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The real “Lone Ranger
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Jul 20, 2015 17:37:34   #
moldyoldy
 
The REAL ‘Lone Ranger’ Was An African American Lawman Who Lived With Native American Indians

The real “Lone Ranger,” it turns out, was an African American man named Bass Reeves, who the legend was based upon. Perhaps not surprisingly, many aspects of his life were written out of the story, including his ethnicity. The basics remained the same: a lawman hunting bad guys, accompanied by a Native American, riding on a white horse, and with a silver trademark.

Historians of the American West have also, until recently, ignored the fact that this man was African American, a free black man who headed West to find himself less subject to the racist structure of the established Eastern and Southern states.

While historians have largely overlooked Reeves, there have been a few notable works on him. Vaunda Michaux Nelson’s book, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, won the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award for best author. Arthur Burton released an overview of the man’s life a few years ago. Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves recounts that Reeves was born into a life of slavery in 1838. His slave-keeper brought him along as another personal servant when he went off to fight with the Confederate Army, during the Civil War.

Reeves took the chaos that ensued during the war to escape for freedom, after beating his “master” within an inch of his life, or according to some sources, to death. Perhaps the most intruiging thing about this escape was that Reeves only beat his enslaver after the latter lost sorely at a game of cards with Reeves and attacked him.

After successfully defending himself from this attack, he knew that there was no way he would be allowed to live if he stuck around.

Reeves fled to the then Indian Territory of today’s Oklahoma and lived harmoniously among the Seminole and Creek Nations of Native American Indians.

After the Civil War finally concluded, he married and eventually fathered ten children, making his living as a Deputy U.S. Marshall in Arkansas and the Indian Territory. If this surprises you, it should, as Reeves was the first African American to ever hold such a position.

Burton explains that it was at this point that the Lone Ranger story comes in to play. Reeves was described as a “master of disguises”. He used these disguises to track down wanted criminals, even adopting similar ways of dressing and mannerisms to meet and fit in with the fugitives, in order to identify them.

Reeves kept and gave out silver coins as a personal trademark of sorts, just like the Lone Ranger’s silver bullets. Of course, the recent Disney adaptation of the Lone Ranger devised a clever and meaningful explanation for the silver bullets in the classic tales. For the new Lone Ranger, the purposes was to not wantonly expend ammunition and in so doing devalue human life. But in the original series, there was never an explanation given, as this was simply something originally adapted from Reeves’ personal life and trademarking of himself. For Reeves, it had a very different meaning, he would give out the valuable coins to ingratiate himself to the people wherever he found himself working, collecting bounties. In this way, a visit from the real “Lone Ranger” meant only good fortune for the town: a criminal off the street and perhaps a lucky silver coin.

Like the Lone Ranger, Reeves was also expert crack shot with a gun. According to legend, shooting competitions had an informal ban on allowing him to enter. Like the Lone Ranger, Reeves rode a white horse throughout almost all of his career, at one point riding a light grey one as well.

Like the famed Lone Ranger legend Reeves had his own close friend like Tonto. Reeves’ companion was a Native American posse man and tracker who he often rode with, when he was out capturing bad guys. In all, there were close to 3000 of such criminals they apprehended, making them a legendary duo in many regions.

The final proof that this legend of Bass Reeves directly inspired into the story of the Lone Ranger can be found in the fact that a large number of those criminals were sent to federal prison in Detroit. The Lone Ranger radio show originated and was broadcast to the public in 1933 on WXYZ in Detroit where the legend of Reeves was famous only two years earlier.

Of course, WXYZ and the later TV and movie adaptions weren’t about to make the Lone Ranger an African American who began his career by beating a slave-keeper to death. But now you know. Spread the word and let people know the real legend of the Lone Ranger.

(Article by Micah Naziri)





Reply
Jul 20, 2015 19:05:07   #
Marcus Johnson
 
moldyoldy wrote:
The REAL ‘Lone Ranger’ Was An African American Lawman Who Lived With Native American Indians

The real “Lone Ranger,” it turns out, was an African American man named Bass Reeves, who the legend was based upon. Perhaps not surprisingly, many aspects of his life were written out of the story, including his ethnicity. The basics remained the same: a lawman hunting bad guys, accompanied by a Native American, riding on a white horse, and with a silver trademark.

Historians of the American West have also, until recently, ignored the fact that this man was African American, a free black man who headed West to find himself less subject to the racist structure of the established Eastern and Southern states.

