligig Brewing, located at 397 Railroad St. in St. Johnsbury.

2/26 - Alexander Twilight Book Release Gathering

What: A presentation from Bill Tulp, a Vermont author and artist who has released a graphic story about Alexander Twilight.

Logistics: This free event is being held on Sunday Feb. 26th from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the Grammar School building of the Old Stone House Museum & Historic Village, located at 1569 Hinman Settler Rd. in Orleans. Learn more here: A New Alexander Twilight Graphic Story

This Week’s Raffle

Each week, we will draw 5 names from the list of those who signed up for this e-mail series. We hope you win (yes, you!). The drawings are random; we use the True Random Number Service, which will pick 5 numbers each week from the sign-up list. You don’t need to do anything from here—we’ll e-mail you if you’re a lucky winner.

This is an installment in the State of Vermont’s 28-day Black History Month e-mail series, offered by the Vermont Human Rights Commission and the Vermont Office of Racial Equity. The Human Rights Commission protects people from unlawful discrimination in housing, state government employment, and public accommodations. Learn more about the HRC here. The Office of Racial Equity provides guidance and oversight to identify and mitigate systemic racism in state government. Learn more about the ORE here. Did you receive this e-mail from a friend? Want to sign yourself up for the remainder of the month? Subscribe to this list here.

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