Our
basic cultural perspective is Iroquoian and Wabanaki -- strongly influenced
by Navajo and Laguna.
I'm an organizer -- a
working social justice agitator. I've been one since the mid-1950s and I'll
always be one. In many respects, it's one of the toughest trails anyone
could ever blaze.
An effective organizer
seeks to get grassroots people together -- and does; develops on-going and
democratic local leadership; deals effectively with grievances and
individual/family concerns; works with the people to achieve basic
organizational goals and develop new ones; and builds a sense of the New
World To Come Over The Mountains Yonder -- and how all of that relates to
the shorter term steps.
An effective organizer
has to be a person of integrity, courage, commitment.
And a person of
solidarity and sacrifice.
The satisfactions are
enormous.
I have always lived and worked
in the Borderlands.
Member,
United Auto Workers, Local 1981 [AFL-CIO]
_______
NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR:
I am honored -- humbled -- by the 2005 Elder
Recognition Award ofWordcraft Circle of Native
Writers and Storytellers. This is one of several
awards voted by the Caucus [board] of this organization of writers,
storytellers, film makers, and journalists. I was nominated by
Alice Hatfield Azure [Mi'kmaq] -- an honor in its own right. As are
other fine expressions of appreciation, this is extremely meaningful to
me and our family. And to all of those with whom I have worked and
for whom I have written -- and from whom I have always learned much
indeed -- this is for them a tribute as well.
[The previous recipient of the Wordcraft Elder Recognition
Award was Maurice Kenny, Mohawk, teacher and playwright and poet, who received
it in 2000.]
"We cannot run away from
the Winds of Challenge and Change. We have to take History and ride
with it. Always ahead, always toward the Sun. And always aware that
Democracy is natural and, given half a chance, it will always
flourish. We have big fish to fry and we're going to have to do it
in an American skillet -- over a long-burning fire from the timber
of our own forests."
-- Hunter Bear
"My name is Zonnie
Gorman and I am the
youngest daughter of
Carl and Mary Gorman.
My parents always spoke
very highly of you.
Your name was a part of
my family's fond
memories. I don't know
if we ever met, but
hearing my parents speak
of you so often, it is
as if we have. Thank
you so much for your
words of tribute to my
father. I cried as I
read it all. . . ."
NEWLY LISTED: THREE BASIC
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI MOVEMENT "SCRAPBOOK" LINKS:
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR A
FULL ROSTER OF SIGNIFICANT POSTS
Hunter Gray [John R. Salter, Jr.]
The "Young Red" Portrait By Frank
Dolphin [Flagstaff, Arizona; and LaBarge, Wyoming -- And A Thousand Other
Places]. Once A Working Cowpuncher And Then An Excellent "Cowboy Artist,"
Frank Was A Good Deal More.
This injunction [June 6, 1963] is my graduate
degree in militant, radical community organization. I take much pride in it and in the
deeply committed human company with whom I'm named -- and in the many thousands of
courageous grassroots Black people who were the hard-rock foundation of our great crusade
for social justice. I was Chair of the Strategy Committee of the massive Jackson
Movement of 1962-63. This is considered the most sweeping anti-demonstration
injunction issued anywhere in the United States during the 1960s. Of course we
defied it. Jackson Movement highlights are listed in this Index.
Following the very bloody Jackson Movement era, I then went immediately into
full-time grassroots civil rights and anti-Klan organizing in the hard-core
South -- as the Field Organizer for the radical Southern Conference Educational
Fund [SCEF.] Those rough-and-ready years, and my subsequent work in the
militant dimension of the Southern anti-poverty movement, are well covered here
-- and are clearly listed down in this Index. All told, we were in the South
from 1961 well into 1967.
Note on the organization of the Lair of
Hunterbear Website -- 2009:
In a word, our
comprehensive Index/Directorydrops down like a
vertical shaft throughall sorts of clearly-marked
wonders.
Native Americans,
social justice activists, academics of all sorts, labor organizers,
researchers and writers -- all of these and much and many more, nationally
and internationally, visit our Site with frequency. Our material is
mostly primary in nature: much first-hand experiential stuff.
The far upper part of this Index/Directory
always contains some personally introductory material, special announcements,
and, very much, links to the many more recent postings -- as well as many
others. We do prune it fairly regularly.
In due course
,
however, as you scroll down -- and down, you'll hit all
of the regular, permanent repository title-by-title Index listings.
