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A review by readandchill23
Black Radical: The Life and Times of William Monroe Trotter by Kerri K. Greenidge
5.0
Timely. For so many reasons. Happy I picked this up during Black History Month and finished it on Super Tuesday 2020. It gives a broader perspective on how I should vote, why my vote matters and how I, as a black woman, am viewed by the major political parties and activists in different socio-economic backgrounds.
One question led me to this book: "Who were the leaders that took a more direct stance on race relations and demanded equality and equity during the Reconstruction era?" W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington were the only names whispered in a classroom setting and not much was really taught about them other than their work to show white folks at the time that black are capable of intelligence beyond white assumptions/admissions. Honestly (and unfortunately), they were a bit more class-focused and spoke up more for those on their socio-economic level (or had the means to achieve it.) Furthermore, they were pretty soft in pushing anti-lynching legislation and stopping the acceptance of segregation.
Monroe Trotter was the fiery answer to what they lacked, even with his unsteady support from politicians, decision makers and other upper class black folks. He was radical because he was a man who constantly fought for the black working class in which he was not a part of for the majority of his life (not until the tragic tail end of it). However, what he wanted shouldn't have been conveyed as radical at all. He fought long and hard for all black folks to be seen as tax-paying, hard-working citizens of the U.S. who should be afforded the same chances as their white counterparts. He wanted white people to acknowledge the pure and raw humanity of black folks in order to eliminate the violence against them. Sound familiar?
This book is not only detailed in how white-appeasing the NAACP was during its inception, but also painted a picture of how free and upper middle class black folks lived on the east coast after the Civil War well into the Reconstruction era and through the turn of the century. The political powers that be haven't changed ONE BIT. Both Republicans and Democrats then and now only care about two things: votes (that leads to power to uphold white supremacy) and money (the capitalistic foundation of sustaining white supremacy). Accounts in this book hold evidence of how the politicians at the time ignored calls against and solutions to the growing Jim Crow laws, the increase of lynching (especially against black veterans), violence against black folks, and voter suppression in the same way they ignore police brutality, mass incarceration, wage gaps and voter suppression today.
I don't have the words to express how I felt while reading this. I wish I could articulate my sorrow and disappointment while rooting for Monroe Trotter and the possibility of real change for evolving black communities in the east and struggling black communities in the South and Midwest. His fight is still a fight today. That's a hard pill to swallow.
Be warned: this book is class. It is dense; loaded with information. It reads like a history book. Filled with names upon names and committees upon committees trying to bring about change and opportunities for black folks in a society that saw (and still see) us as subhuman. No one can ever say black folks didn't try. No one can ever say black folks are currently not trying. But, maybe after reading this book and absorbing the history, black, brown and white folks alike can remember black folks like Monroe Trotter. Maybe they can admit that, just like their ancestors before them, they're just not paying attention.
One question led me to this book: "Who were the leaders that took a more direct stance on race relations and demanded equality and equity during the Reconstruction era?" W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington were the only names whispered in a classroom setting and not much was really taught about them other than their work to show white folks at the time that black are capable of intelligence beyond white assumptions/admissions. Honestly (and unfortunately), they were a bit more class-focused and spoke up more for those on their socio-economic level (or had the means to achieve it.) Furthermore, they were pretty soft in pushing anti-lynching legislation and stopping the acceptance of segregation.
Monroe Trotter was the fiery answer to what they lacked, even with his unsteady support from politicians, decision makers and other upper class black folks. He was radical because he was a man who constantly fought for the black working class in which he was not a part of for the majority of his life (not until the tragic tail end of it). However, what he wanted shouldn't have been conveyed as radical at all. He fought long and hard for all black folks to be seen as tax-paying, hard-working citizens of the U.S. who should be afforded the same chances as their white counterparts. He wanted white people to acknowledge the pure and raw humanity of black folks in order to eliminate the violence against them. Sound familiar?
This book is not only detailed in how white-appeasing the NAACP was during its inception, but also painted a picture of how free and upper middle class black folks lived on the east coast after the Civil War well into the Reconstruction era and through the turn of the century. The political powers that be haven't changed ONE BIT. Both Republicans and Democrats then and now only care about two things: votes (that leads to power to uphold white supremacy) and money (the capitalistic foundation of sustaining white supremacy). Accounts in this book hold evidence of how the politicians at the time ignored calls against and solutions to the growing Jim Crow laws, the increase of lynching (especially against black veterans), violence against black folks, and voter suppression in the same way they ignore police brutality, mass incarceration, wage gaps and voter suppression today.
I don't have the words to express how I felt while reading this. I wish I could articulate my sorrow and disappointment while rooting for Monroe Trotter and the possibility of real change for evolving black communities in the east and struggling black communities in the South and Midwest. His fight is still a fight today. That's a hard pill to swallow.
Be warned: this book is class. It is dense; loaded with information. It reads like a history book. Filled with names upon names and committees upon committees trying to bring about change and opportunities for black folks in a society that saw (and still see) us as subhuman. No one can ever say black folks didn't try. No one can ever say black folks are currently not trying. But, maybe after reading this book and absorbing the history, black, brown and white folks alike can remember black folks like Monroe Trotter. Maybe they can admit that, just like their ancestors before them, they're just not paying attention.