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Justice, Power, and Politics
Blue Texas: The Making of a Multiracial Democratic Coalition in the Civil Rights Era
This book is about the other Texas, not the state known for its cowboy conservatism, but a mid-twentieth-century hotbed of community organizing, liberal politics, and civil rights activism. Beginning in the 1930s, Max Krochmal tells the story of the decades-long struggle for democracy in Texas, when African American, Mexican American, and white labor and community activists gradually came together to empower the state's marginalized minorities. At the ballot box and in the streets, these diverse activists demanded not only integration but economic justice, labor rights, and real political power for all. Their efforts gave rise to the Democratic Coalition of the 1960s, a militant, multiracial alliance that would take on and eventually overthrow both Jim Crow and Juan Crow.
Using rare archival sources and original oral history interviews, Krochmal reveals the often-overlooked democratic foundations and liberal tradition of one of our nation's most conservative states. Blue Texas remembers the many forgotten activists who, by crossing racial lines and building coalitions, democratized their cities and state to a degree that would have been unimaginable just a decade earlier--and it shows why their story still matters today.
Using rare archival sources and original oral history interviews, Krochmal reveals the often-overlooked democratic foundations and liberal tradition of one of our nation's most conservative states. Blue Texas remembers the many forgotten activists who, by crossing racial lines and building coalitions, democratized their cities and state to a degree that would have been unimaginable just a decade earlier--and it shows why their story still matters today.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
537 pages, Hardcover
First published November 14, 2016
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January 16, 2017
TEXAS HISTORY
Max Krochmal
Blue Texas: The Making of a Multiracial Democratic Coalition in the Civil Rights Era
University of North Carolina Press
Hardcover, 978-1-4696-2675-8 (also available as an e-book), 552 pgs., $39.95
November 14, 2016
“This book is about the other Texas … the hidden Lone Star tradition of community organizing, civil rights, trade unionism, and liberal, multiracial coalition building.”
Does this Texas sound familiar to you? It doesn’t sound familiar to most of us, but it should.
In the 1930s, against the backdrop of the Great Depression, and inspired by the New Deal, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and mostly Anglo labor organizers and community activists in Texas began a decades-long journey toward each other. Each group began individually, in their several neighborhoods: the Mexican American pecan shellers striking in San Antonio; Anglo labor striking Ford in Dallas; Smith v. Allright, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the white primary, was born in Houston. Eventually the separate groups reached tentatively across the color line and found they were stronger together. For most it wasn’t about ideology, but about living conditions. This journey culminated in a multiracial coalition able to elect liberal politicians in support of a broad civil rights program.
So, what happened?
Blue Texas: The Making of a Multiracial Democratic Coalition in the Civil Rights Era by Texas Christian University assistant professor of history Max Krochmal is the latest addition to the University of North Carolina Press’s “Justice, Power, and Politics” series. Employing extensive archival sources and original interviews, Krochmal tells a fascinating story. He is under no illusions about the forces arrayed against further progress, nevertheless his style is infectiously hopeful and inspiring.
Krochmal contends we can use history as a blueprint for moving forward, if only we knew the history. What did he learn? The coalition succeeded because it “both recognized and transcended racial difference … prioritized the needs of its most vulnerable partners. … its most privileged members … plunged headlong into the fight for black and brown civil rights. The whites backed up their words with action … The more liberal, the more explicitly integrationist, the more militant the tactics, the more effective the coalition became.”
The process was not smooth; the Cold War (Fun fact: San Antonio put red stamps on the “subversive volumes” in the public library) threw a wrench into the works and the assassination of JFK almost killed it off. The coalition fought corruption, political machines, bossism, big business, and a toxic white supremacist society which confused privileges and rights. Each step forward was met by the inevitable conservative backlash and breathtaking violence.
Krochmal’s report of “KKK” carved into the stomach of a protestor is horrifying; his relation of the desegregation of Crystal City schools is thrilling. As an academic work, Krochmal’s tome is minutely detailed, dense with facts, figures, and acronyms. Blue Texas is not an easy read, but it is a fine accomplishment, and an important addition to our understanding of the struggle for the most basic Civil Rights in this state.
