Subversive Southerner: Anne Braden and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Cold War South [Hardcover]

Catherine Fosl (Author), Angela Davis (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 16, 2002

Born in 1924, Anne McCarty Braden is a southern white woman who broke from her segregationist upbringing to become a lifelong civil rights activist in the late 1940s. Unlike many southern reformers of her generation, Braden refused to become an exile fro either her region or her race, and instead sought to awaken the consciences of white southerners to the reality of racial injustice in the South and in America. Hailed as a courageous heroine and a role model by her colleagues in the nascent civil rights movement of the 1950s, Braden was simultaneously accused of being a Communist and a seditionist by her neighbors in Louisville, Kentucky and by southern politicians that rallied around the anti-Communist movement of the period. Catherine Fosl not only shares the extraordinary life of Braden, but also offers a valuable history of the struggles that white southern activists faced in the segregated, cold war South.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Co-Winner of the Oral History Association Book Award for 2003
"...excellent biographies based on extensive research..."-Jo Freeman, Women's Review of Books
"Fosl conveys the bravery and uncompromising convictions that made Anne Braden an important figure..."--Library Journal
"Now, Fosl...gives Braden the recognition she rightly deserves. Recommended."--P.D. Travis, Choice
"Subversive Southerner is an excellent and inspiring read."--Darryl Lorenzo Wellington, The Progressive
"...a compelling picture of a person committed to the cause of racial justice."--David L. Hudson Jr., Nashville Tennessean
“Her history is a proud and fascinating one.... Please read this book.” --Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr.
“Anne Braden’s life as a social activist spans more than half a century, and her story is as instructive as it is inspirational. The old cliché certainly applies here: I could not put this book down, and did not want it to end.”--John Dittmer, Crandall Professor of History, DePaul University and author of Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi
“This book will join a critical debate on the impact of the cold war on the civil rights movement.... As important, it will take its place among the very best of the feminist biographies that have changed the way women imagine—and live—their lives.”--Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, Spruill Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
-- Review

From the Publisher

Winner of the 2003 Oral History Association Book Award

Winner of the 2003 Gustavus Myers Center for Human Rights Outstanding Book Award --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan; 1 edition (November 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312294875
• ISBN-13: 978-0312294878
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,073,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 'Subversive Southerner' is a must-read, July 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Subversive Southerner: Anne Braden and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Cold War South (Hardcover)

'Subversive Southerner' is a must-read for anyone interested in southern history or in the social and cultural upheavals of the 50s and 60s. It's a riveting story of personal transformation and courage in the face of unrelenting persecution by authorities, and a reminder of how fragile and how precious are our civil liberties. Anne Braden is a heroine-- dedicated, single-minded in her pursuit of civil rights, but compassionate and always interested in individuals. There's plenty of bombings, arrests, and HUAC subpoenas to keep you turning pages,and lots of quotes, oral-history style, from major figures from the 50s and 60s. It's well-written--Fosl is an expert interviewer and very good writer.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book regarding the life of a southerner, September 24, 2011

By 

E. Braden (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Subversive Southerner: Anne Braden and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Cold War South (Civil Rights and the Struggle for Black Equality in the Twentieth Century) (Paperback)

Excellent book regarding the life of a SOutherner. The author has done an excellent job of describing the life of Anne Braden. Mrs. Braden's life was indeed one of fighting the good fight and fighting for those who needed their voices to be heard. Ms. Fosl has done an excellent job and with much detail explaining about Mrs. Braden and her husband's Carl Braden, their passion for wanting to help with this fight of Civil Rights and rights for all humanity. I would highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about this period of history in the U.S.

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anne Braden: A True American Hero, December 26, 2002

By 

David Thomson "Second Rate Eric Hoffer Imitator" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Subversive Southerner: Anne Braden and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Cold War South (Hardcover)

Anne Braden courageously opposed the Dixie segregationist establishment. She was born Anne McCarty in 1924 in "Louisville where white folks lived." Her earlier concerns were conventional and non threatening to the social mores of her Jim Crow society. Anne mostly worried about being attractive to boys during her high school years and was even willing to play dumb so as not to alienate them. She underwent a dramatic change in her early adult years while attending college and earning a living as a journalist. The Southern newspapers of that era barely considered a murdered black person worthy of mention. Blacks could fight and die in our wars, but were refused entrance to the voting booth. White criminals were afforded more respect than virtuous and law abiding Afro-Americans. The usual definition of a liberal Southern politician was someone who dared speak out against lynching while remaining firmly loyal to the principle of segregation. Anne ultimately could not make peace with the prevailing zeitgeist. She marries Carl Braden, a man named after Karl Marx. The Bradens soon partner with such luminaries like James Dombrowski, Bob Zellner and Martin Luther King. The latter remarked upon her dedication in his famous "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." Heroic self sacrifice and the constant risk of violence became an everyday reality. The odds were probably no better than fifty-fifty that the Bradens could escape being murdered.

What does the Cold War have to with Anne Braden? Why did the author choose the title "Subversive Southerner?" Catherine Fosl points out the insane eagerness of the segregationists to brand those advocating civil rights as traitors to the United States. In their peculiar way of looking at the world, combatting Jim Crow was the same thing as aligning oneself with our nation's enemies. The Bradens, however, did flirt with Communism and this made it easier for their foes to justify harassing them. A number of prosecutors seeking political power relished the opportunity to put them behind bars for alleged acts of sedition. Anne's relationship with avowed Communists extends to the point where the well known radical Angela Davis even writes the forward for this book. Should we therefore condemn her? Not in the least. Fosl presents a persuasively well put together argument that Anne Braden deserves to be cut some slack. There is no evidence whatsoever hinting that the still living Ms. Braden ever adhered to any orthodox interpretation of Communist doctrine. She seems naively oblivious to the logical consequences of these horrifying set of beliefs. Sadly, mainstream political conservatives did virtually nothing to combat racism in the Old South. Anne Braden was therefore compelled to cooperate with those willing to fight along side of her. She and her late husband were primarily activists and not armchair philosophers. One also does not have to agree with all of Anne Braden's more recent political proposals. Some of these efforts might indeed leave something to be desired. That is beside the point. Ms. Braden definitely has done far more good than inadvertent harm. Catherine Fosl is to be congratulated for making sure that Americans don't overlook her enormous accomplishments. It would be shameful not to honor Anne Braden while she is still alive. I strongly urge you to read this superb biography of one of our greatest American heroes.