Dixie Be Damned: 300 Years of Insurrection in the American South

by Neal Shirley, Saralee Stafford

In 1891, when coal companies in eastern Tennessee brought in cheap convict labor to take over their jobs, workers responded by storming the stockades, freeing the prisoners, and loading them onto freight trains. Over the next year, tactics escalated to include burning company property and looting company stores. This was one of the largest insurrections in US working-class history. It happened at the same time as the widely publicized northern labor war in Homestead, Pennsylvania. And it was largely ignored, then and now. Dixie Be Damned engages seven similarly "hidden" insurrectionary episodes in Southern history to demonstrate the region's long arc of revolt. Countering images of the South as pacified and conservative, this adventurous retelling presents history in the rough. Not the image of the South many expect, this is the South of maroon rebellion, wildcat strikes, and Robert F. Williams's book Negroes with Guns , a South where the dispossessed refuse to quietly suffer their fate. This is people's history at its slave revolts, multiracial banditry, labor battles, prison uprisings, urban riots, and more. Neal Shirley grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and now lives in Durham, NC, where he is involved in several anti-prison initiatives and runs a small publishing project called the North Carolina Piece Corps. Saralee Stafford was born in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Her recent political work has focused on connecting the struggles of street organizations with those of anarchists in the area. She teaches gender-related health in Durham, North Carolina.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race, Politics, Southern, American History, American

280 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2015

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a history nerd and yet I was unaware of almost everything in this book. Did you know that Tennessee miners broke into jails and released people being used as convict labor? I didn't.

When we learn about the south it is about slaves, slave owners, KKK, and the (supposedly) nonviolent civil rights movement. It is rare that we learn about insurrections, especially if they don't fit the convenient narratives around race, gender, and class. This book is a good start at addressing that absence.

It also challenged my thinking in ways that I wasn't expecting. I'm an anarchist, but not an insurrectionist. I'm still not convinced. But I definitely had to take a step back and reevaluate some of my gut reactions. And that is a good thing.

Definitely a book to read if you are interested in justice, how things change, and how history is hidden or repackaged to make it harder to learn its lessons.

[JRT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book traces the history of revolt and resistance to anti-Black, racist, and capitalist oppression in the American South over a 300 year period. The authors begin by analyzing the history of slave revolts among enslaved Africans during the late 18th Century / early 19th Century. The authors situate American Marronage and revolts in the Caribbean (particularly, the Haitian Revolution) as the underlying cause of this highly active period of revolt. Further, the authors made a point to highlight the early multiracial character of the Maroons (Indigenous, poor white / European indentured servants, and enslaved Africans), while still centering the vital role that Africans in the Great Dismal Swamp played in attacking the slave system. Ultimately, the authors identified the the Haitian Revolution (and other Caribbean revolts), the increase in the population of Africans in the American South, and the activity of Maroons in the Great Dismal Swamp as the three main factors that drove revolutionary fervor during the late 18th Century.

The authors also highlighted the post-Civil War Ogeechee insurrection, which involved a struggle over the rice-rich lands of lowland Georgia between formerly enslaved Africans (some of which were Maroons) and the white Southern planter class, which had weaseled its way back into the good graces of the Freedmen’s Bureau and was on its way to reintroducing African plantation labor. In short, the formerly enslaved Africans around the Ogeechee River in Georgia (peoples who came to be known as the Gullah-Geechee) resisted attempts at re-enslavement via the debt peonage, sharecropping, and wage labor systems. Their revolt—while short in duration—led to the solidification of semi-autonomous African communities, some of which still exist today. As explained, one interesting aspect of this period is how the revolting Africans in the Ogeechee area framed “whiteness” as not just a product of European ancestry, but an allegiance to the white-capitalist domination of land and labor. To that end, many Black folks who allied with white northern capital and/or the southern planter elite were considered just as “white” as their Euro-American counterparts.

Multi-racial solidarity is a running theme of the book, as the authors trace the history of different races and ethnic groups coming together to attack and resist the white power structure. This history includes early Marronage, the Lumbee (or Lowery Gang) battles with the precursors of the KKK and Southern planter elite, the labor unionist movement, and prison rebellions. However, lost in theme of cross-racial unity is the rampant and pervasive anti-Blackness and racism that white “working class” settlers engaged in throughout the periods discussed in the book. The authors briefly mention the existence of racism in unions, but do not provide any real depth of analysis on how this persistent anti-Blackness ultimately undermined revolutionary struggle.

Ultimately, this book seeks to reframe the history of anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and anti-racist revolt in the South from one of steady / linear “progress,” to one that focuses on the real aims of the colonized revolutionaries—self determination and autonomy.

[Esmé J · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...the regions dispossessed have forever had to articulate their resistance simultaneously against multiple, competing visions of exploitation and social control."

Mandatory reading for Southern anarchists, as well as anyone who would be inclined to dismiss the "politically illegible" riot or uprising.

A bit dry at first but once you hit the Lowry Wars you will be happy you kept reading!

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting and challenging read. The incidents discussed were fascinating on their own, and not ones you're likely to hear about in a typical American history class; the chapter on the Civil Rights and Black Power movements and the urban riots of the latter half of the 20th century felt particularly relevant after the summer of 2020.