We are not taught this history in our elementary or secondary schools. There are names we never learned, but should revere: Moses and Erma LeRoy, Albert Peña, G.J. Sutton, Hank Brown, Dr. Hector P. Garcia, B. T. Bonner, George and Latane Lambert, and Emma Tenayuca, to name a mere few. That’s not just a shame, it’s education malpractice. A history to be proud of, this information belongs in every school curriculum. Blue Texas is a call to action.
Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.
Max Krochmal
Blue Texas: The Making of a Multiracial Democratic Coalition in the Civil Rights Era
University of North Carolina Press
Hardcover, 978-1-4696-2675-8 (also available as an e-book), 552 pgs., $39.95
November 14, 2016
“This book is about the other Texas … the hidden Lone Star tradition of community organizing, civil rights, trade unionism, and liberal, multiracial coalition building.”
Does this Texas sound familiar to you? It doesn’t sound familiar to most of us, but it should.
In the 1930s, against the backdrop of the Great Depression, and inspired by the New Deal, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and mostly Anglo labor organizers and community activists in Texas began a decades-long journey toward each other. Each group began individually, in their several neighborhoods: the Mexican American pecan shellers striking in San Antonio; Anglo labor striking Ford in Dallas; Smith v. Allright, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the white primary, was born in Houston. Eventually the separate groups reached tentatively across the color line and found they were stronger together. For most it wasn’t about ideology, but about living conditions. This journey culminated in a multiracial coalition able to elect liberal politicians in support of a broad civil rights program.
So, what happened?
Blue Texas: The Making of a Multiracial Democratic Coalition in the Civil Rights Era by Texas Christian University assistant professor of history Max Krochmal is the latest addition to the University of North Carolina Press’s “Justice, Power, and Politics” series. Employing extensive archival sources and original interviews, Krochmal tells a fascinating story. He is under no illusions about the forces arrayed against further progress, nevertheless his style is infectiously hopeful and inspiring.
Krochmal contends we can use history as a blueprint for moving forward, if only we knew the history. What did he learn? The coalition succeeded because it “both recognized and transcended racial difference … prioritized the needs of its most vulnerable partners. … its most privileged members … plunged headlong into the fight for black and brown civil rights. The whites backed up their words with action … The more liberal, the more explicitly integrationist, the more militant the tactics, the more effective the coalition became.”
The process was not smooth; the Cold War (Fun fact: San Antonio put red stamps on the “subversive volumes” in the public library) threw a wrench into the works and the assassination of JFK almost killed it off. The coalition fought corruption, political machines, bossism, big business, and a toxic white supremacist society which confused privileges and rights. Each step forward was met by the inevitable conservative backlash and breathtaking violence.
Krochmal’s report of “KKK” carved into the stomach of a protestor is horrifying; his relation of the desegregation of Crystal City schools is thrilling. As an academic work, Krochmal’s tome is minutely detailed, dense with facts, figures, and acronyms. Blue Texas is not an easy read, but it is a fine accomplishment, and an important addition to our understanding of the struggle for the most basic Civil Rights in this state.
We are not taught this history in our elementary or secondary schools. There are names we never learned, but should revere: Moses and Erma LeRoy, Albert Peña, G.J. Sutton, Hank Brown, Dr. Hector P. Garcia, B. T. Bonner, George and Latane Lambert, and Emma Tenayuca, to name a mere few. That’s not just a shame, it’s education malpractice. A history to be proud of, this information belongs in every school curriculum. Blue Texas is a call to action.
Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.
May 19, 2021
I started reading this all the way back in September for two reasons: one, because it was Hispanic Heritage Month, and I didn't have any books written about Latinx characters or written by Latinx authors, so I felt that this might count under a particular subsection of Latin-American history. (especially as we often forget, Juan Crow was an actual thing here in the South) And two, at the time we were swiftly approaching the dreaded 2020 election season, and I believed that the then-president would win re-election despite mine and others' best efforts to contribute to democracy--so I felt that I had best prepare myself for an increasingly dark future by reading a history of similar times, of how in the midst of blatant racism and the shutting out of minorities in politics, a plethora of different peoples came together to fight against bigotry and oppression, and for voting and equal rights, in the face of politicians and institutions who would very much like to keep the status quo.
