'Hunter Gray' hunterbadbear@hunterbear.org [marxist]
2014-10-16 23:34:09 UTC
FRIENDS
Immediately attached to this messageis my significantly revised short personal biography and a synopsis of my book,Jackson Mississippi: An American Chronicle of Struggle and Schism.This is for informational and promotionalpurposes.
I would greatly appreciate it if thiswould be sent to all interested individuals and placed on as many discussionlists as possible.
The first paragraph in thisbio/synopsis warrants some explanation.In the slightly less than three years since the bookâs reprint has beenout in its new and substantially expanded form, it has received virtually nomention in Mississippi â including the State Department of Archives and Historywhich houses my collected papers. (And I am a Life member of the MississippiHistorical Society. )Although a numberof review copies were sent to various media outlets, no Magnolia newspapers âincluding the Clarion Ledger â have noted its presence.It has been listed in a couple of friendlyblogs.And it was a recommended book inthe Jackson Movement section of the Hamer Instituteâs extensive civil rightscourse hosted by Jackson State lastsummer.Those mentions are muchappreciated.
To my knowledge, only one bookstorein the state, Square Books at Oxford, is carrying the book â and has from thebeginning.Itâs a commendablyindependent outfit â well known, I might add, even beyond the borders of thestate.
A few other books in the civil rightsgenre, and a film or two, have gotten a great deal of Magnolia exposure.
Why these singular and tellingomissions in the case of my JM?Well, Iam an independent radical and the book is a militant insiderâs book â a verydetailed account about the rise and fall of the massive Jackson Movement in thecontext of some of the most brutal repression and subversion in the entirecivil rights epoch. It pulls no punches.
Itâs drawn a substantial number offine reviews in its several editions.Alink to all of those is provided in the bio/synopsis. Here are somerepresentative reviews among many others â most from its earlier editions, andsome newer:
"Jackson, Mississippipresents a vivid insider's view of the Jackson boycott movement, thedemonstrations that led to mass arrests, the actions of courageous youngpeople, and the murder of Medgar Evers and the incredible tension of hisfuneral march. As you would expect, given that Salter was and is asociologist and a radical, it also contains penetrating analysis of the role ofeach acting group, including the national office of the NAACP, black ministers,the city government and police force, White Citizens Council, etc. And it showsthe important role played by Tougaloo, some of its students and faculty members(including Prof. Salter), and its president, A. D. Beittel."âJim Loewen(author of Lies My Teacher Told Me, Mississippi: Conflict and Change, and otherworks.)
Alene Jones[Texas Christian University] in Explorations in Sights and Sounds: "...fascinating book...excellent...written in a thorough andlogical manner...this book will be profitable to students in a variety ofprofessions...I strongly recommend that this book be read by people in generaland by blacks in particular."
PerkPerkins in Sojourners said, "Salter's closeness to the struggle andhis demythologizing impulse give the book its power and drama...paints agraphic picture of the struggle for freedom."
UMOJA: A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES -- J.S. Himes: "Jackson, Mississippi isa gold-mine of raw data..."
James W.Silver [author of Mississippi: The Closed Society]: "I was soimpressed with his book, Jackson, Mississippi: An AmericanChronicleof Struggle and Schism, that I purchased copies for my three children bornin Mississippi . . .Of course I knewabout his courageous course at Tougaloo College long before that. . .He isunquestionably a rare find who combines dedication with an exceedinglypurposeful life."
"The Civil Rights Movement was an effort tosave the American soul from a sordid history of racism. Heroes like the authorof this book risked their lives many times over, with only partial success.This book tells of one of the major struggles during this period--that inJackson, MS--and of how the movement was weakened and betrayed by liberals likeJohn and Robert Kennedy. It is a useful reminder for those who hope thatliberals will solve current problems. Then and now, a much more far-reachingand radical change is needed. Salter shows this through the history hetells--and also shows how the ideas and courage of "plain folks" holdout hope for the needed changes.
