Where the Shoe Pinches
Rochester, NY: Printed for Thomas H. Massey, 1951. 9” x 6”. Flexible card wrappers; internally stapled. Pp. [3], 60, [1]. Very good: several ink scribbles to verso of last leaf and a subtle few to two other spots; former owner's name inked to title page; a bit of soiling to one (blank) page; lightly toned. Inscribed by the author on title page. This is a rare and creative work showcasing Black perspectives on race and racism in everyday life. It was written by an African American, Thomas H. Massey.
All we were able to learn about Massey came from the introduction to this book, written by Marian Perry Yankauer. Yankauer was identified as a lawyer, former Assistant Special Counsel to the NAACP and Executive Secretary of the group's Rochester branch. She shared that Massey “was born in the 'separate but equal' environment of North Carolina” and educated at Morehouse College in Atlanta and “the University of Rochester's graduate school.” A “onetime Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sprint champion” and disabled veteran of World War II, the author had “lived and worked among bean pickers, tobacco farmhands, domestic service workers, white collar workers and intellectuals.” Yankauer's text also explained the book's goal, to provide
“entertainment, as well as an excellent introduction for a course in race relations . . . Massey confronts the reader with a seemingly casual treatment, by humor and allusion . . . a chance to listen in on carefully chosen conversations in a ghetto . . . These are facts, done up most attractively, and easily digested, but they are as authentic as any social study studded with statistics.”
The conversations shared in this book cover a myriad of topics relevant to African Americans at the time, not limited to “a new era for Negroes in Georgia” who were first hired into “white collar” jobs for the United States government in Atlanta. The book's Black characters discussed treatment by white co-workers, bus drivers, shopkeepers and strangers, as well as the African American military experience. The talks concerned racial stereotypes, education, religion and politics, with one conversation ribbing the appearance of Black celebrities in Congress:
“Bobby: 'Well, the way I see it: Robeson was a great All-American in football and he is a top-flight vocal artist; Jackie is a great all-around athletic ace, but these facts don't make them authorities on the attitudes of some 15,000,000 people.'
Larry: 'Ya got something there, dude. I never heard of that committee calling in Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth or Red Grange or Jim Thorpe to spiel on politics or patriotism.'”
The book also held a list of “The Big Ten” books that the author sourced or recommended, including Unpopular Essays by Bertrand Russell and Liberty Today by C.E.M. Joad.
This copy was inscribed by Massey, “To Wendell M. Wilson with best wishes.” A rare and personalized expressive foray into race relations by an African American author. OCLC shows five holdings. Very good. Item #8050
Price: $675.00