While historians have largely overlooked Reeves, there have been a few notable works on him. Vaunda Michaux Nelson’s book, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, won the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award for best author. Arthur Burton released an overview of the man’s life a few years ago. Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves recounts that Reeves was born into a life of slavery in 1838. His slave-keeper brought him along as another personal servant when he went off to fight with the Confederate Army, during the Civil War.

Reeves took the chaos that ensued during the war to escape for freedom, after beating his “master” within an inch of his life, or according to some sources, to death. Perhaps the most intruiging thing about this escape was that Reeves only beat his enslaver after the latter lost sorely at a game of cards with Reeves and attacked him.

After successfully defending himself from this attack, he knew that there was no way he would be allowed to live if he stuck around.

Reeves fled to the then Indian Territory of today’s Oklahoma and lived harmoniously among the Seminole and Creek Nations of Native American Indians.

After the Civil War finally concluded, he married and eventually fathered ten children, making his living as a Deputy U.S. Marshall in Arkansas and the Indian Territory. If this surprises you, it should, as Reeves was the first African American to ever hold such a position.

Burton explains that it was at this point that the Lone Ranger story comes in to play. Reeves was described as a “master of disguises”. He used these disguises to track down wanted criminals, even adopting similar ways of dressing and mannerisms to meet and fit in with the fugitives, in order to identify them.

Reeves kept and gave out silver coins as a personal trademark of sorts, just like the Lone Ranger’s silver bullets. Of course, the recent Disney adaptation of the Lone Ranger devised a clever and meaningful explanation for the silver bullets in the classic tales. For the new Lone Ranger, the purposes was to not wantonly expend ammunition and in so doing devalue human life. But in the original series, there was never an explanation given, as this was simply something originally adapted from Reeves’ personal life and trademarking of himself. For Reeves, it had a very different meaning, he would give out the valuable coins to ingratiate himself to the people wherever he found himself working, collecting bounties. In this way, a visit from the real “Lone Ranger” meant only good fortune for the town: a criminal off the street and perhaps a lucky silver coin.

Like the Lone Ranger, Reeves was also expert crack shot with a gun. According to legend, shooting competitions had an informal ban on allowing him to enter. Like the Lone Ranger, Reeves rode a white horse throughout almost all of his career, at one point riding a light grey one as well.

Like the famed Lone Ranger legend Reeves had his own close friend like Tonto. Reeves’ companion was a Native American posse man and tracker who he often rode with, when he was out capturing bad guys. In all, there were close to 3000 of such criminals they apprehended, making them a legendary duo in many regions.

The final proof that this legend of Bass Reeves directly inspired into the story of the Lone Ranger can be found in the fact that a large number of those criminals were sent to federal prison in Detroit. The Lone Ranger radio show originated and was broadcast to the public in 1933 on WXYZ in Detroit where the legend of Reeves was famous only two years earlier.

Of course, WXYZ and the later TV and movie adaptions weren’t about to make the Lone Ranger an African American who began his career by beating a slave-keeper to death. But now you know. Spread the word and let people know the real legend of the Lone Ranger.

(Article by Micah Naziri)
The REAL ‘Lone Ranger’ Was An African American Law... (show quote)


Beautiful story moldyoldy! Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Jul 20, 2015 19:10:16   #
archie bunker Loc: Texas
 
moldyoldy wrote:
The REAL ‘Lone Ranger’ Was An African American Lawman Who Lived With Native American Indians

The real “Lone Ranger,” it turns out, was an African American man named Bass Reeves, who the legend was based upon. Perhaps not surprisingly, many aspects of his life were written out of the story, including his ethnicity. The basics remained the same: a lawman hunting bad guys, accompanied by a Native American, riding on a white horse, and with a silver trademark.

Historians of the American West have also, until recently, ignored the fact that this man was African American, a free black man who headed West to find himself less subject to the racist structure of the established Eastern and Southern states.

While historians have largely overlooked Reeves, there have been a few notable works on him. Vaunda Michaux Nelson’s book, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, won the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award for best author. Arthur Burton released an overview of the man’s life a few years ago. Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves recounts that Reeves was born into a life of slavery in 1838. His slave-keeper brought him along as another personal servant when he went off to fight with the Confederate Army, during the Civil War.

Reeves took the chaos that ensued during the war to escape for freedom, after beating his “master” within an inch of his life, or according to some sources, to death. Perhaps the most intruiging thing about this escape was that Reeves only beat his enslaver after the latter lost sorely at a game of cards with Reeves and attacked him.

