Customer Reviews

Night Riders: Defending Community in the Black Patch, 1890-1915

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I read the professional book review, I was disappointed, for the reviewer either does not understand the story told here or lacks certain cognitive ability....This is a great book, well researched and extremely well documented. This is not the story of some heathen band of farmers being puppeted by large land holders as the reviewer stumbles with. This is a document which validates the efforts of those farmers with enough foresight and guts to break the chains of slavery imposed by a monopolistic market place, controlled by "the trust", James B Duke, who was the American Tobacco Company (yes, same Duke as the University and Duke Power)who controlled all aspects of the tobacco market in the United States and Europe.(The reviewer mentions Missouri and Illinois which never in history have grown tobacco and do not enter into the picture in any frame here except that the author may have taught in Universities in those states.) And these undereducated farmers then took steps to enforce the fact that no farmer could benefit unjustly from the sacrifices made by all the member farmers of the Tobacco Association to bring about the end to the unjust enrichment of the Trust. This is the story of economic justice at the point of force, first of numbers and then the willingness to commit talk to action in defending the future of every farm family in Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee...with blood for blood if necessary. This is a story of economic and social action. It is an enduring story...which lasted into the new millenium...until today...
Only in the racial aspects attempted to be pulled into the frame of the picture does Waldrep venture into left field...it was never about race. Blacks were involved as association members and even as Night Riders...and although not in actions pivitol, they fought bravely for economic justice on their own terms. I am currently writing my book "The last Night Rider" which tells the story as it was lived by my family....my grandfather was the next door neighbor to Dr Dave Amoss, the Night Rider General....My four great uncles were all heavily involved in all of the raids and activities. I recommend the Waldrep book...it is very good reading....

"Night Riders: Defending Community in the Black Patch" lacks important details of the Black Patch War.The only thing I enjoyed about the book was the photos that I have never seen before. The author goes out of his way to try to unjustly inject racism into the Black Patch War, when in truth, the Black Patch War was about tobacco. If you want to learn the full, true story of the Night Riders, I suggest you buy "On Bended Knee" by Bill Cunningham.

The author has done an excellent job of researching and presenting the story of how the Tobacco War happened. He shows us the way of life at that time and how those in the 'black patch' viewed life and how outsiders interacted with them. To understand an occurrence is to have to know those particulars and this author has done a very good job of explaining the perception of those involved at that time. I enjoyed the book very much.