posted
I just found out that my Grandmother was a member of the DAR. I actually had no idea this organization existed until a couple of weeks ago. Because my grandmother was eligable, I am eligable. My mom thinks I should become a member. I am not sure. I know so little about what the organization actually does. Does anyone here have any personal experience with the DAR?
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I do not, but I think they objected to Marion Anderson singing someplace, so I am sort of biased against them because of that. Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Well, I have experience with the DAR State Forest here in Western Mass, which is the only place I have really felt was haunted. Other than that, I cannot help.
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I can't imagine that there is anything bad that goes along with joining DAR. I imagine it's like being an elk or something, a society of really nice really white people who do good work.
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So the DAR will not allow Marion Anderson to sing, and they bring ghosts into forests they maintain. Hm...not sounding awesome so far.
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If someone who is not white can trace their direct line back to someone fighting in the revolutionary war they can be let in.
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My grandma wants me to join the DAR, because one of my grandpa's sisters was in it, and she was jealous. Oh I know who the chair of the bloomington chapter is, she's cool, but apparently they do very little (it's joel's mom)
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posted
Oh! Mary Jo. She is a sweet woman. I could see her not being the best leader. She wasn't very good at leading sunday school. You have to be 18 to join so I would probably join while I'm at school. I don't know what Georgia DAR will be like.
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posted
well she told me she was in the DAR while in georgia because some woman at the carter memorial said the group setting up was the DAR, so at least we know they go to pretty places.
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posted
My grandmother was also in the DAR. I haven't joined for any number of reasons.
In 1939, the DAR banned Marian Andreson from singing in Constitution Hall (which they owned) on Easter Sunday because she was black. Eleanor Roosevelt, along with other prominent ladies, resigned in protest and arranged for Andreson to sing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Four years later, the DAR invited Anderson to sing at Constitution Hall for China Relief. She graciously accepted.
Unfortunately, the DAR has long been associated with racism and anti-Semitism. They have made many steps toward correcting that flaw, but it's slow-going.
Allegra, I would advise against joining the DAR in Georgia. It will likely be filled with little old ladies (and their daughters and granddaughters) who won't be very accepting of a Yankee. They will be nothing but sweet and polite to you, but they probably won't want you there. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I wouldn't want you to be hurt or waste your time. They mostly get together and play bridge and drink sherry anyhow. I was always bored to tears when I was forced to go to one of their meetings.
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quote:Membership in the DAR, a token of prestige in bluestocking society, goes only to those who can prove direct descent from a soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War. The first black member to prove that claim was Metro Detroiter Karen Batchelor Farmer, a lawyer and genealogist. In the basement of a courthouse in eastern Pennsylvania, Farmer found incontrovertible evidence that her fifth great-grandfather, a white soldier named Edward Lee, was killed in 1781 by Indians fighting on behalf of the British army. Farmer's claim was accepted and she joined the DAR in 1977.
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I could be in it too. But they are so republican and have many negative political views associated with them. If it would help you get something (like a scoloship) then go ahead and do it, but all in all i think it is pritty meaningless.
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posted
I know my Grandma was in it, and she loved the history of it all. If you ahve any interest in that time period it is a very cool thing.
Also, you could join there and the membership is good anywhere, so matter where you end up after school it would provide social connections in a new place. My Grandma loved visiting oter states and meeting people that way. When she moved to FL she met a lot of friends that way.
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Most of the women on my mother's side (my mother included) have been in it, and I probably will wind up joining as well. For me, it's more of an "honour my ancestors" thing than a "white woman gathering" thing. I know that the chapters I've seen people involved in haven't been terribly active (a couple newsletters a year, an occasional meeting, periodic requests for money), but I don't see the harm in keeping with family tradition.
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posted
My daughters could join - their dad is descended from a Revolutionary War soldier. I haven't looked into it at all. My ancestors, on the other hand, came to this country later. Oh, well.
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dkw and I were told at one point that we were qualified to join, but I thought it was because we had an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower. I don't know if we had an ancestor who fought in the war or not, so I guess i don't know if we qualify.
Not that I really care, either. But since we're talking about it... *shrug*
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Thanks a lot for the mental image, Kwea. "Teat time" at the DAR? I think I'm scarred for life.