The recitation of facts in most places is clear and concise, and the authors' interpretations are certainly thought-provoking, though they occasionally come off as contradictory or half-baked, particularly in some parts of the conclusion chapter. The authors aren't shy about challenging either traditional historiography or leftist (particularly Marxist) orthodoxy, and although there were certainly parts I didn't agree with or found suspect, it definitely challenged me to reconsider many of my assumptions. An earlier reviewer here sums up my feelings perfectly: "I'm an anarchist, but not an insurrectionist. I'm still not convinced. But I definitely had to take a step back and reevaluate some of my gut reactions. And that is a good thing."

[Gsd1985 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neal Shirley and Saralee Stafford’s book, Dixie Be Damned: 300 Years of Insurrection in the American South is an important work… a must-read, as far as I'm concerned, and very eye-opening.

The way that poverty, private property, class struggle, industrial propaganda, American slavery, race relations, policing, the prison system, the wage system, the appropriation of unions by American and global capital, and the treatment of both poor whites and people of color are intersected throughout history can only be truly understood through an analysis like this. The authors give an excellent overview of the struggles and systems of oppression present in the southern U.S., from Appalachia to the Deep South, and the radicalism that arose in response.

I also appreciate that the perspective here is sympathetic to anarchism because I think it is better able to illustrate just how deep and terrible Southern (and U.S.) history has been and continues to be for its most marginalized peoples. In part, the authors offer a critical view of Marxist analysis of the same history that they examine, and tend to suggest that the roots of our oppression are so deep, the briars of state power so intertwined with that oppression, that the only solutions are continued revolt, and seizing certain historical moments to advance the causes of human liberation.

I'd recommend this book to everyone because our history must be truly and deliberately reckoned with, not whitewashed and softened by the propaganda machine that is the education system, mainstream media, and state institutions. I commend the authors for their citations as those sources only enriched the analysis. This is a harrowing and at times disheartening read, but the various struggles, strikes, revolts, and rebellions that have resulted from our dark history help to illustrate the strength of the human spirit and offers the sweetness of hope to the bitter, deeply American story that the authors confront. The laborers, organizers, and activists that populate history, anyone who has stood up against oppressive forces, be they folk heroes or historical footnotes, are worthy of being remembered.

[Rohit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and colorful snapshots of various moments of popular rebellion and insurrection throughout the history of the US South. Especially enjoyed reading about moments in early US history, through to post-Civil War era. Unfortunately, the book is also brought down a bit by its theoretical analysis which is a particular brand of dogmatic insurrectionist anarchism, the kind which I don't have a ton of patience for anymore. But the good writing and history mostly makes up for this.

[Corvus]

DNF but not through any fault of the book. A bunch of life stuff and review copies happened all at once after I read about a third of this. When I attempted to resume where I was at a while later, I was pretty lost. I'll have to start over another time I think. What I read was informative and interesting!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book I learned quite a bit that was conveniently left out during us. History growing up in grade school.
This book also gave me great needs to other amazing authors that teach the true history of the u. S that isn't whitewashed, or watered down, highly recommend everyone read this

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book - well-researched and measured in tone it quietly and effectively smashes some major historical lies we’ve been taught.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book on various rebellions (slaves, miners , women prisoners, and more) in the southern US;
written from an anarchist perspective. Fascinating.

[Shenanitims · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most books either published or distributed by the AK Press, this is another winner. As the subtitle states, it's a look into 300 years of insurrection in the US' South. Ex-slaves enacting revenge on their former owners after the Civil War because they didn't find being owned by a clock anymore bearable than being "owned" by another person. Striking miners freeing prisoners because their union wasn't interested in helping them, and their employers were using slave (in this case, prison) labor to lower wages.

It's all here, and it's still very relevant today (especially the later chapter on rioting).

[River · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid book of untold insurrections in the American South. The authors do a good job of conveying the stories and the writing style and flow is very approachable. At the same time, they do an excellent job of theorizing about how these insurrections might be useful to contemporary radicals.

Aside from the subject matter pertaining to the South, the introduction and conclusion are very thought provoking as it relates to the question of anarchist historiography. The authors raise a lot of important points about what it means to be an anarchist writing history, what an "anarchist" history is, and what the larger point of studying history is...

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chapter on textile mill strikes handily summarized a big part of the work lives of my parents and kin: "Many mountain folks who entered mill life did so at a distance, attempting to retain as much autonomy on their land as possible while constantly adapting to new opportunities to make ends meet outside of the home."

As someone who was raised with 'the mutual aid . . . at the core of mountain life based on kinship and bioregion", I was delighted to see the history of how our contrary hillbilly natures confounded both German industrialists AND union organizers.

[Dariel Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long story short: this is absolutely necessary reading, especially since it highlights the intentionally "forgotten" stories of Black, brown, and indigenous, and alll other marginalized peoples' revolts, riots, and various methods of mobilization against the state and white supremacy in general, while also pointing out flaws and losses.

It's beautiful, inspiring, at some points heartbreaking, but nonetheless an overall empowering read for anyone who wants to aid in building a better world for all.

[ػᶈᶏϾӗ]

This will definitely warrant revisiting!