I recommend that everyone read this. Andshow it to your kids or parents!"(SamFriedman, author of Teamster Rank and File)
DavidRanney, in Monthly Review: "Salter lets the story unfold forthe reader in a distinctively low-keyed and insightful way. He lets usin on his thoughts and feelings concerning the hopeful/terrible eventsexploding around him...In many ways, Jackson, Mississippi offersus hope through its demonstration of the ever present potential of a blossomingof a movement of oppressed peoples. Nothing could be quite as dismal asthe picture Salter paints of Jackson in the fall of 1961. "Mississippi," he says, "was functioning in the purest and mostcold-blooded sense of the word as a garrison state that viewed itself not onlyas being prepared for war, but as already fighting a war." ...Salter's story suggests a path...The left today would do well to considerthis path very carefully..."
JACKSONMISSISSIPPI is available via outlets such as Amazon, some bookstores around thecountry, and its publisher, the University of Nebraska Press:
http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Jackson-Mississippi,674910.aspx
Again, Imuch appreciate your help in getting this word out to the Four Directions.
HunterBear/Hunter Gray (formerly John R. Salter, Jr.)
MY CANDID BIO AND MY SYNOPSIS OF MY BOOK, JACKSON MISSISSIPPI: AN AMERICAN CHRONICLE OF STRUGGLE AND SCHISM
Itâs not surprising that official Mississippi, its appendages, and its media spokespeople are neither fond of me or my book.But reviewers are.See
http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm
This is the new and expanded/updated edition of my "Organizer's Book" -- with my new 10,000 word introduction. A primary account in the most basic sense, it's the full and very detailed inside story of the rise and development of the massive Jackson Movement and its external relations and internal dynamics. It vividly describes the high courage of grassroots people confronting brutal and bloody repression -- including murder and more. It also covers the rich essence of many of my other activist campaigns in many parts of the United States â right to this point in history.
With a myriad of how-to organizing examples, it's also a rich manual for social justice organizing and activism. It covers, among other dimensions, launching campaigns, economic boycotts,demonstrations â those smaller and those massive,litigation political action,, media approaches, tactical and Gandhian non-violence, principled armed self-defense on behalf of oneâs self and oneâs family when in lonely circumstances.
I am an American Indian who grew up in Northern Arizona and a lifetime activist deeply committed to civil rights, Native rights, labor unionization, and civil liberties. I came to Tougaloo College, just north of Jackson, Mississippi, as a teacher in 1961. I became the advisor to the Jackson Youth Council of the NAACP and from 1962 through 1963, was the primary organizer of the Jackson Movement, working closely with Medgar W. Evers and also with SNCC and CORE.
I was chair of the Jackson Movement's Strategy Committee
My book, Jackson Mississippi, is the most detailed inside account of any major Movement of the 1960s.I wrote its basic draft in the fall of 1965, surrounded by a host of boxes containing a vast array of primary source materials.
The Jackson Movement was the largest grassroots upheaval in the history of Mississippi -- and one of the major Movements of the 1960s. It was a massive non-violent struggle which, staunchly and courageously, proceeded in the face of extremely brutal repression from all levels of Mississippi government and the white supremacists. It was during this struggle that Medgar Evers was murdered. The Jackson Movement's examples of martyrdom are many indeed.
I, myself, was beaten badly and arrested on a number of occasions -- and very severely injured and hospitalized.
In time, Iâve organized very effectively on social justice issues, often on a full time basis, all over the country. In addition to the hard-core South, there has been the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, New England, Chicago, Midwest, Upstate New York, Northern Plains, Rockies. Trained as a sociologist and with rapidly mounting field experience, Iâve taught at a number of colleges and universities -- again, all over the land. Even from academia, Iâve organized, sometimes within the respective institution, but, more frequently, out in the hinterland around burning issues.
Iâve consistently worked very successfully with grassroots people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Their common denominator is that all are people of the fewest alternatives.
I have received a number of significant awards for his social justice and organizing work.
My large social justice website is Lair of Hunterbear at www.hunterbear.org. Iâm a member of the National Writers Union.
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq / St. Francis Abenaki / St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by NaÂŽshdoÂŽiÂŽbaÂŽiÂŽ
and Ohkwari'
Check out our massive social justice website:
http://www.hunterbear.org/
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO
The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm
(Photos)
My expanded/updated "Organizer's Book,"
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI -- with a new 10,000
word introduction by me. Covers much of my
confrontational social justice organizing life to
date. Contains much how-to grassroots organizing
methodology: http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm
If youâre a militant and radical organizer: http://www.crmvet.org/comm/hunter1.htm
Attachments: Text version of this message. (5KB)
Immediately attached to this messageis my significantly revised short personal biography and a synopsis of my book,Jackson Mississippi: An American Chronicle of Struggle and Schism.This is for informational and promotionalpurposes.