[The newest posts are also consistently placed
"down there" in their regular, appropriate permanent
slots as well.] You'll note, as you go down, that most material is
grouped in general subject categories -- although not always exclusively so
in the precise sense.
This
site -- and our total computer operation -- is fully and effectively
protected at all times by the latest Norton [2008
plus every update] top-of-the-line anti-virus and firewall protection. We
use only the very best. Full scale up date -- all front
protection -- as of 2009.
Please feel very free to
e-mail me with your comments.
NATIVE AMERICANS AND THE NEW
CENTURY: TWO NEW ARTICLES FOR STRUGGLE, ORGANIZING, FIGHTING, AND VICTORY
[Hunter Gray - SPRING 2002 -- UPDATED A NUMBER OF TIMES One of these articles, NATIVE AMERICAN STRUGGLE: ONE CENTURY INTO ANOTHER has now been
published in the Spring 2002 issue of DEMOCRATIC LEFT -- official journal of
Democratic Socialists of America[DSA]. On April 20, 2002, Portside [the news
service of Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism] published
and sent it to about 4,300 recipients. The second article, "NATIVES, ISSUES, AND
RADICALS, has appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of the CCDS
journal DIALOGUE AND INITIATIVE as NATIVE PEOPLES AND THE LEFT.
NATIVE AMERICAN STRUGGLE has also been published [9/9/02] on the website of the
Anti-Racism Commission [DSA], Our Struggle/Nuestra Lucha
"My name is Zonnie Gorman and I am the
youngest daughter of Carl and Mary Gorman. My parents always spoke very
highly of you. Your name was a part of my family's fond memories. I don't
know if we ever met, but hearing my parents speak of you so often, it is as
if we have. Thank you so much for your words of tribute to my father. I
cried as I read it all. . . ."
MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON [HUNTER BEAR
3/21/05] NED A. HATATHLI
OF NAVAJO NATION: VISIONARY, TRAIL-BLAZER, MENTOR OF MINE -- AND,
IT IS A TOUGH BUT
NECESSARY CALL -- "LAST THINGS" ON LIFE'S TRAIL [HUNTER
BEAR 3/23/05]
VIGILANTES AND LYNCH MENTALITY [HUNTER BEAR
4/02/05]REMEMBERING
RAYMOND NAKAI [HUNTER BEAR, 8/16/05]
From Sam Friedman:
"It is an amazing
outpouring of love and respect. Not just for today, but as something we can
show our grandchildren and they can show their grandchildren to say, "This is
what you can aspire to."
From Lois Chaffee: "It
is a great tribute - I'm very glad that you can see the impact your life has had
on so many other lives and so many significant events. Best to you all."
From Heather Booth:
"Hunter,You have captured our hearts and spirits.
I am so glad you like the web site and know some of the impact you have had not
only on those who have been with you in common struggle, but also those of us
who are moved by your example."
Lee Taylor Benally, Navajo brother. Lived with us
at various points while attending Flagstaff High School. We graduated together.
Lee, on leave from the Navy, died in a car wreck on Highway 666 near his family
home at Shiprock, New Mexico. This photo taken in the patio by our house with
our dog, Tippy. Ca. May, 1951.
Dear Hunter, [June 25
2002]
My name is Zonnie Gorman and I am the youngest
daughter of Carl and Mary Gorman. My parents always spoke very highly
of you. Your name was a part of my family's fond memories. I don't know
if we ever met, but hearing my parents speak of you so often, it is as
if we have. Thank you so much for your words of tribute to my father.
I cried as I read it all.
My mother Mary, passed into the spirit world
on September 9th of last year. I miss them both very much. I wish they
both could have been here for the release of Windtalkers. My mother and
I assisted Senator Bingaman for nearly two years to find and verify some
400 Code Talkers who were receiving the Congressional medal. As I am
sure you know, my mother was very much dedicated to my father...and to
the Code Talkers.
She was able to go to Washington DC in July
last year to receive the Gold Congressional medal in memory of my
father. Approximately six weeks later we lost her a heartattack. I know they are together as it should be and that they
are still watching over the Code Talkers and their story.
I am currently living in Gallup with my three
teenage sons, Micheal (18), and Christopher and Anthony (16). I have
recently opened a family gallery on the net. I have produced a
poster set from two paintings my father did of Code Talkers in the 1970s
that are featured on the site. I would love very much to link to your
site and share your memories of my father with my clients.
