Last night I finished reading Brother to a Dragonfly, a decades old memoir by Will Campbell who grew up in rural Mississippi at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement. I then had a hard time sleeping as I was thinking about my reactions.
Clearly, there are many voices from that period, but few are as powerful and few will stand the test of time with such strength.
The book serves to remind us of the progress we are eradicating as we become ever more openly divided; as we push ALL issues to the right or to the left without allowing for middle ground or independent thought. Campbell’s willingness to look at every side of an issue (racism) in order to gain understanding is a reminder that this is the only way to make progress. I greatly appreciate that he continuously demonstrated a willingness to rethink his approach as he stumbled upon new awareness.
I also greatly appreciate that he was willing to acknowledge why many resented and continue to resent the well-healed liberals from expensive universities who ‘create answers.’ He acknowledges both their importance in helping to bring about Civil Rights and their simultaneous contribution to the problems. This seems to be part of the difficulty we are having now. We acknowledge the problems and put our thoughts to finding solutions. However, enforcing some of these solutions that based on theory or hypotheticals (regardless of whether or not one agrees with them) creates resentment. And resentment will push people to do exactly the opposite as a means to express anger at being theorized/dehumanized. And yet, as Campbell carefully points out, trying to address this quandary with students, academics or politicians more often than not will lead to chaos as by doing so their sense of ‘right’ and/or justice is challenged. And so the vicious circle continues. (David Brooks also writes about this in a recent NYTimes article The Strange Failure of the Educated Elite https://nyti.ms/2xmiFQB).
I am reminded that we may not always be right and that arrogance does not help. None of us can fully experience the lives of others. We need to have conversations – real conversations where one listens and considers what the other person is saying, where thoughts are presented calmly and ideas are not immediately dismissed. We need to listen.
There are many, many more insights in Campbell’s book. He is primarily concerned with racism – a prevailing problem with seemingly no answer. Read this book and try to at least understand how to approach your own thinking. Read this book because it reflects a past that is still the present and wisdom that has been gained.
And lastly, Campbell framed his memoir in the story of his brother’s addiction. This was not only an act of love but pure poetry. A tragedy for both brothers, the story of his brother’s fight serves as a metaphor for the poison in racism and intolerance. Beautiful writing.
The book is wonderful and requires a lot of thought. I highly recommend it.