Fighting for Democracy: Black Veterans and the Struggle Against White Supremacy in the Postwar South

Fighting for Democracy: Black Veterans and the Struggle Against White Supremacy in the Postwar South by Christopher S. Parker

This is an academic work that originally started out as the author's doctoral thesis. It feels like half the text consists of references and commentary on the sources. The author uses interviews and survey data to explore how experience in the military impacted black servicemen in the fight for civil rights.

Blacks had served in the military from the time of the revolutionary war. The book provides narratives of those that had served on all wars. However, the research focus was on those that served during World War II and Korea. The military still enforced a form of Jim Crow, with separate black units. However, this become somewhat untenable. There became some relaxing of Jim Crow out of resource constraints. During Korea, the military was legally integrated, but still had some remnants of Jim Crow in practice.

Veterans were exposed to different race relations in the military. When overseas, the locals typically treated them as Americans, without distinguishing their race. They also had more balanced relationships with the other GIs. (Though still with extensive Jim Crow.) They developed strong black republicanism and respect for their country. They saw that they were capable and treated better and expected that when they came home. They were disappointed when they didn't see it. They were willing to speak out physically.

As a whole, black veterans were more conservative than the black populace, but much. more liberal than whites. They were more willing to be physically involved in the quest for racial integration. While they may have similar desires and views of the general populace, they were more willing to take risks to see it was carried out.

All the King's Men

All the King's Men provides a historical fiction account of the life of Louisiana governor Huey Long. But it doesn't. The character was very much inspired by Long. However, the novel takes great pains to not tie the events to any real event. The location is southern and could very well be Louisiana, but it is never called out. The character goes to "state" college. They go to the capital. It could theoretically take place anywhere.

The book is narrated by Jack Burden, a journalist and historian who worked as an assistant to "boss" Willie Stark. The narrative wanders back and forth in time, covering Stark's life and rise to power along with the important events in the life of Burden.

Stark came from a small town. He was an idealist who never intended to be involved in politics. He was upset about the shady dealings in the city. We was spoke out against the corrupt backroom deals that allowed a school to be constructed by a crony friend of the political leaders. While it didn't have any immediate impact, people remembered what he said when the shoddy construction failed, leading to the deaths of students. This helped him rise in power. The state powers that be used him as a pawn to divide the ticket for governor. He bumbled along through his campaign until he found out what was up. Then he unleashed passion to destroy those that were using him and rose to power.

Burden was from another small town and had been working for a newspaper when he got to know Stark. He had studied history in the state university and had been in love with the daughter of the previous governor, but things never worked out. 

Stark was a populist that later let his idealism morph into a crony populism. He did not favor corruption in deals, but worked hard to make sure nobody got in the way of what he wanted. He would calmly intimidate those that would dare cross him. Then he would dig up appropriate dirt to hold against them. Burden's history skills would be used to help find this dirt. Stark saw everyone as having both good and evil. Good could only arise out of evil. 

Many people died (often by their own hand) after learning that their dirty laundry was exposed. Burden played a key part in this (even realizing after the fact that he had contributed to his father's suicide.) Burden also details his historical research into some records he found of a family that was loaded with drama of an affair, murder and cover up.

The novel does not easily demarcate the "good" and the "bad".  Absolute power appeared to corrupt "boss" Stark. He was not afraid to use this power to hurt people in order to achieve what he saw as a long term good. He was not alone. Even the most impeachable characters had times when they fell to the "bad" side. Living through a complex world is a challenge. If we "cancel" everyone that has done anything bad, we would be left with just those that can really hide it well.

The Memory of Old Jack

Old Jack had worked as a farmer in Kentucky. His life was coming to an end and he provided many memories. There were a number of events where people being "too true" to their character left them not as happy. A farmer had hired a farm hand to help him. However, he realized that the farm hand would never have the ownership needed. He wanted them to be equals, but they couldn't. This also made his wife distraught. She had hoped he would move on to the genteel class, and leave the working to the hired help. Alas, this was not to be. There were also tales of how there was love at first site as well as alienation and separation (Without divorce.) I sometimes had trouble determining whether there were new characters or just continuation of existing ones. Perhaps this was because the story just did not demand a lot of my attention.

