Black History Month 2011

No, that’s not a typo. I just recently finished the books I had intended to read last year for Black History month. You would think that this would mean that I could start on this year’s reading on time, but I am in the middle of Native American Heritage month 2011, and then I have a few books to try and make our pets happier and better behaved. I think I can finish Black History month 2012 in April, and really, for me that’s pretty good.

So let’s go over what was read, and I will do it in the order of the books I liked least to best, rather than order read. (I read the best one first, which in some ways made the rest of it kind of disappointing.)

My least favorite book was Race First: The Ideological and Organizational Struggles of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, by Tony Martin. Now, if that title seems overly academic to you, that’s actually the root of the issue right there. The book is based on a doctoral dissertation, I believe, and while this type of work is necessary, it’s often a little too dry to make compelling reading.

It is dry, and also it breaks down into several topics where there is overlap between different sections, that makes the whole a little confusing and a little repetitive. Some of the other figures mentioned could truly use some more explanation. This topic is not well known, though it probably would be more so to the review panel that decided to grant the degree.

One thing that I really have to credit is that even though it results in dryness, the absolute seriousness with which the topic is handled is really important. I think it’s easy to view Marcus Garvey as a joke because of the uniforms and pomp and yes, because of the hat. Martin does not include a single picture of Garvey in the hat. Sure, he goes over the philosophies that led to the adoption of the more elaborate outfits, but he does not reduce Garvey to either his outfit or his failures, and that’s important.

Marcus Garvey did accomplish a lot, and his philosophies of why the independent endeavors were necessary were exactly correct. Going over the book, it really seems like if he had just left the Black Star Line alone, and concentrated on manufacturing and job creation, he might have been okay. While having the fleet was a huge mental boost, and it would have been important for migration, it’s greater level of complication became a huge vulnerability, leading to abuse over and over again that drained cash.

And of course he was being fought by people who shouldn’t have been fighting him. It’s amazing how often the NAACP comes off as the problem over the course of all of these books—usually just for being too conservative, but in this case being downright suppressive of other organizations that could have been viewed as allies but instead were viewed as rivals. This is especially an issue with W.E.B Du Bois, who does not come off looking well at all, either in terms of Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X.

That leads to my second-least favorite book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley. I was surprised at the negativity of the book. My understanding was that he had modified his views, and then as I approached the end, I realized that this was happening in real-time. I had not understood how little time passed between his break with the Nation of Islam and his death. Then it became kind of fascinating to think about, and ultimately very sad. It was clear that he did not really have enough time to find his new direction, and for a man with his abilities you can’t help but wonder. Where would he have gone?
The other thing common thread, besides the NAACP being useless, was how everyone knew each other. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were viewed as opposites, but they had the same people at their funerals. That brings us to Ralph Bunche, for whom I read Ralph Bunche: An American Life, by Brian Urquhart.

Initially the book started out really slowly, and I felt like it was going to be a chore to read. Why is it second favorite instead of third-favorite then? Well, it really picked up. The author worked with Bunche at the United Nations, and so for the early life, and even later family life, he really was not doing a great job, and it kind of dragged. However, when he got to various UN endeavors, it was fascinating. I still feel like Urquhart could have done a lot of things better, like sometimes his decisions on which facts to include and which to omit seemed questionable, but there is some fascinating history there, and sometimes it is well told.

One overarching theme of all of the books is how easy it is for those with bad intentions, or even just ignorance, to destroy the work of those who are trying to do good. That has come up a lot, in many of my studies, and is one reason why I need to make sure to break up some of my more serious reading with lighter fare, just to try and keep from hating the world.

Another theme is that even though events might be interesting, or important, or people might be good, books don’t always match that. A book that is a pleasure to read is a joy regardless, and when it also covers important events, and teaches you something, well, that is a find. And that’s why I covered the books in order of how much I liked them, so that I can just gush over the last one: And the Walls Came Tumbling Down by Ralph Abernathy.

Seriously, it’s almost embarrassing how much of a fan girl I am for this book. I love it. It works on several levels. First of all, Dr. Abernathy has a rich, warm voice that really comes through in the book. He’s someone you want to spend time with. It would be good for that alone.

In addition, he lays out the Civil Rights campaign in such a logical and orderly manner that it is a joy to read. There is a natural progression in terms of what works, and what doesn’t, and why. He had the advantage of hindsight to review the events, and it is masterfully told. I could barely put the book down, and I would dream of it at night, finding myself in the middle of marches. It’s vivid.

Perhaps because I did care so much, the book took on a real heaviness as Dr. King’s assassination approached. This was somewhat true with Malcolm X as well (and I do have a friend who has not finished Autobiography because she can’t bear to get to that part), but more so here. I like Dr. King better on my own anyway, and Dr. Abernathy loved him so much that you share his grief.

One compensation for my constantly being behind schedule is that sometimes things will come up that tie in well that I could not foresee. For example, during my last Native American Heritage reading, I ended up seeing two plays (Ghosts of Celilo and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) that related. This time a movie came up, Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, featuring interviews with people from the Black Power movement. It was interesting and related well to much of the reading.

One benefit of reading these books together is that it affects how you think about it. First of all, we tend to associate the term “militancy” with violence now, but the SCLC considered themselves militant, as well as non-violent. For them it meant the level of organization, and the drilling (as they practiced being assaulted and being insulted and being arrested), and all of the other things that they did to prepare. Also, we think of Malcolm X as condoning violence, but it seems to be more that he did not rule it out. Now that does have an impact as you may have individuals feeling more justified in acting violently, but how much organized violence really happened? Later generations may have impressions that don’t fit the facts.

It was also interesting reading Dr. Abernathy’s explanation of why non-violence was so important, and in the context of the South, and how African-Americans were perceived, and what white fears were, it made total sense. In the urban North, dynamics were so different that the same approach would not necessarily have been best, though what would have worked is still open for debate. And it still totally relates to today.

So, that’s it for 2011. For 2012 I was feeling a desire to read the really old history of the Americas, like if I could read about Crispus Attucks (Boston Massacre), and Ford (Lewis and Clark Expedition), and Estebanico (Spanish expeditions in the early 1500s), but there isn’t really good information on them. Then I started thinking maybe I would read more about the Harlem Renaissance, and Du Bois, and see if he could redeem himself a little. I think I will be heading towards more medical history though. Likely candidates include The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Bad Blood, and King Leopold’s Ghost. We’ll see.