I also thought, naïvely, that I'd get this finished by the time of the election. But even though that particular election took another full week to announce the winner, I still had not gotten even halfway through this history.
Fortunately for all of us, Joe Biden did in fact win re-election and is still currently the president at the time of this review. And, in my continuing practice of taking a long stinking time to read particularly thick books (see my times for the H.P. Lovecraft collection and For Whom the Bell Tolls), I finally finish this thing in May, during Asian-American/Pacific Islander History Month-what great timing! (particularly since AAPI Texans are not mentioned at all in this tome, though considering the influx of immigrants and refugees Texas took in from countries such as Vietnam and the Korean peninsula, I get the feeling they should have a part in our history too. But that's a discussion for another day)
So what did I think? Overall, pretty decent: if you can't tell by the summary, Blue Texas is a very illuminating, in-depth treatise over the history of the civil rights and labor movements in Texas, primarily ranging from the 1930's to the 1960's, right after LBJ was elected. (with an epilogue briefly covering the rest of the 60's and an overview of progressivism in the following decades until 2016-definitely not a coincidence) Max Krochmal covers a variety of individual organizations and particular activists working separately, then together, and then sometimes separately, across the expanse of Texas, with particular focus on actions taken in the big metropolitan areas of San Antonio, Houston, and Austin.
Like my previous excursions with Lone Star State and God Bless Texas, I like learning more about the history of my state, especially covering topics and areas that I never learned before. This applies even more so for our version of the civil rights movement--if you're a Texas student, you're lucky if your state-mandated Texas history class ever gets past the Reconstruction period, nevermind even mentioning figures like Barbara Jordan. And since this covers subject matter of importance to me--namely, activism and fighting for a multiracial and ethical future in terms of pro-labor and antiracism--I'm very thankful that this particular book exists, and that it goes into such exhaustive detail. There are a lot of figures and movements that I had no idea existed before--George and Latane Lambert, Moses and Erma LeRoy, Albert Peña, P.T. Bonner, among others--that most any one of them could make for an interesting biopic. (and if you do one of the LeRoys, make certain to cast Giancarlo Esposito as Moses-trust me)
The problems for me are more subjective, and lie mainly in the pacing and tone. Krochmal is a very good and thorough researcher, but his writing style can be rather dry and matter-of-fact. And when you're dealing with, in fairness, a ton of facts, that might be your first instinct to present them, but it made large sections of this book a bit harder for me to get through than others. He would also end most chapters with about two pages of basically summarizing what happened in the previous 30 pages, which has its uses but throws the pacing off its trajectory. His best writing can be when he's chronicling particular events (such as the Crystal City revolt) and when making incisive declarations over the state of the Texas progressive movement, both then and now (particularly in the last ten or so pages of the Epilogue).
So it could definitely be quite a stretch to get through. But looking back on it now, I'm almost grateful it took me this long. Just look at the timeline, of all the things Texas and this nation has gone through since last September:
-We had debates over the reopening and functioning of schools during an ongoing pandemic;
-We had the lead-up to the 2020 election, in which Gov. Abbott tried to ban drive-in voting in Houston and other cities;
-We had the actual election, with the nail-biting as we waiting for the results, followed by the official declaration of a narrow victory;
-We had outcries of this being a "fake" win, that the majority of votes were fraud, that we needed a recount in multiple states that actually turned up more votes initially uncounted;
-We had official vaccines ready for distribution by December, and the official rollout beginning among essential workers, people over 65, and immunocompromised people by January; we had a new slate of federal executions, all of which were protested against;
-We had an actual insurrection of people, encouraged by the then-president (and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, among many others who still hold office), who tried to overthrow a fair election and ended with 6 people dead;
-We had Biden and Kamala Harris's inaugurations, both making history for very different reasons;
-We had massive social programs and acts rolled out from the White House and a narrow Senate win, all of which aimed to better socioeconomic situations across the U.S.;
-We had a giant winter freeze across the whole state in February (thanks climate change!) that caused our electrical grid to kick out for a week (thanks FERPA! thanks legislators who insisted we go unregulated!), multiple deaths, bills to pile up, and the Zodiac Killer to abandon the state then return and blame his family (and guess what I was reading while I shivered under the blankets, in two pairs of socks? 1984. But also this book);
-We had the return of mass shootings (at least one a week) in March, compounded by bigotry against women, women of color in particular, with at least two shootings occurring in Texas;
-We had the conviction of Derek Chauvin in April for the murder of George Floyd last year, preceded and immediately followed by the deaths of more Black Americans at the hands of police;
-And now, we're facing a new onslaught against voting rights, as states all across the country have introduced hundreds of pieces of legislation that aim to limit the number of people who can vote, particular low-income, disabled, Black, and Brown voters, all so as to gerrymander and control the outcomes of the 2022 midterm elections.
