1978 Advice For How To Deal With the New Generation (From Ebony Magazine) (Patreon)

A lot of times people ask me how I "study" history and how I gain perspective of (and get sources for) past events. Magazines and newspapers give a great peek into the attitudes of different cultural groups during a certain time period. The very foundation of history is studying primary sources. For example, the various types of newspapers during the pre-Civil War era allow us to see who was pro or anti-abolition.  With this concept in mind, let's look at the changing attitude towards respectability politics in the 1970's, AFTER the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. 

These are from Ebony Magazine, and you can access the full article here.

1.  Weed was being compared to liquor and cigarettes instead of dope. 

2. "We are more intelligent- at least we should be- about homosexuality these days, and gay people are no longer required to live traumatic lives filled with the fear of discovery." Sadly, this advice was doled out before the AIDS epidemic magnified the stigma of homosexuality. 

Anita Bryant was a conservative anti-LGBT advocate who at the time was famous for saying "As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children."

3. There was a more relaxed attitude about "shacking up."

While this article was written humorously and is not representative of all (or even the majority) of black American thought at the time, it was a sign of a changing attitude towards respectability politics that has given way to the revolution we're currently having. We know this because Ebony Magazine was marketed towards middle class black people (many of whom were educated and/or conservative), and they had major influence over social norms. 

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