Template:Did you know nominations/Jolly Darkie Target Game

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Allen3 talk 01:13, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

Jolly Darkie Target Game[edit]

Cover of box, partially damaged

  • ... that the 1890 Jolly Darkie Target Game was one of many games of the time with a theme involving violence against black people, and is now considered part of collectable black memorabilia?

Created by Mindmatrix (talk). Self nominated at 16:44, 28 December 2014 (UTC).

  • General: Article is new enough and long enough.
  • Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems.
  • Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation.
  • QPQ: Done.
  • Overall: I found one example of inadvertent paraphrase to be cleaned up. While the editor has written, "black male regularly sitting outside a theatre before a showing of a minstrel show, with his mouth open and children throwing balls into it for entertainment.", the source states, "black male sitting outside the theater house immediately before a showing, with his mouth open, orally receiving balls thrown by little kids who decided to make this an entertaining activity." No doubt an accident, but still needy of some change. I have condensed the present hook to produce ALT1. Otherwise, this article is GTG. IMHO, it should be scheduled for 1 February, to start Black History Month with a jolt.Georgejdorner (talk) 22:44, 28 December 2014 (UTC)
  • Yeah, that was unintended, as I'm usually quite careful about such things. I've partially changed it; I tried re-ordering the statement slightly, but given that "a black man" refers to a specific person instead of "any black man", I left the original order to prevent the introduction of ambiguity. Let me know if this is insufficient, and I'll try and hack on it some more. Mindmatrix 18:12, 29 December 2014 (UTC)
  • In certain situations, there isn't much choice in vocabulary; then too our brain can trick us into subconscious imitation. I judge that your changes are sufficient. I might add that upon second reading, I am more impressed by Jose Marti actually witnessing the act than a lesser known person retailing secondhand reports. Still, you are GTG.Georgejdorner (talk) 20:06, 29 December 2014 (UTC)
  • @Georgejdorner: I've added an image to this nomination - can you please check that too? Mindmatrix 21:02, 29 December 2014 (UTC)
  • ALT2 ... that the 1890 Jolly Darkie Target Game, one of many games of its time on themes of violence against black people, is now a piece of collectable black memorabilia? EEng (talk) 21:18, 29 December 2014 (UTC)
  • Image is in public domain. ALT2 satisfies hook requirements. Recommend this article be the lead article on 1 February 2015 to kick off Black History Month 2015.Georgejdorner (talk) 23:28, 29 December 2014 (UTC)
Actually, might I suggest that this not be used on the first day? EEng (talk) 03:23, 12 January 2015 (UTC)
Strongly second EEng's comment. Running this on the main page during Black History Month (especially at the beginning) would be seen as insensitive at best, racist at worst. --Jakob (talk) 01:02, 30 January 2015 (UTC)
Well, I'd better be more clear. There's nothing racist about the nomination, the article, or the hook -- they are frank recognitions of something ugly from the past. It is fitting and appropriate that it be run sometime during B.H.M. because, unfortunately, it illustrates an important facet of history. But any such month should be, primarily, a celebration, and I don't think it's necessary to kick the month off on such a melancholy note. So not on the first day, methinks. EEng (talk) 01:33, 30 January 2015 (UTC)
To be more clear, I don't doubt the good intentions of the nominator, nor do I have any issue with this running at some time. I'm just saying how it may appear to those who aren't familiar with the site's inner workings and internal processes. I don't even demand that this be run before or after BHM unless anyone else agrees with me. Just some food for thought. (and by seconding your comment, I meant that I was seconding it and going a bit further) --Jakob (talk) 03:15, 30 January 2015 (UTC)