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Books by Sterling Brown
Southern Road /
The Negro Caravan /
The Collected Poems of Sterling Brown /
The Negro in American Fiction; Negro Poetry and Drama
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Last Ride of Wild Bill and Eleven Narrative Poems
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Books about Sterling Brown
Joanne,Gabbin.
Sterling A. Brown: Building the Black Aesthetic Tradition (1994)
John Edgar Tidwell,
Sterling A. Brown's A Negro Looks at the South (2007)
Charles Rowell.
Callaloo's Sterling A. Brown: Special Issue (1998)
Mark A. Sanders.
Afro-Modernist Aesthetics & the Poetry of Sterling Brown
(1999)
Mark A. Sanders.
A Son's Return: Selected Essays of Sterling Brown (1996)
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I knew nothing of Maria Syphax (1803-1886) of
Arlington, Virginia, nor anything of her story or the stories
that politicians or literary theorists, or historians may have
made of her life. I stumbled onto pieces of her story
about seven years ago in the unprocessed papers of Sterling
Brown at Howard University. I copied ten to fifteen documents
that tied together Sterling Brown's literary relationship to the
story of Maria Syphax and Wisconsin Congressman Frank B. Keefe's
accusation of a communist plot directing activities in the
Federal Writer's Project.
Maria Syphax was the colored
great-granddaughter of Martha Washington, Sterling Brown wrote
rather matter-of-factly as if the facts of the assertion were
self-evident.
An
Archival Search for Sterling Brown
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled. That the title to a piece of land being part of the
Arlington estate, in the county of Alexandria, in the State of
Virginia, upon which Maria Syphax has resided since about
the year eighteen hundred and twenty-six, bounded and described
as follows, to wit: An
Act for the Relief of Maria Syphax
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Charles Syphax [1791-1869], the only
son of William, was a slave and he belonged to George Washington
Parke Custis [1781-1857], who owned Arlington, Virginia, and its
environs. When about ten years of age [1801] he accompanied
George Washington Parke Custis to Arlington, where he grew up
with Custus' daughter Mary, who later married Genereal R.E. Lee.
Syphax became enamored of one Maria Carter [1803-1886]
while working as one of the "White House" servants
whose duties were confined to the serving of meals in the
Arlington Mansion, and they were married at Arlington by an
Episcopal minister, about 1821. By this marriage Elinor was born
1823, and William 1825.
William
Syphax A Pioneer
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The young negro [William Syphax] found in the
archives at Alexandria the paper which Col. Custis had signed
giving his mother her freedom and that of "her daughter
Bertha, six years old, and one male infant." An
octogenarian Quaker affirmed that the male child was the young
negro and he received his credentials.
But the most interesting fact in the family
history is that this old lady, who by act of Congress, is to be
allowed to end her days on her own bit of earth, was doubly
descended from the Custises. Her mother was Martha Washington's
maid. The family of Robert E. Lee inherited the respect for the
blood of the former slave woman, and they confirmed the legacy
of Col. Custis by saying that the bit of land was hers, as
though there was no deed to show in fact.
Colonel
Custis Daughter
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Prof. Charles S. Syphax and Mrs. Syphax, 315 T. St., City. They have summer
home on tract given by W.P.A. Custis to Maria Syphax. Original
tract, approximately 17 1/2 acres. They claim that the Lee
family have always been friendly toward the Syphax relatives.
Prof. Syphax remembers his grandmother, Maria S[yphax], but does
not recall having heard her mention her father, G.W.P.C. [George
Washington Parke Custis] He has heard his father (her son)
mention frequently the relationship. Prof. S[yphax] was at Hoard
for 46 years -- retired two years ago. Mrs. S[yphax] was the
third woman to graduate from Howard, and later was instructor
there.
Syphax and Custis Case
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New hot water for the W.P.A.'s Federal writers' project was being stored up on Capitol
Hill today because of what that agency views as an
"incidental reference" in its guidebook of Washington to
George Washington Parke Custis.
The reference, apparently unnoticed outside the
project until recently, was to the effect that the stepgrandson of
George Washington--who later became his adopted son--and
father-in-law of Gen. Robert E. Lee, was the father of Maria
Syphax, a Negro.
First to blast this assertion as "a
libel" and "an attempt to stimulate a feeling of class
hatred" was Representative Keefe (Republican, Wisconsin),
who, after conducting his own investigation, took the issue to the
floor of the House yesterday.
Today his speech in the Congressional Record
caused a rumbling on the Senate side to supplement the fighting
going on there over the W.P.A.'s supplemental appropriation.
Several Senators threatened to take the matter to the Senate floor
before the debate is ended.
Tucked away in the middle of a chapter
captioned "the Negro in Washington," and telling of the
disposition of a large body of freed slaves, the guidebook
relates:
WPA
Guidebook Arouses Fuss
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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Weep Not, Child
By
Ngugi wa Thiong'o
This is
a powerful, moving story that details the
effects of the infamous Mau Mau war, the
African nationalist revolt against colonial
oppression in Kenya, on the lives of
ordinary men and women, and on one family in
particular. Two brothers, Njoroge and Kamau,
stand on a rubbish heap and look into their
futures. Njoroge is excited; his family has
decided that he will attend school, while
Kamau will train to be a carpenter. Together
they will serve their country—the
teacher and the craftsman. But this is Kenya
and the times are against them. In the
forests, the Mau Mau is waging war against
the white government, and the two brothers
and their family need to decide where their
loyalties lie. For the practical Kamau the
choice is simple, but for Njoroge the
scholar, the dream of progress through
learning is a hard one to give up.—Penguin
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
|
|
* *
* * *
|
|
Weep Not, Child
By
Ngugi wa Thiong'o
This is
a powerful, moving story that details the
effects of the infamous Mau Mau war, the
African nationalist revolt against colonial
oppression in Kenya, on the lives of
ordinary men and women, and on one family in
particular. Two brothers, Njoroge and Kamau,
stand on a rubbish heap and look into their
futures. Njoroge is excited; his family has
decided that he will attend school, while
Kamau will train to be a carpenter. Together
they will serve their country—the
teacher and the craftsman. But this is Kenya
and the times are against them. In the
forests, the Mau Mau is waging war against
the white government, and the two brothers
and their family need to decide where their
loyalties lie. For the practical Kamau the
choice is simple, but for Njoroge the
scholar, the dream of progress through
learning is a hard one to give up.—Penguin
|
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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Negro Digest /
Black World
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Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
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The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
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Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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posted 29 June 2008
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