Black Radical: The Education of an American Revolutionary, 1946-1968

Black Fire , the celebrated first volume of Nelson Peery's riveting autobiography, told the story of his childhood and teenage years during the Depression and his subsequent political awakening as a soldier in the all-black 93rd Infantry Division in World War II. In this electrifying sequel, Peery picks up where Black Fire ends, beginning with his integration back into civilian life following the war, and describing the development of his revolutionary consciousness as he attempts to move from first-class soldier to first-class civilian. Black Radical offers a rare perspective and a new and fascinating vantage on the crucial historical period from 1946 through 1968, including the postwar grassroots struggle for equality and democracy led by black veterans, the battles of the black left and revolutionaries during the McCarthy inquisition and their role in the freedom movement, and the 1965 Watts rebellion in Los Angeles, where Peery and his family were living at the time. Above all, Black Radical is about the education of an American revolutionary amid the continuing struggles to bring to life the ideals that Peery and so many others fought for in World War II.

An absorbing, firsthand account of an African American's struggle for equality in the decades after World War II, by a writer the Washington Post calls "Wolfean and Whitmanesque."

Black Fire, the celebrated first volume of Nelson Peery's riveting autobiography, told the story of his childhood and teenage years during the Depression and his subsequent political awakening as a soldier in the all-black 93rd Infantry Division in World War II.

In this electrifying sequel, Peery picks up where Black Fire ends, beginning with his integration back into civilian life following the war, and describing the development of his revolutionary consciousness as he attempts to move from first-class soldier to first-class civilian. Black Radical offers a rare perspective and a new and fascinating vantage on the crucial historical period from 1946 through 1968, including the postwar grassroots struggle for equality and democracy led by black veterans, the battles of the black left and revolutionaries during the McCarthy inquisition and their role in the freedom movement, and the 1965 Watts rebellion in Los Angeles, where Peery and his family were living at the time. Above all, Black Radical is about the education of an American revolutionary amid the continuing struggles to bring to life the ideals that Peery and so many others fought for in World War II.

Publishers Weekly

This fascinating follow-up to Black Fire, Peery's 1994 memoir of his political awakening as a U.S. soldier in the all-black 93rd Infantry Division in WWII, begins with his involvement in the Communist Party in 1946. His course through the turbulent history of post-WWII race relations and McCarthy-era excesses leads him to the conviction that "the concrete expression of anti-Communism in America was anti-Black." In 1949, he accepted a Party transfer to Cleveland, where he continued worked as a bricklayer and organized his life around the Party, only to be expelled after internecine quarrels and anti-Communist crusades. Believing that "nothing could be done without a serious Communist Party," Peery became active in the drive to re-establish a Marxist-Leninist Communist Party. In New York (1959-1963) and Los Angeles (from 1964), he continued his bricklaying while becoming a founding member of the Communist Labor Party. His politically active mother, six supportive brothers and fiercely disapproving father assume vivid roles. Many anecdotes show off Peery's storytelling ability, as when he arranges a meeting between Leadbelly and the Dean of Canterbury and colludes in accused spy Gerhardt Eisler's escape to East Germany. Some readers may chafe at Peery's avowedly Marxist terminology, but "the development of [his] revolutionary consciousness" is absorbing. (Aug.)

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"Black Fire, Nelson Peery's memoir, told the story of his childhood and teenage years during the Depression and his political awakening as a soldier in the all-Black 93rd Infantry Division in World War II." "In this sequel, Peery picks up where Black Fire ends, beginning with his integration back into civilian life following the war, and describing the development of his revolutionary consciousness as he attempts to move from first-class soldier to first-class citizen. Offering a rare perspective and a new vantage on the crucial historical period from 1946 through 1966, Black Radical covers the postwar grassroots struggle for equality led by Black veterans, the battles of the Black left and revolutionaries during the McCarthy inquisition, and the 1965 Watts rebellion. Along the way, Peery takes the reader on a journey that stretches from Minneapolis to Detroit, Cleveland, Harlem, and Los Angeles - featuring cameo appearances by Paul Robeson, Malcolm X, Haywood Patterson (one of the Scottsboro Boys), Alexander Trachtenburg, the Southern blues singer Leadbelly, and other notable figures."--BOOK JACKET