My People is the Enemy: An Autobiographical Polemic

by William Stringfellow

It was to Harlem that I came from the Harvard Law School. I came to Harlem to live, to work there as a lawyer, to take some part in the politics of the neighborhood, to be a layman in the Church there. It is now seven years later. In what I now relate about Harlem, I do not wish to indulge in horror stories, though that would be easy enough to do" In this extraordinary and passionate book, William Stringfellow relates his deep concern with the ugly reality of being black and being poor. As a white Anglo-Saxon, Mr. Stringfellow does not try to speak for African Americans and Puerto Ricans in the Harlem ghetto, but, as a lawyer, he graphically underlines the failure of the American legal system to provide equal justice for the poor. And, as a Christian who lived for seven years on what the New York Times called the worst block in New York City, he challenges the reluctance of the churches to be involved in the racial crisis beyond the point of pontification"

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Biography, Autobiography

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Frank William Stringfellow (April 26, 1928 – March 2, 1985) was an American lay theologian. He was active mostly during the 1960s and 1970s.

Reviews

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cogent testimony to where we come from, and where we still are, on race and inequality in America. Living in Harlem, Stringfellow never attempts to speak for anyone but himself. His experience as a lawyer and a layperson gives him the perspective him tackle the law and the Church, pointing out it's good intentions, and it's shortcomings in community. Too often, we're afraid to have meaningful conversations about inequality, race, religion, and their intersections. But these conversations remain entirely necessary, and it's only through communicating and understanding one another that we'll begin to address the immense problems of our nation.

If you want to understand the conflicts we see today, and how we got here, "My People is the Enemy" is worth putting on your reading list.

[Jim Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the three most consequential books of my life. For most of my life, I've wanted to be a lawyer fighting for people oppressed by the US economic, social, and legal system. As a young newly-converted Protestant, I wanted to understand how to heed my calling within the context of being a disciple of Jesus. William Stringfellow showed me the way (1) radical proximity to the oppressed without concern for big "results" in what Gerald Lopez calls "Rebellious Lawyering," and (2) speaking truth to power.

I moved to Mississippi the year after I read this book and have lived and practiced law in Mississippi and Louisiana for 35 years. Stringfellow's memoir is still one of my go-to books for challenging me to live up to my values.

[Gorfo · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I'm often the first to say that history repeats itself and is often forgotten, it's another thing to be confronted with a point-in-time memoir that accentuates this fact so acutely. I love that this book delves into the concept of northern racism and segregation as we've so often been spoonfed a history that applauds the north as a safe haven merely because slavery was legally abolished in many states pre-Civil War. This version of history negates the struggles of millions who suffered a much more pernicious segregation buoyed by "good liberal intentions" and who continue to suffer.

William Stringfellow was a man ahead of his times. In his autobiography he moves to 100th street in Harlem in 1956. He is a white man and a Harvard Law school grad. At this point in time he is the only white man living on the block. To give you a sense of how incredible this is, in 2017 I went to 102th street and was shocked to find a neighborhood that stood in stark contrast to the rest of Manhattan, there were almost no white people anywhere, and the only "white" establishment was an overtly italian pizza shop that had been there forever, likely when the neighborhood was still considered undesirable but filled instead with irish and italians.

In My people is the enemy Stringfellow provides a surprisingly nuanced view of the black situation and the insurmountable odds that it has to contend with. And most impressively he doesn't overmoralize or suffer from the typical white savior complex that dominates the liberal conversation because he actually asks blacks what they want or why they feel the way they do and then reports this back rather than trying to control the conversation. He comes to his lot in life with true compassion, walking the walk more than just talking, spewing platitudes, and sitting on the fringe waiting to cast his lot when the winner has become clear.

Of course because of the time this is written in Stringfellow is not without fault, his blatant disregard of the Muslim Brotherhood who he calls black racists is no doubt steeped in his own Episcopalian fervor and he sometimes goes on superfluous religious tangents, but even in these bouts he is nevertheless aware of the failings of christianity in regards to the black community, as he forces us all to ask ourselves why MLK, a key leader of the civil rights movement and a preacher himself, found it easier to identify notions of peace with the hindu leader Gandhi rather than a Christian symbol?

My most significant takeaway from the novel is not something that would have been evident when it was published in 1964. In Stringfellow's time African & Caribbean nations were in the process of unraveling colonial governments and rising to first class citizenship for the first time. There was a sense among Harlem blacks that they were being left behind and that Harlem was no longer the example of black excellence and progress. Having lived both in Harlem, and the Caribbean & having visited Africa I must say that I have to represent that Stringfellow's premonition proved true. Harlem has undoubtedly been left behind and remains in many ways a testament to how blacks in the US remain segregated, marginalized, overpoliced and othered.

The question we should ask ourselves today is whether this lack of progress is just restricted to Harlem?

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting reflection on living in East Harlem. Respectful in that he only tells what he saw- and not in a look at the depravity. Honest reflection combined with reflection on what it means about God and the church.

[Rick Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this book in the early 1960's, it moved me. The very idea: he's a white man living and working basically as a mission volunteer in a community of color. He's a lawyer for the poor. He engages with them, gets to know them, encourages them, and advocates for them. And he gives his book the title "my people [the white community] is the enemy"! I was a young white liberal. I was a college student and active in the civil rights movement. And yet "my people" is the enemy of these people who are poor and have darker skin. The book made its mark on my life.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So insightful on race relations; more autobiographical than An Ethic for Christians (which is straight theology); W.S. details his 7 years of practicing law in Harlem in the 60s; some of this is crystal-clear critique & prophecy.

[John Lussier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stringfellow gives an account of his time in Harlem as a lawyer and lay member of the Episcopal church during the early 1960s. He examines the reality of poverty and racism and prophetically calls Christianity to true reconciliation over these issues.