Comparison of Radio Free Dixie by Tim Tyson and Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody - Book Report/Review Example

Client’s Comparison of Radio Free Dixie by Tim Tyson and Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody The books RadioFree Dixie by Tim Tyson and Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody relate the evolution of leadership as it begins through experiences in childhood and progresses into the framework of being an adult. Robert F. Williams led the Black Power movement through intelligent rhetoric that convinced African Americans to fight for their rights. Anne Moody participated in civil disobedience which has been recorded in history for its impact on the cause of social equality. Through books that outline their beginnings and the way in which their belief systems evolved, the lives of Robert F. Williams and Anne Moody reveal the nature of life in the 20th century in the United States as the fight for civil rights was undertaken. The book Radio Free Dixie is about the civil rights movement as seen through the life of Robert F. Williams who is often considered the progenitor of the Black Power movement. Born in 1925, Williams was drafted into the army during World War II and was part of the Marine Corps during the mid-1950s. The introduction reads that “This is the story of one of the most influential African American radicals of a generation of Jim Crow, created a new black sense of self, and forever altered the arc of American history” (Tyson 3). The influence that Williams brought to the issue of racial equality was filled with anger tempered by reason and passion tempered by purpose. The book relates the story of his life as much as it relates the philosophies through which he lived it. The first chapter moves through the framework of experience of his childhood, leading to the second which outlines how he came to build the philosophies through which he would lead in the civil rights movement. His resolve, simmering and rising to a boil during his experiences in the military, emerged as an aggressive force to promote the cause of equality. The story continues forward as the cause for equal rights and the actions taken towards that goal are outlined from the end of World War into the 1960s. After World War II, the desire to end white supremacy was thick in the philosophical culture that was developing. The title of the book comes from a radio program that Williams broadcast from Cuba during his exile running from falsified charges that he was involved in kidnapping a white family. The radio program furthered his support of the cause as it broadcast African American music and his recitations of beliefs about the invalidity of the Vietnam War, white supremacy, and the cause of equal rights and respect. Throughout the description of the events of his life is the taste, scent, and feel of how the experience of being African American during his lifetime left such a strong mark on the souls of men and women who suffered under unfair treatment both socially and legally. Through Williams’ voice comes the story that is rich in history and in the telling of social injustice in the United States. The story of Williams’ life story begins with a fascinating comparison of an idyllic small town life that could have easily been plucked from a 1950s sitcom. In contrast, the world that existed was dark and violent for African American citizens. The history of the area included a deep attachment to slavery, the “historical knife-edge of slavery, the violent, soul murdering institution” which still dominated the cultural psychology of the region where Williams had grown up (Tyson 11). Williams supported the idea that violent action must be met by a defense of violence. As Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for peaceful dissent, Williams argued that the violence that was being perpetrated against African American in obscene and horrific methods should be equaled in response to defend those who were being victimized. Williams stated that “Negros must be willing to defend themselves, their women, and their children” he asserted “Nowhere in the annals of history does the record show a people delivered by bondage by patience” (Tyson 215) Williams had an experience with violence when he was young that likely set the course of his life and his belief systems. The seminal moment came to Williams when he was just a child and witnessed a white policemen, the father of Senator Jesse Helms, drag an African American woman through the street by her ankle, leaving her flesh torn and her heart humiliated as white observers laughed and African American men shrank from fear of being noticed and also targeted for abuse (Tyson 1). He saw the violence that was done against his culture as corrupt and immoral, the anger that came from watching this event as his people were forced to shrink in fear likely inspiring the burning desire for change in a world that was so inequitable. This event likely changed the way in which he saw the world, a course for resistance to such behaviors building from that event. Just like Williams, Anne Moody had a seminal moment that inspired her to believe in the cause of racial equality as she became politically active in the movement. In her book Coming of Age in Mississippi she relates the story of life through different periods which were distinctive in creating a philosophy and focus to her activism. Her moment came when she was a young teen. She gained knowledge of the death of a boy visiting from Chicago who was hung, murdered for the crime of whistling at a white woman. Her realization of the extent to the injustices that were being committed becomes a part of a life long struggle in which she is integrally involved in elements of the protests that are created in order to promote the cause of equality. Although her methods are focused on those of civil disobedience and a part of those espoused by Martin Luther King Jr., the sentiments that she expresses are eerily similar to those of Williams, her perspective on the world changed because of her experience with