I would greatly appreciate it if thiswould be sent to all interested individuals and placed on as many discussionlists as possible.
The first paragraph in thisbio/synopsis warrants some explanation.In the slightly less than three years since the bookâs reprint has beenout in its new and substantially expanded form, it has received virtually nomention in Mississippi â including the State Department of Archives and Historywhich houses my collected papers. (And I am a Life member of the MississippiHistorical Society. )Although a numberof review copies were sent to various media outlets, no Magnolia newspapers âincluding the Clarion Ledger â have noted its presence.It has been listed in a couple of friendlyblogs.And it was a recommended book inthe Jackson Movement section of the Hamer Instituteâs extensive civil rightscourse hosted by Jackson State lastsummer.Those mentions are muchappreciated.
To my knowledge, only one bookstorein the state, Square Books at Oxford, is carrying the book â and has from thebeginning.Itâs a commendablyindependent outfit â well known, I might add, even beyond the borders of thestate.
A few other books in the civil rightsgenre, and a film or two, have gotten a great deal of Magnolia exposure.
Why these singular and tellingomissions in the case of my JM?Well, Iam an independent radical and the book is a militant insiderâs book â a verydetailed account about the rise and fall of the massive Jackson Movement in thecontext of some of the most brutal repression and subversion in the entirecivil rights epoch. It pulls no punches.
Itâs drawn a substantial number offine reviews in its several editions.Alink to all of those is provided in the bio/synopsis. Here are somerepresentative reviews among many others â most from its earlier editions, andsome newer:
"Jackson, Mississippipresents a vivid insider's view of the Jackson boycott movement, thedemonstrations that led to mass arrests, the actions of courageous youngpeople, and the murder of Medgar Evers and the incredible tension of hisfuneral march. As you would expect, given that Salter was and is asociologist and a radical, it also contains penetrating analysis of the role ofeach acting group, including the national office of the NAACP, black ministers,the city government and police force, White Citizens Council, etc. And it showsthe important role played by Tougaloo, some of its students and faculty members(including Prof. Salter), and its president, A. D. Beittel."âJim Loewen(author of Lies My Teacher Told Me, Mississippi: Conflict and Change, and otherworks.)
Alene Jones[Texas Christian University] in Explorations in Sights and Sounds: "...fascinating book...excellent...written in a thorough andlogical manner...this book will be profitable to students in a variety ofprofessions...I strongly recommend that this book be read by people in generaland by blacks in particular."
PerkPerkins in Sojourners said, "Salter's closeness to the struggle andhis demythologizing impulse give the book its power and drama...paints agraphic picture of the struggle for freedom."
UMOJA: A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES -- J.S. Himes: "Jackson, Mississippi isa gold-mine of raw data..."
James W.Silver [author of Mississippi: The Closed Society]: "I was soimpressed with his book, Jackson, Mississippi: An AmericanChronicleof Struggle and Schism, that I purchased copies for my three children bornin Mississippi . . .Of course I knewabout his courageous course at Tougaloo College long before that. . .He isunquestionably a rare find who combines dedication with an exceedinglypurposeful life."
"The Civil Rights Movement was an effort tosave the American soul from a sordid history of racism. Heroes like the authorof this book risked their lives many times over, with only partial success.This book tells of one of the major struggles during this period--that inJackson, MS--and of how the movement was weakened and betrayed by liberals likeJohn and Robert Kennedy. It is a useful reminder for those who hope thatliberals will solve current problems. Then and now, a much more far-reachingand radical change is needed. Salter shows this through the history hetells--and also shows how the ideas and courage of "plain folks" holdout hope for the needed changes.
I recommend that everyone read this. Andshow it to your kids or parents!"(SamFriedman, author of Teamster Rank and File)
DavidRanney, in Monthly Review: "Salter lets the story unfold forthe reader in a distinctively low-keyed and insightful way. He lets usin on his thoughts and feelings concerning the hopeful/terrible eventsexploding around him...In many ways, Jackson, Mississippi offersus hope through its demonstration of the ever present potential of a blossomingof a movement of oppressed peoples. Nothing could be quite as dismal asthe picture Salter paints of Jackson in the fall of 1961. "Mississippi," he says, "was functioning in the purest and mostcold-blooded sense of the word as a garrison state that viewed itself not onlyas being prepared for war, but as already fighting a war." ...Salter's story suggests a path...The left today would do well to considerthis path very carefully..."