One of those states? Texas, of course. In addition to our current legislature's onslaughts against abortion rights, teaching critical race theory in schools (otherwise known as "racism is real, kids"), and the health and safety of our transgender youth. Because everything--including the legislature slamming the brakes on the road of progress and trying to kick the gears in reverse--is bigger in Texas.
My hope should be dead at this point. My fears are very real, and very likely to come true in some capacity. Despite its diversity, Texas is a deeply red state in terms of who gets elected to the higher echelons of state politics, and they seem determined to undo every good things this state has produced at the expense of everyone else.
Yet during all these times, both in the past and very very current, returning to this book gave me a new outlook. It didn't give me hope, necessarily, but it gave me some determination. We've been through many of these things before; the fight wasn't easy then, it's definitely not going to be easy now. Whether true systemic change will occur in my state, in my lifetime, seems dubious. But the fight for a better future is worth it, if we work at it.
(I know I am getting extremely political here. But if you didn't want any of my political opinions, don't read my review of a very political book.)
I also thought, naïvely, that I'd get this finished by the time of the election. But even though that particular election took another full week to announce the winner, I still had not gotten even halfway through this history.
Fortunately for all of us, Joe Biden did in fact win re-election and is still currently the president at the time of this review. And, in my continuing practice of taking a long stinking time to read particularly thick books (see my times for the H.P. Lovecraft collection and For Whom the Bell Tolls), I finally finish this thing in May, during Asian-American/Pacific Islander History Month-what great timing! (particularly since AAPI Texans are not mentioned at all in this tome, though considering the influx of immigrants and refugees Texas took in from countries such as Vietnam and the Korean peninsula, I get the feeling they should have a part in our history too. But that's a discussion for another day)
So what did I think? Overall, pretty decent: if you can't tell by the summary, Blue Texas is a very illuminating, in-depth treatise over the history of the civil rights and labor movements in Texas, primarily ranging from the 1930's to the 1960's, right after LBJ was elected. (with an epilogue briefly covering the rest of the 60's and an overview of progressivism in the following decades until 2016-definitely not a coincidence) Max Krochmal covers a variety of individual organizations and particular activists working separately, then together, and then sometimes separately, across the expanse of Texas, with particular focus on actions taken in the big metropolitan areas of San Antonio, Houston, and Austin.
Like my previous excursions with Lone Star State and God Bless Texas, I like learning more about the history of my state, especially covering topics and areas that I never learned before. This applies even more so for our version of the civil rights movement--if you're a Texas student, you're lucky if your state-mandated Texas history class ever gets past the Reconstruction period, nevermind even mentioning figures like Barbara Jordan. And since this covers subject matter of importance to me--namely, activism and fighting for a multiracial and ethical future in terms of pro-labor and antiracism--I'm very thankful that this particular book exists, and that it goes into such exhaustive detail. There are a lot of figures and movements that I had no idea existed before--George and Latane Lambert, Moses and Erma LeRoy, Albert Peña, P.T. Bonner, among others--that most any one of them could make for an interesting biopic. (and if you do one of the LeRoys, make certain to cast Giancarlo Esposito as Moses-trust me)
The problems for me are more subjective, and lie mainly in the pacing and tone. Krochmal is a very good and thorough researcher, but his writing style can be rather dry and matter-of-fact. And when you're dealing with, in fairness, a ton of facts, that might be your first instinct to present them, but it made large sections of this book a bit harder for me to get through than others. He would also end most chapters with about two pages of basically summarizing what happened in the previous 30 pages, which has its uses but throws the pacing off its trajectory. His best writing can be when he's chronicling particular events (such as the Crystal City revolt) and when making incisive declarations over the state of the Texas progressive movement, both then and now (particularly in the last ten or so pages of the Epilogue).
