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

The Context of White Supremacy hosts the sixth study session on Leanita McClain’s posthumously published A Foot In Each World. McClain was a trailblazing black journalist in the 1980’s.. She had essays published in the Chicago Tribune and The Washington Post. She consistently used words to investigate how White Supremacy 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 sorrow. It seems her fear of being rejected or vilified by other black people was a regular source of agitation. She also seemed to harbor hopes and heartache over a few “Good Whites.” Last week we covered her articles which detailed the ongoing onslaughts against Mayor Harold Washington – the first black mayor of Chicago. Edward Vrdolyak led a gang of White elected officials known as the “Vrdolyak 29.” McClain documents how these White politicians made it their duty to obstruct and hamper Washington’s administration – foreshadowing the Racist antics in opposition to President Obama. McClain’s body of work provides a wealth of insight into the years of President Ronald Reagan and the racial politics of the decade.