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The Brown Bullet: Rajo Jack s Drive to Integrate Auto Racing
The powers-that-be in auto racing in the 1920s, namely the American Automobile Association's Contest Board, prohibited everyone who wasn't a white male from the sport. Dewey Gaston, a black man who went by the name Rajo Jack, broke into the epicenter of racing in California, refusing to let the pervasive racism of his day stop him from competing against entire fields of white drivers. In The Brown Bullet, Bill Poehler uncovers the life of a long-forgotten trailblazer and the great lengths he took to even get on the track, and in the end, tells how Rajo Jack proved to a generation that a black man could compete with some of the greatest white drivers of his era, wining some of the biggest races of the day.
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First published May 5, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 6, 2021
Mr. Poehler’s thoroughly researched, well-written portrayal of the nonpareil life of Rajo Jack (or is it Dewey Gatson, Jack DeSoto, or Roger DeSota?) that should appeal to anyone with an interest in motorsports, Civil Rights, or stories of dreamers.
It’s a story of a man and an era of racing long-forgotten, but deeply fascinating.
It’s a story of a man and an era of racing long-forgotten, but deeply fascinating.
November 4, 2023
Racism has plagued the United States throughout its history, especially rising to prominence during the 20th century. Racial tensions have barred black people from most of the opportunities that white people have. These eventually found their way into the racing scene, as detailed in "The Brown Bullet: Rajo Jack’s Drive to Integrate Auto Racing" by Bill Poehler.
Rajo Jack, née Dewey Gatson, has aspirations to one day race in the Indianapolis 500, the largest car race in America. He decides to leave his troubled childhood home to begin his quest for racing success on the Pacific coast. Rajo decides to mask his identity under the guise of Rajah del Ramascus, a Portuguese man who left to escape World War I, to dispel any doubt about his race. Throughout the story, Poehler documents how Rajo uncovers methods to join the racing sphere, unsurprisingly facing a myriad of racism along the way. Rajo manages to make friends and allies along the way who also believe in his dreams and talents. Although he encounters a rocky start, through his perseverance and determination, Rajo manages to score impressive victories at a number of race tracks. Eventually, he begins to build his own race car from the scrap parts and materials he has available to him. His career peaked in the 1930s, but in one race, Rajo gets into a large car crash that damages his left eye and dislocates his left arm. As a result, his wins become increasingly sparse and he decides to retire. Despite an abbreviated comeback around 1947, Rajo could not regain his former magic, and retired for good a year later. While on a ride with his brother in 1956, he tragically passed away due to a sudden heart failure. In the end, Rajo Jack never achieved his dream of racing in the Indianapolis 500.
After mostly reading fiction for most of my life, I was in search of an intriguing nonfiction book, and turned to my father for suggestions. Rummaging through his library of he eventually stumbled upon "The Brown Bullet: Rajo Jack’s Drive to Integrate Auto Racing," and I took him up on the offer. I had never heard of Rajo before reading this book, although I understood that this was a book about denouncing segregation and filling in the reader on a seemingly forgotten racing legend. Figuring that it would keep my attention throughout, I committed to reading it. Upon finishing the story, I have lost respect for racing overall in America. It is a very dangerous sport, as many racers constantly crash and some even die from racing. However, I have gained an abundance of respect for Rajo Jack. It is disturbing to see that the color of his skin was the only factor preventing him from achieving his lifelong goal of racing in the Indianapolis 500. He proved himself time and time again, only to be denied the greatest of opportunities for something that was outside of his control.
For anyone interested in learning about Rajo Jack, Bill Poehler’s recounting of his life is a great way to get informed. He presents the information with a matter-of-factly stance, offering very little, if any, personal thoughts or feelings about the content. The language and style used in the book are approachable and easily understood, as even a reader like me with little understanding of racing rules can still follow the book quite well. It is easy to see a natural progression of events throughout Rajo Jack’s life, from his childhood to the peak of his career and eventually his twilight days. Often throughout the book, Poehler will include a single sentence sandwiched between two larger paragraphs. This is effective since it breaks up the content into more digestible sections and also presents plenty of intrigue as to what will happen next. Poehler’s style leaves the reader contemplating on what just happened without leaving them overwhelmed or confused. What is stated is cut-and-dried; there are very few instances of figurative language included in the book, which assists the reader in fully comprehending the events at hand.
While the straightforward and stately style is helpful for the reader, it can become somewhat stale after a while. There are some parts of the story that made me feel like I was merely listening to Poehler drone on about Rajo Jack instead of having the ability to thoroughly enjoy the story. On top of that, Poehler throws the names of many people, organizations, and race courses at the reader. Some of these stick, such as the American Automobile Association (AAA), Barney Oldfield, and Oakland Speedway, but many others are easily lost. When some of these names are mentioned early but do not resurface until later in the book, one can lose track of who these individuals are. I view this as a bit of an internal conflict within Poehler: I believe he wanted to breathe personality into the other racers and have them recognized as actual people instead of just other drivers that Rajo raced against. However, the reader will likely not become attached to these people (after all, the titular character is the focus of the book), which makes me question the viability of this choice. Car jargon is scattered throughout the book, such as engine names, wheel types, and car models. For someone like me who lacks this knowledge, they cannot fully appreciate these factors; to me, it only seemed like mere detailing. Fortunately, these do not largely distract the reader from the main premise of the book. Poehler likely had a niche audience—being racing and car enthusiasts—and I believe he reached that audience well. None of this drags the book down too much, but I found them to be detracting factors from the overall experience.
