We heard one of the college stations playing Mingus’s “Fables of Faubus” as we were driving around today. It occurred to me that nobody would probably even think of Faubus now if it weren’t for the Mingus song. I used to be inclined to think that because even lambasting someone gives them some measure of validity, that it could actually be more effective in the long run to just ignore them. But I’m coming around to thinking that sometimes you have to think of the short run. What might have happened if Mingus and thousands of others hadn’t spoken up against segregation? I’m guessing that the people actually fighting it would have had a much tougher time. Actual legal segregation might still be around. Probably better that we remember the occasional goon.

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