After successfully defending himself from this attack, he knew that there was no way he would be allowed to live if he stuck around.

Reeves fled to the then Indian Territory of today’s Oklahoma and lived harmoniously among the Seminole and Creek Nations of Native American Indians.

After the Civil War finally concluded, he married and eventually fathered ten children, making his living as a Deputy U.S. Marshall in Arkansas and the Indian Territory. If this surprises you, it should, as Reeves was the first African American to ever hold such a position.

Burton explains that it was at this point that the Lone Ranger story comes in to play. Reeves was described as a “master of disguises”. He used these disguises to track down wanted criminals, even adopting similar ways of dressing and mannerisms to meet and fit in with the fugitives, in order to identify them.

Reeves kept and gave out silver coins as a personal trademark of sorts, just like the Lone Ranger’s silver bullets. Of course, the recent Disney adaptation of the Lone Ranger devised a clever and meaningful explanation for the silver bullets in the classic tales. For the new Lone Ranger, the purposes was to not wantonly expend ammunition and in so doing devalue human life. But in the original series, there was never an explanation given, as this was simply something originally adapted from Reeves’ personal life and trademarking of himself. For Reeves, it had a very different meaning, he would give out the valuable coins to ingratiate himself to the people wherever he found himself working, collecting bounties. In this way, a visit from the real “Lone Ranger” meant only good fortune for the town: a criminal off the street and perhaps a lucky silver coin.

Like the Lone Ranger, Reeves was also expert crack shot with a gun. According to legend, shooting competitions had an informal ban on allowing him to enter. Like the Lone Ranger, Reeves rode a white horse throughout almost all of his career, at one point riding a light grey one as well.

Like the famed Lone Ranger legend Reeves had his own close friend like Tonto. Reeves’ companion was a Native American posse man and tracker who he often rode with, when he was out capturing bad guys. In all, there were close to 3000 of such criminals they apprehended, making them a legendary duo in many regions.

The final proof that this legend of Bass Reeves directly inspired into the story of the Lone Ranger can be found in the fact that a large number of those criminals were sent to federal prison in Detroit. The Lone Ranger radio show originated and was broadcast to the public in 1933 on WXYZ in Detroit where the legend of Reeves was famous only two years earlier.

Of course, WXYZ and the later TV and movie adaptions weren’t about to make the Lone Ranger an African American who began his career by beating a slave-keeper to death. But now you know. Spread the word and let people know the real legend of the Lone Ranger.

(Article by Micah Naziri)
The REAL ‘Lone Ranger’ Was An African American Law... (show quote)


OK......
He was born in America, so wouldn't that make him an American like me?
Or should I start calling myself English/Scottish-American? My wife is German/Irish-American. YES! she WILL have a beer with you!! Those people are like that you know!

My kids call themselves Texans. The whole world knows that Texas is in what once was America!

Reply
 
 
Jul 20, 2015 19:22:30   #
moldyoldy
 
archie bunker wrote:
OK......
He was born in America, so wouldn't that make him an American like me?
Or should I start calling myself English/Scottish-American? My wife is German/Irish-American. YES! she WILL have a beer with you!! Those people are like that you know!

My kids call themselves Texans. The whole world knows that Texas is in what once was America!



Because we are white washed out of history, and only the criminal element gets notoriety, we have to show our children that we are capable of being all things. Rappers and basketball players are not the only things to aspire to.

Reply
Jul 20, 2015 19:50:59   #
jelun
 
moldyoldy wrote:
The REAL ‘Lone Ranger’ Was An African American Lawman Who Lived With Native American Indians

The real “Lone Ranger,” it turns out, was an African American man named Bass Reeves, who the legend was based upon. Perhaps not surprisingly, many aspects of his life were written out of the story, including his ethnicity. The basics remained the same: a lawman hunting bad guys, accompanied by a Native American, riding on a white horse, and with a silver trademark.

Historians of the American West have also, until recently, ignored the fact that this man was African American, a free black man who headed West to find himself less subject to the racist structure of the established Eastern and Southern states.

While historians have largely overlooked Reeves, there have been a few notable works on him. Vaunda Michaux Nelson’s book, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, won the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award for best author. Arthur Burton released an overview of the man’s life a few years ago. Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves recounts that Reeves was born into a life of slavery in 1838. His slave-keeper brought him along as another personal servant when he went off to fight with the Confederate Army, during the Civil War.