GUIDE'S NOTE: KEEP GOING DOWN, ALL
THE WAY [ASSUMING YOU'RE SO INCLINED] AND YOU'LL FIND A VAST AMOUNT OF MATERIAL
ON A WIDE VARIETY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE MATTERS. MOST OF IT HAS NOT BEEN
LISTED ABOVE. -- HUNTER BEAR
The negative, depressing side of this is clear enough.
The positive side is the clarity with which you have confronted the
problem, and continue to confront it
- and deal with it, coffee and all.
One would hardly know from reading youraccounts of just how gravely ill you are.
The mind, clearly, ain't.
Peace,
David [McReynolds] 4/25/05
From Joyce Ladner [4/20/05]
Dear John,
I am so glad to know that you are holding your own. Old soldiers never
die. You aren't even fading away but going stronger than ever. If given a
choice, give me the ability to be mentally tough any day over physical
strength. I recently began making necklaces--with large ethnic beads,
especially in turquoise. Would you happen to know anyone among the Nativepeople who sell the beads and pendants for jewelry making? I am veryinterested in establishing a contact with Native distributors. My very
bestto Eldri. I know she's probably got that loom
humming busy!
All the best,
Joyce
[Joyce follows up with, " Thanks a lot John Hunter (). I like John because
it reminds me of the John who led the Jackson boycott. I respect Hunter a
lot too. Thanks for the list of bead merchants. I've started going down
the list already. . ."
NATIVE AMERICAN COMMISSION -- PAGE 3:
MY BOOK NOTES ON THE EXCELLENT THE WABANAKIS OF MAINE AND THE MARITIMES
[10/25/02] -- AND MY RECENT ARTICLE: NATIVE PEOPLES AND THE LEFT [HUNTER
GRAY]
[A very fine, sharply honed, eminently
complimentary -- and genuinelyoptimistic poem ["Hunter" -- by Sam Friedman] January 21 2004
Hunter, here it is. I hope we have the chance to read an updated versiontogether at night to the stars on your 100th birthday!
best
sam
Hunter
I know him
as electronic words
on a list serve,
printed words
in a few articles
and a book,
and by brief talk
by telephone-
and by the echoes of his deeds
which were not his
but those of the movements
he helped to organize.
As he would say,
the greatness is theirs,
or maybe, grudgingly, "ours,"
never "mine,"
never "me,"
though not through the false modesty
he reviles.
His ego resembles
a Pocatello pine,
his mind ranges over the Rockies,
his caring and vision
spills from the Arizona of his birth
through Jackson, Eastern Carolina,
Rochester, Chicago, the Dakotas,
down deep into the dark metal mines
where safety depends on power,
through the longshore bars of Seattle
and the firefronts of arid Arizona.
When he dies, the Scorpion and Centaur in the sky
Will drive Lupus from the star-fields with meteors,
and the Bears will dance around the Pole Star
to commemorate a life of their own.
Note by Hunter Bear:
In just several days, this particular post has drawn a flood of continuing
praise. Here are just a few of many indeed:
"This
near-death experience by an authentic American hero--who was deeply
involved in the Mississippi civil rights movement among many other
principled stands--is so moving that I have to share it with you."
Steven F. McNichols [Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Attorney]
San Francisco, CA 94104-3503 12/21/03
great writing. xoKass Fleisher
Author of forthcoming THE BEAR RIVER MASSACRE [Spring 2004]
12/22/03
I
HAVE FORWARDED THIS TO MY SONS, CALLING IT A WONDERFUL READ BY A WONDERFUL
MAN WHO HAS LED A WONDERFUL LIFE. THE WHOLE THING BELONGS IN YOUR
AUTOBIOGRAPHY, INCLUDING YOUR PRESENT ILLNESS, BECAUSE THAT WILL TELL
READERS ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER. AND I URGE YOU ONCE AGAIN TO GET IT WRITTEN
PRONTO, MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOUR WRITER AND EDITOR SONS AND WHOEVER ELSE
TO FINISH THE JOB IF YOU DONT.
BILL [William
Mandel] Activist and author of many books -- including
SAYING NO TO POWER. 12/21/03
Oh, John! This is wonderful. Even with your
terrible illness, your strength shines -- blazes, really. My warmest wishes
and gratitude to you and Eldri. Paz. Clyde
Clyde Appleton, Tucson, a close radical activist friend from the '50s.