"The Brown Bullet: Rajo Jack’s Drive to Integrate Auto Racing" was an intriguing story of a forgotten racing legend. Despite some issues, I enjoyed this book, and I would recommend this for anyone interested in discovering information about someone likely unknown to them. Bill Poehler’s research and effort in staying as true as possible to a murky tale is worthy of applause and praise. He gives the reader an accurate depiction of the life of Rajo Jack without beating around the bush. It is worth remembering that Rajo Jack had to suffer through so much mistreatment and exclusion because of one thing: He was black.
Rajo Jack, née Dewey Gatson, has aspirations to one day race in the Indianapolis 500, the largest car race in America. He decides to leave his troubled childhood home to begin his quest for racing success on the Pacific coast. Rajo decides to mask his identity under the guise of Rajah del Ramascus, a Portuguese man who left to escape World War I, to dispel any doubt about his race. Throughout the story, Poehler documents how Rajo uncovers methods to join the racing sphere, unsurprisingly facing a myriad of racism along the way. Rajo manages to make friends and allies along the way who also believe in his dreams and talents. Although he encounters a rocky start, through his perseverance and determination, Rajo manages to score impressive victories at a number of race tracks. Eventually, he begins to build his own race car from the scrap parts and materials he has available to him. His career peaked in the 1930s, but in one race, Rajo gets into a large car crash that damages his left eye and dislocates his left arm. As a result, his wins become increasingly sparse and he decides to retire. Despite an abbreviated comeback around 1947, Rajo could not regain his former magic, and retired for good a year later. While on a ride with his brother in 1956, he tragically passed away due to a sudden heart failure. In the end, Rajo Jack never achieved his dream of racing in the Indianapolis 500.
After mostly reading fiction for most of my life, I was in search of an intriguing nonfiction book, and turned to my father for suggestions. Rummaging through his library of he eventually stumbled upon "The Brown Bullet: Rajo Jack’s Drive to Integrate Auto Racing," and I took him up on the offer. I had never heard of Rajo before reading this book, although I understood that this was a book about denouncing segregation and filling in the reader on a seemingly forgotten racing legend. Figuring that it would keep my attention throughout, I committed to reading it. Upon finishing the story, I have lost respect for racing overall in America. It is a very dangerous sport, as many racers constantly crash and some even die from racing. However, I have gained an abundance of respect for Rajo Jack. It is disturbing to see that the color of his skin was the only factor preventing him from achieving his lifelong goal of racing in the Indianapolis 500. He proved himself time and time again, only to be denied the greatest of opportunities for something that was outside of his control.
For anyone interested in learning about Rajo Jack, Bill Poehler’s recounting of his life is a great way to get informed. He presents the information with a matter-of-factly stance, offering very little, if any, personal thoughts or feelings about the content. The language and style used in the book are approachable and easily understood, as even a reader like me with little understanding of racing rules can still follow the book quite well. It is easy to see a natural progression of events throughout Rajo Jack’s life, from his childhood to the peak of his career and eventually his twilight days. Often throughout the book, Poehler will include a single sentence sandwiched between two larger paragraphs. This is effective since it breaks up the content into more digestible sections and also presents plenty of intrigue as to what will happen next. Poehler’s style leaves the reader contemplating on what just happened without leaving them overwhelmed or confused. What is stated is cut-and-dried; there are very few instances of figurative language included in the book, which assists the reader in fully comprehending the events at hand.
While the straightforward and stately style is helpful for the reader, it can become somewhat stale after a while. There are some parts of the story that made me feel like I was merely listening to Poehler drone on about Rajo Jack instead of having the ability to thoroughly enjoy the story. On top of that, Poehler throws the names of many people, organizations, and race courses at the reader. Some of these stick, such as the American Automobile Association (AAA), Barney Oldfield, and Oakland Speedway, but many others are easily lost. When some of these names are mentioned early but do not resurface until later in the book, one can lose track of who these individuals are. I view this as a bit of an internal conflict within Poehler: I believe he wanted to breathe personality into the other racers and have them recognized as actual people instead of just other drivers that Rajo raced against. However, the reader will likely not become attached to these people (after all, the titular character is the focus of the book), which makes me question the viability of this choice. Car jargon is scattered throughout the book, such as engine names, wheel types, and car models. For someone like me who lacks this knowledge, they cannot fully appreciate these factors; to me, it only seemed like mere detailing. Fortunately, these do not largely distract the reader from the main premise of the book. Poehler likely had a niche audience—being racing and car enthusiasts—and I believe he reached that audience well. None of this drags the book down too much, but I found them to be detracting factors from the overall experience.
"The Brown Bullet: Rajo Jack’s Drive to Integrate Auto Racing" was an intriguing story of a forgotten racing legend. Despite some issues, I enjoyed this book, and I would recommend this for anyone interested in discovering information about someone likely unknown to them. Bill Poehler’s research and effort in staying as true as possible to a murky tale is worthy of applause and praise. He gives the reader an accurate depiction of the life of Rajo Jack without beating around the bush. It is worth remembering that Rajo Jack had to suffer through so much mistreatment and exclusion because of one thing: He was black.
March 26, 2021
I learned about this book from the Racing History group on line, and found learning about Rajo Jack quite interesting. He was not a perfect person in anyway, but he overcame many setbacks, and kept trying. Some of the things he accomplished were quite fantastic, and it was fun to learn how he fit in with people I got to know from the RH group including a brief mention of Len Sutton. Most surprising is where he also met a very young Dick Vermeil. Rajo did much more in his life than most of us ever will. Although it sometime bogged down in race results, and jumped a bit, this was still a book that I was very glad that I read.
February 16, 2021
Interesting story of a black race car driver in the 30s and 40s. The book is full of interesting facts about early racing in the US as well as Rajo Jack's career. As a racing fan, this was a very good book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews