Rockefeller Evil?

Fables of Faubus

Charles Mingus recorded this song for the first time in 1959. At the time, it was a huge leap forward for the Jazz Genre in being taken seriously as a form of music that can be so much more than just an easy form of entertainment. To blatantly come out and point fingers and name name's without hiding behind metaphors and long, drawn out phrases is something that our generation of song-writers could take a lesson from on occasion.

But my main focus on this piece itself is something that caught my eye, or rather ear. In the last lines of the song, Charles has written;


Name me a handful that's ridiculous, Dannie Richmond.
Faubus, Rockefeller, Eisenhower
Why are they so sick and ridiculous?


Now, obviously, Faubus, who was the governor of Arkansas at the time, is clearly meant to be included in that list. He sent out the National Guard to prevent the integration of Little Rock Central High School by nine Black teenagers, and was generally well known for being a racist and bigoted man. But the two others mentioned in that line make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Lets begin with Rockefeller. Now, my first thought during this was to assume that he meant John. D Rockefeller. Of course, he is well known for being the Oil Baron and there are many tales of his questionable tactics when it comes to business, but outside he is still, to this day, one of the greatest philanthropists in history. The amount of money that he donated to many causes is still held in great regard. That being sad, he also actively supported black schools in the south, according to the teachings of his Baptist upbringing, which I can only assume means to help out all people, regardless of race. It is that donation, and one other connection I can find, that could possibly make any sense of having his name in this song;
1) His donation to black schools alone was enough to target him as a bigot, because since he supported black schools, he supported segregation.
2) His son, John D. Rockefeller Jr. supported Colonial Williamsburg, which had a history of racial prejudice.

But that is it. In fact, the Rockefeller family has helped a great deal in advancing African Americans in this country. The Rockefeller Foundation is a huge supporting of African charity, and many other examples such as these.

Then there is Dwight D. Eisenhower (maybe he didn't like people with middle names that started with D). When the Brown V. Board of education verdict was announced, he quickly sought out to make Washington an example for the rest of the country, and sent out Nation Guard Troops down to the South to help the desegregation of schools in Little Rock, when Faubus refused. Eisenhower usurped Faubus' authority over the National Guard, which proved how serious he was. He was also key in desegregating the military. Now, whether or not his personal beliefs reflect his actions of Civil Rights, he was a man who stood by his country's decision and believed in democracy. So again, why include him?

With this research, I have come to the conclusion that the reason he made such a big deal out of those other two people was he was looking for something to be controversial. Whether or not it was true. Sure, one could argue that supporting black schools and sending troops down to Little Rock might be racist, but you'd be twisting history so far even a contortionist would break their back trying to understand it. I believe this is just an example of either an attempt at controversy, or just plain ignorance.

Either way though, a great song.

Sources:
1) Jones-Wilson, Faustine Childress (1996). Encyclopedia of African-American education. Greenwood Press. p. 184. ISBN 0-313-28931-X.
2) Colonial Williamsburg Journal, 2004
3) David Nichol, A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution (2007)