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Kwea, we should go up the the DAR this spring, and you will see what I mean about the haunting. It isn't just me, either. I am not big on the ghost thing, but a few people I know have had experiences, and there is just a general feeling I get when I walk in those woods that I have never had anywhere else. (nee-nee nee-nee, nee-nee nee)(that was spooky music)
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posted
In recent news members of DAR have called for what they describe as a "permanent revolution", it's unclear if they feel it's time to turn this country into the China of the 1950s, complete with the violent wars and segregation of classes, or if they're just trying to pad their membership.
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I don't know much about the DAR (except I know a few members), but I don't think it is proper for us to hold against them their racism in 1939. I mean, if they are STILL racist, then it is a problem.
But there are many organizations and churches/religions that used to be somewhat racist in their views, including the LDS. But that should not reflect on the current views of their members, if they no longer feel that way.
quote:I can't imagine that there is anything bad that goes along with joining DAR. I imagine it's like being an elk or something, a society of really nice really white people who do good work. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posts: 3103 | Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged |
Joldo Member Member # 6991
posted January 26, 2005 09:22 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White is the essential word, is it?
Nah, there are a lot of really good really white groups that do decent work, Congress is an example.
posted
I'd imagine the DAR is like being in Job's Daughter's in Pasadena, at least in Georgia; where I was, being a Jobie wasn't bad, exactly, but after a while, I got kind of tired by the scrabbling for position (which I didn't participate in), and they were all kind of "society". You know, most of them were involved in debutante organizations as well, and they just acted kind of... surprised when I didn't have the money to pick up and go on a trip to Mexico with very little notice.
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Sorities scare me a little bit... because I have a stereotypical notion that everyone will be drinking a lot and getting social and shopping for shoes a great deal. All of which are things I hate... but, if they want to do that, I hope they have a lot of fun.
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posted
The only problem with DAR is that it is all about being a blue-blood. Some of the members act like they think having a "certain bloodline" descending from the soldiers of the American Revolution makes them better, or more American, than the rest of us.
But there are many that don't feel that way -- I'm just citing the feeling I get from the few I know...
posted
Supposedly I'm eligible for memebership in the DAR through my dad's side; a few of my grandmother's sisters were in it (though I'm not sure if she was. I've never really looked into joining.
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I got diagnosed with social anxiety. Plus, some groups might try to make me wear pink and orange together and cute little skirty outfits. Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I'm eligible way back on my dad's side...John Lane was said to have pulled the Marquis de Lafayette off of a Revolutionary battlefield. Of course, if half as many people pulled Lafayette off of a Revolutionary battlefield as family legends say, he'd be the worst military figure in history.
I haven't tried joining, but I heard a unsubstantiated rumor that they don't let you in if there's a history of polygamy in your ancestry (that would be on my mom's side).
I say go for it. They offer scholarships.
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The history of racism and anti-semitism don't bother me a whole lot because those where the views of the rich white people in that time period. I think it would be hard to find many groups (that did not have Jews or people of color) that did not hold similar beliefs 50 yrs ago. If they had those beliefs now I would be very disturbed.
My grandmother was a very active member. It was something she took pride in. Quite a few of the women in my family tree have DAR numbers. I think if I could find a chapter that actually did a lot of charity and other community services that I would join. I know there are reasons not to join. I could see why someone would chose not to, but if it could be a good way for me to help the community I am in I think I could overlook imperfections.
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quote:Of course, if half as many people pulled Lafayette off of a Revolutionary battlefield as family legends say, he'd be the worst military figure in history.
It's these strange, random, white groups, like DAR and Congress and Hatrack, that enrich lives. Who knows what you are going to experience as a member and how it's going to relate to the rest of your life. It obviously has a rich history, both good and bad, and as long as the bad doesn't bleed into the present, enjoy your birthright and responsibility and become a member.
posted
I actually belong to a sorority. It is a pretty small sorority called Alpha Sigma Kappa-Women in Technical Studies. Most chapters aren't wealthy enough to have houses, except the founding chapter in Minnesota.
I held out for a long time before joining. But every single woman in it proved to me that they *weren't* snobby and were my friend regardless before I joined. It made me chuckle though, because many of my close friends from the sorority *weren't* white. Considering it was in the midle of Oklahoma we had an extremely culturally diverse group.
Hatrack is chubby, geeky, and white with fading eye-sight, and the US does not have a broad world-wide coalition in Iraq right now. I guess we could pretend otherwise, but I don't know who we would be trying to fool.
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