JACKSONMISSISSIPPI is available via outlets such as Amazon, some bookstores around thecountry, and its publisher, the University of Nebraska Press:
http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Jackson-Mississippi,674910.aspx
Again, Imuch appreciate your help in getting this word out to the Four Directions.
HunterBear/Hunter Gray (formerly John R. Salter, Jr.)
MY CANDID BIO AND MY SYNOPSIS OF MY BOOK, JACKSON MISSISSIPPI: AN AMERICAN CHRONICLE OF STRUGGLE AND SCHISM
Itâs not surprising that official Mississippi, its appendages, and its media spokespeople are neither fond of me or my book.But reviewers are.See
http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm
This is the new and expanded/updated edition of my "Organizer's Book" -- with my new 10,000 word introduction. A primary account in the most basic sense, it's the full and very detailed inside story of the rise and development of the massive Jackson Movement and its external relations and internal dynamics. It vividly describes the high courage of grassroots people confronting brutal and bloody repression -- including murder and more. It also covers the rich essence of many of my other activist campaigns in many parts of the United States â right to this point in history.
With a myriad of how-to organizing examples, it's also a rich manual for social justice organizing and activism. It covers, among other dimensions, launching campaigns, economic boycotts,demonstrations â those smaller and those massive,litigation political action,, media approaches, tactical and Gandhian non-violence, principled armed self-defense on behalf of oneâs self and oneâs family when in lonely circumstances.
I am an American Indian who grew up in Northern Arizona and a lifetime activist deeply committed to civil rights, Native rights, labor unionization, and civil liberties. I came to Tougaloo College, just north of Jackson, Mississippi, as a teacher in 1961. I became the advisor to the Jackson Youth Council of the NAACP and from 1962 through 1963, was the primary organizer of the Jackson Movement, working closely with Medgar W. Evers and also with SNCC and CORE.
I was chair of the Jackson Movement's Strategy Committee
My book, Jackson Mississippi, is the most detailed inside account of any major Movement of the 1960s.I wrote its basic draft in the fall of 1965, surrounded by a host of boxes containing a vast array of primary source materials.
The Jackson Movement was the largest grassroots upheaval in the history of Mississippi -- and one of the major Movements of the 1960s. It was a massive non-violent struggle which, staunchly and courageously, proceeded in the face of extremely brutal repression from all levels of Mississippi government and the white supremacists. It was during this struggle that Medgar Evers was murdered. The Jackson Movement's examples of martyrdom are many indeed.
I, myself, was beaten badly and arrested on a number of occasions -- and very severely injured and hospitalized.
In time, Iâve organized very effectively on social justice issues, often on a full time basis, all over the country. In addition to the hard-core South, there has been the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, New England, Chicago, Midwest, Upstate New York, Northern Plains, Rockies. Trained as a sociologist and with rapidly mounting field experience, Iâve taught at a number of colleges and universities -- again, all over the land. Even from academia, Iâve organized, sometimes within the respective institution, but, more frequently, out in the hinterland around burning issues.
Iâve consistently worked very successfully with grassroots people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Their common denominator is that all are people of the fewest alternatives.
I have received a number of significant awards for his social justice and organizing work.
My large social justice website is Lair of Hunterbear at www.hunterbear.org. Iâm a member of the National Writers Union.
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq / St. Francis Abenaki / St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by NaÂŽshdoÂŽiÂŽbaÂŽiÂŽ
and Ohkwari'
Check out our massive social justice website:
http://www.hunterbear.org/
Member, National Writers Union AFL-CIO
The Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm
(Photos)
My expanded/updated "Organizer's Book,"
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI -- with a new 10,000
word introduction by me. Covers much of my
confrontational social justice organizing life to
date. Contains much how-to grassroots organizing
methodology: http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm
If youâre a militant and radical organizer: http://www.crmvet.org/comm/hunter1.htm
Attachments: Text version of this message. (5KB)