Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? Highlighting Numismatics and Diversity BY Stan Kimer | Guest Contributor
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“Collecting Great epublicans are still Depression Coinage.” up to those same Our American coinage tricks they pulled during the late 1920s during the Great and early 1930s inDepression. cluded some beautiful As a diversity and historic specimens consultant and nusuch as the Buffalo mismatist (a collector Nickel, Mercury Dime of money), I am now and the Standing finding some interLiberty Quarter. esting connections In 1930, the song between our nation’s “Brother, Can You money and our diverSpare a Dime” was sity as a nation. This An antique dime from the 20th century. written by lyricist past summer I wrote (Photo Credit: cmbankus via Edgar Yipsel Harburg my first two parts of Adobe Stock) and composer Jay this series: Gorney. Shockingly, • “Black Lives Matter its release and exposure on the radio and the $20 Bill — an Awful American was limited due to the censorship of the Travesty” (bit.ly/3htsRu1). I recounted Republican Party who considered the the very sad story of how the approved song to be the project of “anti-capitalist plans to place African-American abolipropaganda.” Clearly, they wanted to tionist Harriet Tubman on our $20 bill got deny the existence of the millions of derailed. hard-working, loyal Americans hurting, • “A Black Lives Matter and an American homeless and hungry from the Great Coinage Travesty – blog 2” (bit. Depression, just like the Republican Party ly/2L5vVR1). I recount the sad story of a of today is trying to deny that COVID-19 is Ku Klux Klan-inspired coin. ravaging our nation, that systemic racism In this op-ed, I am going to share exists and that Joe Biden actually won the an interesting sub-plot that was shared 2020 presidential election! in the Numismatist Magazine story
Great economic disparity continues to be a major issue in our country that still needs to be addressed. (See “The Growing Culture of Poverty in the USA,” bit.ly/2L9fOBG). And now we are seeing the highest rate of unemployment in our country since the Great Depression, and it is disproportionately impacting those on the lower ends of the economic scale. Ultimately, the song “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?” could not be repressed indefinitely due to recordings by wellknown popular artists such as Bing Crosby (watch and listen here to Bing’s recording with a poignant photo essay online at bit. ly/3httL9T), Lennie Hayton, Al Jolson and Rudy Vallee. The general public needed to become aware of the sad plight of their fellow Americans through this song. Now, current day Americans should accept the reality that we are again in horrific times, and the truth should not and cannot be repressed. Hopefully we can rise up as a nation, face the truth, do the right thing and give our brothers and sisters who need assistance several thousand dimes. : : Stan Kimer is a diversity consultant with Total Engagement Consulting by Kimer in Raleigh, N.C.
Jan. 8-21, 2021
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