⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 4/5
Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC for review consideration via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.
I had not heard of Lillian Smith before reading this book. Some of this may be because her writings and activism occurred in the 1930s and 1940s—well before the peak of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, which we more often learn about. However, reading this also laid bare that I need to make a more concerted effort to dig up a true account of the Civil War and Reconstruction. This book not only provided a full background of Smith’s life’s work, but it also introduced many other authors from this era whose firsthand accounts I now want to read.
Smith was a cultured and privileged White Southern woman who spent her life speaking up about racism, fighting for integration, and championing social equality for all. She was very frank when speaking to other White people, promoting an open dialogue. She didn’t just say things were wrong and that everyone was suffering because of it; instead, she championed real-world, non-violent solutions.
She was well ahead of her time, doing things that often resulted in her being stigmatized, ostracized, and placed in physical danger. When she took over her father’s summer camp, she ensured it expanded its offerings to drama, writing, art, and modern dance. She also provided a progressive education by discussing and answering questions about racism, hypocrisy, and White supremacy. Lillian knew these topics were never broached with children, and she believed that without open and honest dialogue, hatred would prevail unchallenged.
Throughout the years, Lillian and her partner, Paula Snelling, held bi-racial gatherings at the camp on Old Screamer Mountain. This was one of the actions that made them most vulnerable to White rage, but like everything, Smith refused to back down from her beliefs. These parties and dinners were crucial in fostering racial reconciliation. They served as a safe place to talk, share ideas about strategy, and organize, bringing together some of the most brilliant Americans of the time.
Additionally, she and Paula founded a nationally known literary magazine that featured everything from poetry and essays to short stories and interviews, tackling topics ignored by mainstream journalism. With subscriptions peaking near 10,000, the magazine reached people throughout the U.S. to spark vital discussions. It was the only White-owned Southern magazine at the time to include writing by Black authors, as well as reviews by Black critics of White writing. They were also among the few publications actively seeking out and giving a platform to women writers. To build this community, she and Paula traveled throughout the region, talking to thousands of people whose stories ultimately made it into the magazine. Smith also wrote a number of books, including Strange Fruit, Killers of the Dream, and The Journey. While they were well-received, they also created intense turmoil and bans.
It’s sad to me how little has changed. Had a reader not known when this all took place, they might be surprised to learn it happened nearly 100 years ago. Some of the quotes could be peeled directly from today’s news pages:
“Every time poor Whites made even the modest of gains elite whites used censorship, oppression, violence, and fear to harden the racist color line. Whenever elite Whites worried about remaining in complete control, they simply had to portray to Black Americans as people who took things away.”
And:
“We shall not be believed abroad while we daily kill the dream at home.” (From Vincent Sheean's review of Killers of the Dream, which was reprinted by Eleanor Roosevelt in her newspaper column).
Yet, the book is also encouraging and inspiring. It teaches us to be uncompromising in our beliefs, to push back incessantly against foot-dragging and the excuse that societal change is slow, and to give back something equal to or better than what has been taken away when a racist identity is stripped from those who carry it. Readers can take many of Smith’s methods for making connections and enacting creative change and implement them in the current time. “We must remember that demagogues fatten on the poor man’s vote and his loneliness, that they use the psychotic to do their dirty work, but they exist because we liberals let them exist. It is our caution, our lack of energy, our moral impotence and our awful, if unconscious, snobbery that makes demagoguery unafraid of liberalism.”
An Inconvenient Woman contained a great analysis, pulled together a mass of excerpts, and gave a vivid picture of Smith’s life. The only issue I had was there was a lot of repetition. It may have been advantageous to report it in a chronological manner. Because the book jumped back and forth in time, many quotes and moments were repeated multiple times in varying degrees and ways. Other than this minor note, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn about an individual who was so influential in many areas of education and equality, yet has been left out of the narrative.