Reeves took the chaos that ensued during the war to escape for freedom, after beating his “master” within an inch of his life, or according to some sources, to death. Perhaps the most intruiging thing about this escape was that Reeves only beat his enslaver after the latter lost sorely at a game of cards with Reeves and attacked him.

After successfully defending himself from this attack, he knew that there was no way he would be allowed to live if he stuck around.

Reeves fled to the then Indian Territory of today’s Oklahoma and lived harmoniously among the Seminole and Creek Nations of Native American Indians.

After the Civil War finally concluded, he married and eventually fathered ten children, making his living as a Deputy U.S. Marshall in Arkansas and the Indian Territory. If this surprises you, it should, as Reeves was the first African American to ever hold such a position.

Burton explains that it was at this point that the Lone Ranger story comes in to play. Reeves was described as a “master of disguises”. He used these disguises to track down wanted criminals, even adopting similar ways of dressing and mannerisms to meet and fit in with the fugitives, in order to identify them.

Reeves kept and gave out silver coins as a personal trademark of sorts, just like the Lone Ranger’s silver bullets. Of course, the recent Disney adaptation of the Lone Ranger devised a clever and meaningful explanation for the silver bullets in the classic tales. For the new Lone Ranger, the purposes was to not wantonly expend ammunition and in so doing devalue human life. But in the original series, there was never an explanation given, as this was simply something originally adapted from Reeves’ personal life and trademarking of himself. For Reeves, it had a very different meaning, he would give out the valuable coins to ingratiate himself to the people wherever he found himself working, collecting bounties. In this way, a visit from the real “Lone Ranger” meant only good fortune for the town: a criminal off the street and perhaps a lucky silver coin.

Like the Lone Ranger, Reeves was also expert crack shot with a gun. According to legend, shooting competitions had an informal ban on allowing him to enter. Like the Lone Ranger, Reeves rode a white horse throughout almost all of his career, at one point riding a light grey one as well.

Like the famed Lone Ranger legend Reeves had his own close friend like Tonto. Reeves’ companion was a Native American posse man and tracker who he often rode with, when he was out capturing bad guys. In all, there were close to 3000 of such criminals they apprehended, making them a legendary duo in many regions.

The final proof that this legend of Bass Reeves directly inspired into the story of the Lone Ranger can be found in the fact that a large number of those criminals were sent to federal prison in Detroit. The Lone Ranger radio show originated and was broadcast to the public in 1933 on WXYZ in Detroit where the legend of Reeves was famous only two years earlier.

Of course, WXYZ and the later TV and movie adaptions weren’t about to make the Lone Ranger an African American who began his career by beating a slave-keeper to death. But now you know. Spread the word and let people know the real legend of the Lone Ranger.

(Article by Micah Naziri)
The REAL ‘Lone Ranger’ Was An African American Law... (show quote)


I had heard bits of this story. Thanks for the extra details.

Reply
Jul 20, 2015 22:20:58   #
archie bunker Loc: Texas
 
moldyoldy wrote:
Because we are white washed out of history, and only the criminal element gets notoriety, we have to show our children that we are capable of being all things. Rappers and basketball players are not the only things to aspire to.


So....white people are the problem.
Should we all kill ouselves because we were born this way?

I can't help but think from this post, that you hate white people.

Maybe you should take a long, hard look inside, and think about what you actually see around you, instead of what the activists say you should see.

Reply
Jul 20, 2015 22:33:13   #
moldyoldy
 
archie bunker wrote:
So....white people are the problem.
Should we all kill ouselves because we were born this way?

I can't help but think from this post, that you hate white people.

Maybe you should take a long, hard look inside, and think about what you actually see around you, instead of what the activists say you should see.


There is nothing anti white in what I said. I said children need to see positive Black role models in history and in daily life.

Reply
 
 
Jul 20, 2015 22:37:02   #
archie bunker Loc: Texas
 
moldyoldy wrote:
There is nothing anti white in what I said. I said children need to see positive Black role models in history and in daily life.


It has been 'white washed'?
You said that. Oh!! But white people aren't allowed any 'dog whistles', or 'trigger words', are they.
Nevermind. My bad.

Reply
Jul 20, 2015 22:48:20   #
moldyoldy
 
archie bunker wrote:
It has been 'white washed'?
You said that. Oh!! But white people aren't allowed any 'dog whistles', or 'trigger words', are they.
Nevermind. My bad.


Try number 2.


1.

a composition, as of lime and water or of whiting, size, and water, used for whitening walls, woodwork, etc.