trying to understand violence. Moody was a part of some of the most famous and terrifying protests of the 1960s. She was a member of a sit in protest in a Woolworth’s diner in which police officials stayed outside the eatery while white members of a mob beat them, abused them, and covered them with condiments and pie. They were assaulted for sitting in a diner, asking politely to be served (Moody 286). As the march on Washington D. C. commenced at the end of her story in this book, she was sitting on a bus on the way to this historic event listening to the songs of her fellow protesters as they repeated the words ‘We shall overcome’. The book ends with her questioning whether or not this would actually occur (Moody 424). Moody watched the effects of her actions on the world and still was unsure if racism would come to an end. Violence was a part of the experiences of both activists, however, leading them to act against that kind of treatment under the influence of inequality. Both were very brave as they faced down mobs and aggressors that could have very easily left them killed. Williams fought aggression with aggression, but more so with words as he spoke through both his radio program, with political leaders, and to crowds of listeners who took in his views and spread them throughout the nation in order to promote positive change. Anne Moody participated in the movement by representing its injustices through protest events that made history. Her presence in that Woolworth diner provided context for the ridiculous social and legal rules that denied African Americans equal presence within society. Through her actions and her refusal to be violent, the voice of her cause was loud with a powerful impact. Williams came from what could be termed a more affluent family within his African American community as his father worked for a railroad which gave them some prestige within their community. Although his pay was low and he did the work for white men who were being paid for the actual job title, his father had the advantage being in the highest possible position he could attain as an African American. Therefore, his economic class was low in the overall social class system, but his community position was high which seemed to leave his son, Robert, with an understanding of how to proactively affect his community (Tyson 19). His perspective on the world was likely that he had the ability, the responsibility, and the power to create change because he saw in his father how to achieve goals and elevate his status. Similarly, although more poorly, Anne Moody’s family lived in a house on “Mr. Carter’s plantation” with other African Americans who worked as farmers, but had the distinction of living in a house that was up near the main house in which Mr. Carter lived (Moody 1). The sense of being a little better off than the others who were in the impoverished community might have contributed to the need to work towards a better life for their social group. Although Anne grew up with poverty after that time, her formative thoughts may have been influenced by her initial belief system about their status, giving her the same kind of belief in proactive change that Williams embraced. She had a more acute knowledge of poverty, however, as her father left her family and her mother had to struggle to provide for Anne and her siblings. Although they were opposing genders, their experiences with the impact of white fear about African Americans as it manifested in violence and hatred is very similar. Gender was relevant to their situations as they were afforded different opportunities after they left childhood with Moody going to college and Williams going to war. Moody had gatekeepers which led her to an understanding of a world view, first through her homeroom teacher in high school who helped her come to an understanding of the murder of the boy (Moody 134). In college she began to experience course work and college campus activism that expanded her understanding of political and social relationships. Gender was relevant to the situation for Williams in that he was provoked into stern defense of African American women who were victimized by white men. His first introduction was through watching the sheriff pull a woman through the streets, but later in his teens he formed a group called X-32 which had the purpose of seeking out white men who were prowling the street with the intention of sexually victimizing African American women. This group would attack the white men, driving them off with bricks and stones, all the while wearing white hoods to conceal their identities (Tyson 20). Moody brought to light that the sexual predatory behavior was almost exclusively white men against African American women. African American men never had sexual access to white women to her knowledge (139). Even this disparity affected the way in which the world is viewed seeing victimization as sexually oriented as well as racially relevant. This motivated both to seek freedom from these oppressions. Both Robert F. Williams and Anne Moody contributed to the civil rights movement through powerful action and response to a world that was behaving without socially realistic frameworks. Both rose from an oppressed socio-economic state, to a place from which to build a political platform with pro-active response to the unfairness of their environment. Violent events for both Williams with the woman being dragged through the street and for Moody the death of a young boy for an irrelevant reason, incited belief and determination for change. The gender differences allowed for differing perspectives on racial relations as they related to gender, but both saw that African American women were specifically abused by white men. Although they were not the only witnesses to these events, what they incited in each of these leaders was a voice whose message came to be heard throughout a nation in trouble and in turmoil. Works Cited Moody, Anne. Coming of Age in Mississippi. New York: Laurel, 1968. Print. Tyson, Timothy B. Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. Print. Read More