Light in August

Light in August tells the story of various people in the small town south. A preacher is disgraced by the bad behavior of his wife. However, he refuses to stop preaching until he is locked out of the church. He finally resigns, but refuses to leave town, even after he is attacked. Gradually, he is forgotten. Too guys make whiskey. They leave town after an incident where their land lord is murdered and house burned down. Later one of them comes back to try to collect a reward for the death of the lady. He claims his friend was having an affair. His credibility seems to go way down - until he brings out the trump card of his friend having negro blood. Now the town trusts him. (Were southerners really that racist?) He also had come to town to escape the pregnancy of a girl. Alas, she has followed him, and now has another guy chasing after her. The various stories are woven together with a timeline that flows back and forth to gradually provide backstory and action. The background helps explain the "scars" of the characters and why they behave the way they do. (Even though the civil war ended a few generations earlier, racism is still going strong.) While the primary characters get most of the print, there are other characters, such as a "wanna be military" gun nut. The storytelling also seamlessly switches between different styles, helping things to move along quickly. The novel was much better than I anticipated.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching God centers on the life of Janie Crawford, an African American woman who wanted to live her own life. She was raised by her grandmother Grandma, whoworked as a nanny for a white family. Janie did not realize that she herself has not white until she couldn't find herself in a picture of the kids playing. Even so, she did have some "white" features which would play a roll in her later life. Grandma had grown up as a slave and lived through the civil war. She longed to have the ability to sit on the porch and do nothing and desired that of her granddaughter. She wanted to make sure Janie was properly married off soon after she "Became a woman". Janie was soon married to her first husband. She had hoped to love him, but their relationship never grew. He wanted her to be able to work hard and help on the farm. One day while he was out another man appeared that showed ambition and wanted to treat her "right". She eventually left with him and went to a "negro city". This man would go to become the mayor and they would run the store and live the life of luxury. However, Janie missed that chance to talk with common folk. After her husband died, she met a younger man named "Teacake". They would eventually get married and spend some time living in the Everglades working as harvesting crew. This marriage was much more down to earth. They were respected working class and made friends with many people. During this phase, she encounters a "white black" lady who respects Janie because of her paler skin color and "whiter" features and talks down to the more crude darker skinned blacks like Teacake. Janie doesn't buy into this argument. One day a hurricane comes through. They ignore the warning signs, and then make a mad dash to flea the rising lake at the last minute. In the process a dog bites Teacake. This leads to him coming down with Rabies and going mad. He raises a gun to shoot Janie. She has another gun and ends up killing him. She is acquitted in the trial, with many of the black audience muttering that a black woman or a white can get away with anything.
The novel focuses on life in the black community in the post civil-war era. There is still the challenge of rising up from out of slavery. Many people were like grandma and just wanted the chance to finally sit around and be lazy on their own. There were the few with the drive to make something of their life. However, they had to fight the trap of becoming something like what they detested earlier. Janie's second husband was resented for his living the life "above" that of his fellow men. However, he did gain their sympathy when he bought an old mule and freed him to live out his last days on his own. With Teacake, Janie was able to live a life of independence. They were striving for their own goals, not necessarily to live like white men. They, did not expect anything to be given to them. They were also quick to make friends with other immigrants. While they were mostly lived in a "black" world, events would make them realize they were not truly equal. After the hurricane, Teacake was pressed into service to bury the dead. Only the whites would get proper coffins. When they were ill, they would seek a white doctor as the "best" option. Once accused of murder, Janie appeared before a white jury. Life was "separate but equal" except when it wasn't. Native Americans also make a brief appearance, only to be talked down by the population, but later proven to be right. This book does a great job in showing how people lived their lives as complicated racial relationships were evolving in the Untied States.

As I Lay Dying

I've realized that I just don't like Faulkner. I want to like his work because of the style in which in writes. However, I just don't like the content. The characters are mostly dysfunctional southerners who live a type of life I can't relate to. The language of some can be even more annoying. I just can't get arouse much sympathy or even hatred for the characters - just annoyance.

In this novel, the characters plan on the fulfil the wishes of burying mother in a nearby town. Each chapter is told from the view of a different character, and each seems to have their own ulterior motives. This leads to all sorts of bizarre and comedic things happening as they try to get mother to her proper burial spot.

The Sound and the Fury

The first time I read The Sound and The Fury, my reaction was "huh?" It seemed to be nothing more than some random scenes in the life of a dysfunctional southern family. Most seemed to be in Mississippi, but some Boston scenes are popped in the middle. Then it just ended. At first I thought it ended with a murder and escape, but after going over the end again, it was just a fast moving horse. So, again, huh?

Then I started again and it seemed to make sense. There really isn't much plot. Instead we have a number of different character studies told in styles representative of their current mental states. Most is told in a first person stream-of-conscious, though the end goes in a more traditional 3rd person narrative.

The first section is told from the perspective of a "lunatic" who is living in the now, but seamlessly jumps to events in his past, without really observing that they are anything other than current. This narrative weird narrative style works pretty well. However, the quality of the narrative seemed to be a little too strong for somebody with extremely limited mental capacities. At times he seems to be a fully normal adult, but then he drops down to a random event of the mentally challenged.

The second section breaks out of Mississippi and follows the brother at school in Boston. His mind is rapidly streaming everywhere, dredging up past problems with his family as well as issues with the world in general. At times, he has straightforward recollections of his family or live discussions with fisherman. At other times, his mind goes in to hyperdrive, rapidly linking thoughts and ideas and going in every which direction without any semblance of narrative. While this section can't be quickly read like a "plotty" narrative, the stream-of-conscious is done exceptionally well.

The last sections are more straightforward, and focus more on the money-centered Jason. After going through the wild thoughts of the others, this is rather pedestrian exploration of the dysfunctional family. However, storytelling is not Faulkner's strong point. The use of different writing styles to bring out characters is where he succeeds. His work reminds me of Jasper Fforde. It is great reading, but there is no engaging story that keeps you going.