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

The Context of White Supremacy hosts the fifth study session on Leanita McClain’s posthumously published A Foot In Each World. McClain was a brilliant representation of the power of black journalists. She had articles published in the Chicago Tribune and The Washington Post. She consistently used her platform to examine how Racism impacted black people. She succumbed to suicide in May of 1984 at the age of 32. Her suicide note details the degree to which White Supremacy assailed her mental health. She wrote: “Do not try to pull me 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 poetry and essays that was edited by her former husband and journalist Clarence Page. Examining her work chronologically offers insight on her evolving thoughts on Racism as well as her personal turmoil. It seems that her fear of being rejected or vilified by other black people was a constant source of agitation. She also seemed to harbor hopes and heartache over a few “Good Whites.” Last week we reviewed her writings that capture the energy and  angst following Harold Washington’s triumph as the first black mayor of Chicago. McClain documents how the “Vrdolyak 29” and Whites in general declared war on Washington and aimed to block all of his political objectives. In an effort to be “neutral,” “objective,” McClain pointed out how Washington’s behavior was not always fitting of the mayor’s office – similar to her remarks on Jesse Jackson’s fitness for the White House. McClain also seem conflicted about accusations that the White dominated press practiced Racism in it’s coverage of Mayor Washington and black Chicagoans in general. She think of herself as a representative for both parties. We also discovered during last’s week’s reading that McClain has a couple White great-grandparents.