The C.O.W.S. A FOOT IN EACH WORLD Part II

]The Context of White Supremacy hosts the second study session on Leanita McClain’s posthumously published A Foot In Each World. McClain continued the legacy of phenomenal black journalists. She had essays published in the Chicago Tribune and The Washington Post. Her columns mostly focused on Racism and the terrorism waged against black people in all areas of people activity. She succumbed to suicide in May of 1984 at the age of 32. Her suicide note details the degree to which White Supremacy eviscerated her mental health. She wrote: “Do not try to pull my back into this world. I will never live long enough to see my people free anyway.” A Foot In Each World is a collection of her various essays that was edited by her former husband Clarence Page. He includes some of McClain’s poetry to reveal the greater depths of McClain’s talent and sorrows. It seems that her fear of being rejected or vilified by other black people was a constant source of tumult. She also seemed to harbor hopes of at least a few “Good Whites.” This week we’ll discuss her seminal essay, “How Chicago Taught Me To Hate Whites” – which remains a colossal illustration of top-notch journalism and a devastatingly accurate commentary on what it means to be White.