So it could definitely be quite a stretch to get through. But looking back on it now, I'm almost grateful it took me this long. Just look at the timeline, of all the things Texas and this nation has gone through since last September:
-We had debates over the reopening and functioning of schools during an ongoing pandemic;
-We had the lead-up to the 2020 election, in which Gov. Abbott tried to ban drive-in voting in Houston and other cities;
-We had the actual election, with the nail-biting as we waiting for the results, followed by the official declaration of a narrow victory;
-We had outcries of this being a "fake" win, that the majority of votes were fraud, that we needed a recount in multiple states that actually turned up more votes initially uncounted;
-We had official vaccines ready for distribution by December, and the official rollout beginning among essential workers, people over 65, and immunocompromised people by January; we had a new slate of federal executions, all of which were protested against;
-We had an actual insurrection of people, encouraged by the then-president (and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, among many others who still hold office), who tried to overthrow a fair election and ended with 6 people dead;
-We had Biden and Kamala Harris's inaugurations, both making history for very different reasons;
-We had massive social programs and acts rolled out from the White House and a narrow Senate win, all of which aimed to better socioeconomic situations across the U.S.;
-We had a giant winter freeze across the whole state in February (thanks climate change!) that caused our electrical grid to kick out for a week (thanks FERPA! thanks legislators who insisted we go unregulated!), multiple deaths, bills to pile up, and the Zodiac Killer to abandon the state then return and blame his family (and guess what I was reading while I shivered under the blankets, in two pairs of socks? 1984. But also this book);
-We had the return of mass shootings (at least one a week) in March, compounded by bigotry against women, women of color in particular, with at least two shootings occurring in Texas;
-We had the conviction of Derek Chauvin in April for the murder of George Floyd last year, preceded and immediately followed by the deaths of more Black Americans at the hands of police;
-And now, we're facing a new onslaught against voting rights, as states all across the country have introduced hundreds of pieces of legislation that aim to limit the number of people who can vote, particular low-income, disabled, Black, and Brown voters, all so as to gerrymander and control the outcomes of the 2022 midterm elections.
One of those states? Texas, of course. In addition to our current legislature's onslaughts against abortion rights, teaching critical race theory in schools (otherwise known as "racism is real, kids"), and the health and safety of our transgender youth. Because everything--including the legislature slamming the brakes on the road of progress and trying to kick the gears in reverse--is bigger in Texas.
My hope should be dead at this point. My fears are very real, and very likely to come true in some capacity. Despite its diversity, Texas is a deeply red state in terms of who gets elected to the higher echelons of state politics, and they seem determined to undo every good things this state has produced at the expense of everyone else.
Yet during all these times, both in the past and very very current, returning to this book gave me a new outlook. It didn't give me hope, necessarily, but it gave me some determination. We've been through many of these things before; the fight wasn't easy then, it's definitely not going to be easy now. Whether true systemic change will occur in my state, in my lifetime, seems dubious. But the fight for a better future is worth it, if we work at it.
(I know I am getting extremely political here. But if you didn't want any of my political opinions, don't read my review of a very political book.)
June 8, 2020
Great history of tx that is not talked about often nor taught unless you really look for it. Good reminder that united fronts can work. Re-reading now that I have been back in Texas for a while...
December 19, 2019
A little lengthy, but a nice reminder that (1) cross-race collaboration is possible and (2) the moments of change come after decades of preparatory effort. So we all need to get out there and get the first and middle steps started.
December 28, 2020
Solid micro study of the challenges of building inter-racial coalitions on the Left during the 1950s and 1960s.
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December 4, 2017324.2764 K931 2016
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews