Blog #2:Archives visit

Throughout the visit to LaGuardia archives, the class was given a brief overview of what resources were available. The archives are a collection of private, primary information. Primary and reliable information was available on the mayor Robert F. Wagner. Valuable items suchs as the medals and pins mayor Robert F. Wagner received were displayed on a wall by the bookshelves. A primary source that was provided was the letter from Robert F. Wagner known as the “Remarks by Robert F. Mayor.” Mr. Wagner was a democratic and liberal mayor that had been serving his third term. In the letter, Mr. Wagner talks about how he was surprised to witness how bad Harlem was doing. He took the time to see what the people of Harlem had been going through. He wanted to address the major problems of poverty and unemployment. As Mayor Wagner walked in Harlem, he saw debris of battle, boarded windows, and residents that were in fear. Mayor Wagner supported the police because he knew it was there job to protect the people. The sanitation department had lied to the Mayor because he had been told that the debris of battle was cleaned up, when in reality this was false.

Even though Wagner supported African-Americans in Harlem and understood the hardships they were facing, he still supported the police officers. I feel that he was trying too hard to satisfy both the African-Americans  of Harlem and the police. These are conflicting ideas to me because, African-Americans feared the police and felt hostility. Mayor Wagner states, “Attacks upon the police, whose mission it is, to enforce law and order, will not be condoned, or tolerated by me, at any time.” In essence, Mayor Wagner is saying that the police are doing their job in protecting people and shlouldnt be harmed by the people of Harlem. He believed that the police was doing their job and was professional about it, when African-Americans felt otherwise.