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Pdf, 362.80 KB Shmanners 213: Mary Ellen Pleasant Published 5th June 2020 Listen here on themcelroy.family [theme music plays] Travis: Hello internet. I’m your husband host, Travis McElroy. Teresa: And I’m your wife host, Teresa McElroy. Travis: And you’re listening to Shmanners. Teresa: It’s extraordinary etiquette… Travis: … for ordinary occasions. Hello, my dove. Teresa: Hello, dear. Travis: Well. The world… there’s a lot going on here in the US of A. Before we begin, I want to encourage everyone to, if you haven’t already, or if you feel like you wanna do more, donating to causes that are supporting the protestors here in America that are protesting police violence in general, but more specifically police violence against black people. And if you have already donated, share those links, get out there and, you know, check out some education resources, share those education resources, anything you can do to help. I would recommend, if you’re looking for places to donate, if you’re looking for resources, you can go to blacklivesmatters.carrd.co. So blacklivesmatters.carrd.co, that’s two Rs. So there you can sign petitions, text or make phone calls, there are donation links, there are more resources, there are resources for protestors, all kinds of things you can do. And I also just wanna say thank you to everyone who is out there protesting. Thank you to people who are making donations and doing things to improve the lives of, as far as I’m concerned, all Americans, but specifically black Americans in our country. It is long past due. Thank you. And so specifically, we wanted to talk about, we’re gonna do a biography this week. And this was your idea, so please explain. Teresa: Yes. So, we’re going to— our biography today is the biography of Mary Ellen Pleasant. And I was first introduced to her on a television program called Drunk History. [laughs] Travis: Now here’s— let me just stop you right there. Because I wanna say, one of the things that I love so much about pop culture, but specifically the way Teresa and I consume pop culture, is I learn a lot of things from what many people would consider comedy programs. Teresa: [laughs] Travis: And that ranges from stuff like The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight, which I think is both wonderful and educational, but also just stuff like Supersizers Go, which we’ve talked about many times on this show, Drunk History, there’s a great show called Horrible History, which is like— Teresa: Yeah, that’s a BBC show. Travis: Yeah, which is ostensibly, like, perfect for showing middle schoolers in class. It seems like it was designed to be like, “Hey, today we’re gonna watch a TV show while I, I dunno, take a nap because I’m a really hungover teacher in this scenario.” Teresa: [laughs] Travis: But it is also great. But Drunk History has taught me a lot about history. Teresa: Absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, it’s kinda sad that I had never heard of Mary Ellen Pleasant before this, because she was an awesome lady. Travis: Well, that’s a thing that I see a lot of people talking about too, which is we talk a lot about history, and a lot of times the biographies that we have done and like, the rules that we have focused on do tend to be pretty white-person centric. And one of the reasons for that, that a lot of people are talking about right now, as well they should, is that history books were, for the most part, written by white people. Teresa: It’s true. Travis: And so a lot of amazing black innovators, black scientists, black inventors, black cultural figures were more or less written out of the history books because it didn’t fit with the narrative that the white constructors of history were trying to create. Teresa: Exactly. So, Mary Ellen Pleasant is often called the mother of civil rights in San Francisco. That’s where— Travis: This is our, I think, our second San Francisco biography in a month. Teresa: It is. Interesting. I didn’t do that on purpose but… Travis: Is it because I’ve been baking a lot of sourdough bread? Is that it? We’ve got a lot of sourdough in our veins? Teresa: Hmm… [laughs] Travis: By the way, we should see a doctor. That is not where the bread is supposed to be. Teresa: That’s not where it’s supposed to go. Travis: No, no, no. I did name my sourdough starter Joshua. I don’t know if that’s, I named it after— Teresa: After Joshua Norton. Travis: After Joshua Norton, yes. Teresa: Well that’s, I mean, sourdough, San Francisco, Joshua rules, makes sense. Travis: That’s where it went, yes. Teresa: Anyway. And not only was she a civil rights activist, and abolitionist, she was an entrepreneur. And that’s, I mean, the mass business network is so fascinating to me, as far as her life goes. So. It’s assumed that Mary Ellen was born in the 1800s in the month of August, but different sources have different years. Her own autobiography, she has three of them, by the way, you should check those out. Her own autobiographies have different days. Travis: [laughs] Okay. Teresa: And a lot of people say that she was born into slavery on a Georgia plantation, but she herself says in one of her autobiographies that she was born free in Philadelphia. Travis: Okay. I’m gonna choose to trust her. Teresa: Well, okay. We’ll go back and forth between that. Travis: And whether it’s true or not— well, here’s the thing. Here’s the way I look at it. If that’s the narrative she wants to create, I am going to trust her. Teresa: Exactly. She creates several narratives, and none of these different stories of her origins do her justice as far as just the amount of, I’m gonna say, like, social structuring she did for black people. Travis: Okay. Teresa: So, we’ll never really know for sure. Maybe she was a young slave bought out of slavery, maybe, you know. Travis: Maybe she was born free, it’s one of these. Teresa: Maybe she was born free. But we do know that she was separated from her family very young, she somehow wound up in Nantucket in her early teens and she was working as a servant for a white family. This is when she learned how to read and write, because she was working in the family shop. And it’s also assumed that working for this family is where she began to become so deeply passionate about the abolitionist movement. Because this family was working for the abolitionist movement. So, I’m hesitant to say that she was part of the abolitionist network at this point, but she certainly has this white family… this position in the white family is where she started out her abolitionist ideals. Travis: Okay. So this was her, at the very least, definitely made connections to the abolitionist network and like, to this kind of anti-slavery movement. Teresa: Exactly. Travis: Though I imagine she was probably already pretty anti-slavery. Teresa: Yes, yes. Travis: So it was a good fit. Teresa: She married her first husband, James Smith, also— Travis: What a boring name! Teresa: Well. Travis: Listen, I don’t mean— maybe he was a good guy, maybe he was a cool dude. But I bet at this point in America, there were 18 bajillion James Smiths. [laughs] It’s one step above John Smith, which is another boring name. And listen— oh no. Now I’ve just realized. If you’re listening to this and you’re named James Smith, you’re great. It’s a cool name. Teresa: [laughs] Travis: I’m so sorry. So sorry I said anything. Teresa: [sings] Backpedalling, backpedalling… Travis: I’m just saying it sounds like a made up name. It’s the name I think The Doctor— no, The Doctor uses John Smith, whenever they need to give, like, a fake name or something. I think it’s— whatever. None of this is germane. None of this is important. Teresa: None of this is germane, because he was also an abolitionist and together they worked The Underground Railroad, possibly as slave stealers, possibly hiding people, but definitely helping them get all the way to Canada. Travis: Nice! Teresa: He died. Because people do. Travis: Oh. Wow. Teresa: Well, hey, they do. Travis: I mean, so… what you mean is, so far. Everyone has died so far, that doesn’t mean I’m going to. Please. Teresa: Of course. But he did leave her a bunch of money, which was awesome, and told her to never abandon the cause. Which she absolutely never did. Good on you, Mary Ellen. Okay. We are now up to 1848, where she fell in love with John James Pleasant. Travis: Okay. I’m just saying, that’s a cool name. That’s a cool name. Right? Teresa: John James Pleasant? Travis: John James Pleasant. That’s, ooh, I like that name. It’s a strong name. Teresa: Well, from now on, you’re gonna like every name. Because all names are good. Travis: Okay. Teresa: [laughs] Travis: I’m just saying it’s a fun name to say. Teresa: Okay. And it’s speculated that they got married, although no records of their marriage exist.
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