I just started reading THE TEXAS LEFT: The Radical Roots of Lone Star Liberalism

[ashling]

Edited by David O'Donald Cullen and Kyle G. Wilkinson

it is a wonderful book. I am teaching a Unit on Texas Politics and Government. There is a chapter in our text on "The Roots of Texas Politics," which gives a little mention to Texas Populists, feminists, et al. - very little (as far as I am concerned.) I'll be damned if I am going to teach them about the roots of Texas politics without more on these topics. Well, my great-grandfather and grandfather were Texas Populists. And I would be surprised if a good portion of my students don't have some real Texas Populists in their heritage too.

The introductory essay to this book, written by the editors, is subtitled: "The Forgotten Radical Heritage of Texas." It talks about how the history of Texas has been Bowdlerized into the Hollywood history present as our heritage.

"In May 1886 thousands of radical Texas farmers convened in Central Texas, issuing a call for protecting farmers' and workers' rights. Lobor unionist William E Farmer of Bonham, soon-to-be-Populist and future founder of the Texas Socialist Party, warned his comrades that Texas had overproduced "poverty, barefooted women, political theves, and many liars." Farmer deniedany distinction between the armed robbery of outlaws and the "legalized robbery" perpetuated by corporations. ... He predicted "If you listen to other classes you will have only three rights . . .to work, to starve, and to die."

It tells about Albert Parsons...

The young Texan had already pushed the boundaries of his culture by marrying mixed-race Lucy Gonzales, participating in radical Texas politic, and printing a newspaper that called openly for for racial equality,

Parsons was one of the eight hung after the Haymarket bombing.

It tells of Joshua L. Hicks, a white East Texas farmer who denounced bigotry toward African Americans and argued that

capitalism was "a stranger to the teachings of Jesus."

I want my students to know that the Left has deep roots in Texas.

[Arctic Dave]

1. Thanks for the heads up.

Will look for it.

[freshwest]

2. Wow, thanks ashling. We need to kick this.

[starroute]

3. There's a great entry on Lucy Parsons at the Steampunk Emma Goldman blog

The blog is devoted in general to a loving evocation of late 19th century radicalism, but the entry on Lucy Parsons is particularly tasty:

http://anachro-anarcho.blogspot.com/2011/06/lucy-parsons-so-badass-it-took-89-years.html

Lucy Parsons: So Badass it Took 89 Years and a Fire to Stop Her

Lucy Eldine Gonzalez Parsons was born a slave, in Texas, in 1853. So she's automatically tougher than you, right off the bat. Let there be no mistake about that. Strap in, though, because her life didn't get a whole lot easier from there.

She married a white former Confederate soldier, named Albert Parsons in 1871. The marriage wasn't legal, since he was white, and they were in Texas, in, as I may have mentioned, 1871, but Lucy Parsons wasn't going to let a little thing like that stop her, and she married the hell out of him anyway, because he was almost as awesome as she was, and after being a slave, Lucy had probably had entirely enough of people telling her what to do to last her the rest of her goddamn life, thank you very much. The two soon found that Reconstruction-era Texans did not take kindly to marriages between white men and women of mixed black, Native American, and Mexican ancestry, who were, by the way, campaigning together for an end to racial segregation and restrictions on interracial marriage. At all. Lucy's husband was working to register black voters when he was shot in the leg and threatened with lynching, whereupon the couple decided, quite understandably, that they had had about enough of Texas. In 1873, they moved to Chicago.

[ashling]

5. I believe she was one of the founders

of the IWW.

[sonias]

6. Wow, that's awesome!

I didn't know about Lucy Eldine Gonzalez Parsons. She sounds amazing. I love her!

Thanks for the introduction!

[PDittie]

4. More recently

Ralph Yarborough, Oscar Mauzy ... still, it's been 50 and 60 years now. A progressive populist reawakening is too long overdue.