The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1936-02-07
BY J. A. Hubert. Atlanta Univer-
sity Library, especially for NNF
DEEP DARK RIVER

sity Library, especially for NlF
DEEP DARK RIVER
Rylee Robert, Farrar 8 Rhlnehart
In the treatment Of Negroes by
white American authors, seldom
are there accurate and just por-
trayals Of black mental reactions.
Somehow even the Southern whites
fail to catch the genuine feelings
of their black neighbors which,
doubtless. are so deeply hidden in
a tangled mass Of repression and
inferiority and so often mixed with
Ignorance and superstition. These
things have concealed the real self
and soul. but still we cannot ac-
cept this as an excuse for the gem
ersi acceptance OF certain stereo-
types.
DEEP DARK RIVER Is another
attempt by a Southern white auth
or to depict q black character IN a
novel. The author is a native of
Tennessee and because Of his resi-
dence is well acquainted with the
setting of his story, the Mississippi
Delta with Its wide and endless ar
cas- Of cotton, the sordid. depress-
ing atmosphere of q small delta
town, the helpless, shiftless, wear
ing, de-vitalizing life Of the plan
tation with its broken whites and
demoralized blacks. Here again is
that Americanized institution of
peonage 50 falsely called share
cropping" Here is all the squat
or. laziness, and ignorance Of a
country that drifts on with the
tide Of Southern custom and habit,
all the capitalization OF back
wardness and provincialism COM
bined with the riin-down-at-the
heel appearance Of a people exist
ing only In name, people lost and
left in the march Of machinery and
progress.
OF Nose Southwick is this story,
of Nose the wanderer and would
be itinerant preacher AS char
acter he is far too naive, even for
Negro. For a man who has got
ten about as much as he has, he is
extremely foolish when It comes to
women and money. Nose Is per-
fectly content in jail, he has conf
dence In Miss Mary though he
does not seem to be really anxious
to get out. When he goes to the
state farm he accepts passively
mentally, SO says our authorl and
is perfectly adjusted for a few
months. His only bad quality was
his habit OF looking white men
straight in the eye when talking
with them and not scratching his
head and shifting his feet. His is
the typical story of thousands Of
black men in the deep South, TAX
ing up land to raise cotton for the
white man and becoming fixed
there through an economics guild
ed by the white mans bookkeep-
ing. To relieve the injustice and
monotony of his life there is one
thing in Nose apart from the GUS
tomary course Of love affairs and
social intercourse. For Noses
burning ambition is to become an
ordained preacher and he INDUCES,
at intervals, in the amateur pur
suit Of his profession. The words
Of some of his sermons, as set in
his mouth by Author Rylee, are
jewels and are highlights in the
reading of the book; they abound
in simple philosophy and genuine
poetry. These words represent
real insight into at least one corn-
er Of the black mind. that calm ac-
ceptance of present tribulations
translated into radiant belier IN
immortality.
But all is not idyllic with the life
of Nose. He runs afoul of white
mans laws by killing another Me-
gre In self defense, Negro set on
him by hating overseer who has
been carrying on a clandestine af-
fair with Moses wife. Now for
the strongest part of the story. A
young white woman lawyer, sud
denly converted to the gross MUS
tice Of the Negroes position. decid-
es to defend him. Mind you, this
Is in small town where prejudice
rises above the highest falls Of JUS
tice and mercy and this woman Is
a native and is just beginning her
practice. Such a noble sacrifice
could exist only In a novel. How
ever, Nose receives brilliant de-
tense (although the fact of the ov-
erseer's affair with Moses wife
cannot be introduced as evidence
in the easel. He is sentenced to