2.

anything, as deceptive words or actions, used to cover up or gloss over faults, errors, or wrongdoings, or absolve a wrongdoer from blame.


3.

Sports Informal. a defeat in which the loser fails to score.

Reply
Jul 20, 2015 23:06:45   #
archie bunker Loc: Texas
 
moldyoldy wrote:
Try number 2.


1.

a composition, as of lime and water or of whiting, size, and water, used for whitening walls, woodwork, etc.


2.

anything, as deceptive words or actions, used to cover up or gloss over faults, errors, or wrongdoings, or absolve a wrongdoer from blame.


3.

Sports Informal. a defeat in which the loser fails to score.


You know what! I'm so sick of this f#&king bulls#&t I could just puke!! We live in 2015! Not 1860, 1950, 1965.
F$&king get over it, and move forward!
You damn people are on a mission. For what? Is constantly dragging up the past; which by the way; Neither I, nor my kids, or my grandkids had nothing to do with, gonna change any of it?
Or are we to blame because we are simply white? This s#&t is getting old fast! Black lives matter? Quit killing each other, and your own babies then!!
Blaming all problems with the black community on the white people doesn't wash in 2015!
Clean up your own damn backyard before even thinking about peeking over my fence! All yall are doing is causing more problems, tensions, and pissing people off with all of this silly bulls#&t!

Reply
Jul 20, 2015 23:21:22   #
moldyoldy
 
archie bunker wrote:
You know what! I'm so sick of this f#&king bulls#&t I could just puke!! We live in 2015! Not 1860, 1950, 1965.
F$&king get over it, and move forward!
You damn people are on a mission. For what? Is constantly dragging up the past; which by the way; Neither I, nor my kids, or my grandkids had nothing to do with, gonna change any of it?
Or are we to blame because we are simply white? This s#&t is getting old fast! Black lives matter? Quit killing each other, and your own babies then!!
Blaming all problems with the black community on the white people doesn't wash in 2015!
Clean up your own damn backyard before even thinking about peeking over my fence! All yall are doing is causing more problems, tensions, and pissing people off with all of this silly bulls#&t!
You know what! I'm so sick of this f#&king bul... (show quote)


That is the typical ignorance that gets spread around. All white people benefitted from slavery. The country prospered from it. We get written out of history. Unarmed Blacks get killed repeatedly by cops, and your response is shut up. You are a worthless piece of crap.

Reply
 
 
Jul 20, 2015 23:31:58   #
archie bunker Loc: Texas
 
moldyoldy wrote:
That is the typical ignorance that gets spread around. All white people benefitted from slavery. The country prospered from it. We get written out of history. Unarmed Blacks get killed repeatedly by cops, and your response is shut up. You are a worthless piece of crap.


Explain to me how I have benefited from slavery. Which, by the way ended over 150 years ago. My bloodlines didn't arrive here until the late 1850's. One of them died fighting for the Union. I have the death certificate. It was in my Granny's papers.
How have I benefited? My kids? My grandkids? How have we benifeted from slavery?
And why in the hell do you think we owe you something because of what happened over 150 years ago, and we had nothing to do with?

Reply
Jul 21, 2015 00:36:00   #
moldyoldy
 
archie bunker wrote:
Explain to me how I have benefited from slavery. Which, by the way ended over 150 years ago. My bloodlines didn't arrive here until the late 1850's. One of them died fighting for the Union. I have the death certificate. It was in my Granny's papers.
How have I benefited? My kids? My grandkids? How have we benifeted from slavery?
And why in the hell do you think we owe you something because of what happened over 150 years ago, and we had nothing to do with?



The wealth of this country was a direct result of all that free labor.

Reply
Jul 21, 2015 08:30:18   #
archie bunker Loc: Texas
 
moldyoldy wrote:
The wealth of this country was a direct result of all that free labor.


I don't believe that.

Reply
Jul 22, 2015 14:47:19   #
jelun
 
archie bunker wrote:
So....white people are the problem.
Should we all kill ouselves because we were born this way?

I can't help but think from this post, that you hate white people.

Maybe you should take a long, hard look inside, and think about what you actually see around you, instead of what the activists say you should see.



I don't think it is MO's hate we need to worry about.
How did you miss the part about what citizens of color must aspire to other than sports and music?
Because you didn't want to see that, right?
YOU need to take a long hard look at yourself.
You also need to consider whether you want to post in this section, you are mighty close to crossing my line.
MoldyOldy, I left this for your consideration.
Please feel free to zap it if it crosses YOUR line.

Reply
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