December 27, 2003
Having been a subscriber for less than a year, I have
very much regrettednot having the opportunity to meet this man. Knowing what I've learned ofhim through these pages inspires me to let him know that I very muchappreciate his contributions and will miss him and his work when he is nolonger with us. My wishes are for his impact to influence my thought worldand that of others for many seasons and for his continued strength tocontinue to be with us for as long as he needs to be.
Marie Jackson SNCC
discussion list January 6, 2004
ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING!
Dale Jacobson Poet and scholar January 23 2004
Maybe the world is out of balance (Koyaanisqatsi?)
and you're in balance. John Salter
[Beba] 2/21/05
I sincerely wish you health and a wealth of
happiness.
Celebrate Life!
John Grogan 2/22/05
Canadian Rockies bioregion
Thank you for all you have done and will
continue to do. The struggle continues for as long as injustice does, and
as long as human life prevails upon this planet and perhaps some other
planet in the future. Our spirits are with you.
Mario Marcel Salas 2/22/05
San Antonio, Texas SNCC
From Tiffany: 2/21/05
Wow! All that I can say is that I'm
amazed. i know you've probably heard
this so much that it's old, but your writing ability is incredible! I'm
totally blind, lost my sight at two months old, have never been to Arizona,
and yet I saw the places to which you were referring. I felt that I was
with you as you made that journey. Then again, what else should i expect
from such an admirable figure as yourself?
[Tiffany]
One of your best pieces, in my
opinion. Maybe the brandy is still there, wedged between some rocks, aged
to perfection. John Salter 1/01/05
Treasure of an essay. Sheila Michaels
1/01/05
I feel I know you a little through your
wonderful postings. Thank
you for them. Edwin Laing 1/01/05
This is a very nice story indeed. You
have a real gift here.
It was terrific to talk with you.
Happy New Year
sam [friedman] 1/01/05
I do hope someone found that bottle of
brandy!
David [McReynolds] 1/01/05
What a great post, made stronger because
I can picture the switchbacks below Jerome. That's a great line -- the
jail sliding across the street. It seemed remarkable to me (and my
Dakota/Nebraska flatland conditioning) that the entire town just didn't
tip and roll down the hill. Anyway, great writing. Great stories. I'm
saving this one. Peter Gray Salter 1/01/05
Good
read. Thanks.:-
Yours,
Issodhos
1/02/05
When the big
bottle of Hennessy hit the water in Lindsay Loy's irrigation ditch, it was
immediately transposed into Legend. In that sense it joins [in its
small but qualitatively quite comparable fashion] the Lost Dutchman Mine
in the Superstitions of central Arizona and the Lost Adams Diggings
located somewhere in western New Mexico or eastern Arizona: gold
lost, gold found, gold lost again. Not one of the countless
conversations of any kind that Joe and I have had on any topic since the
early '50s has failed to early-on include the Loss -- and no academic
class to whom I have given this account has failed to focus immediately
and primarily on the Bottle. As the decades have passed, the
Hennessy has grown tremendously in image and glow -- as authentic legends
always do. In my opinion, finding it would simply reduce the Legend
to commonplace materials, adding another layer of tragedy and an even
greater sense of loss.
NATIVE AMERICANS
AND THE NEW CENTURY: TWO NEW ARTICLES FOR STRUGGLE, ORGANIZING, FIGHTING, AND VICTORY [Hunter Gray - SPRING 2002] One of
these articles, NATIVE
AMERICAN STRUGGLE: ONE CENTURY INTO ANOTHER has now been published in the Spring 2002
issue of DEMOCRATIC LEFT -- official journal of Democratic Socialists of America[DSA].
On April 20, 2002, Portside [the news service of Committees of Correspondence
for Democracy and Socialism] published and sent it to about 4,300 recipients.
The second article, "NATIVES, ISSUES, AND RADICALS, has
appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of the CCDS journal DIALOGUE AND INITIATIVE as
NATIVE PEOPLES AND THE LEFT.
NATIVE AMERICAN STRUGGLE has also been published [9/9/02] on the website of the
Anti-Racism Commission [DSA], Our Struggle/Nuestra Lucha
This extensive page is also the beginning of a
major section on the life and times of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter
Workers. One can tie into that right here -- or scroll down where it's all listed in
detail.
Congratulations: We are proud of all
of our children and grandchildren -- whose accomplishments continue to be significant.
In May, 2001, our oldest son, John Salter [born at Raleigh, N.C., 1965],
received a highly prestigious McKnight Writer's Award for creative prose: a quite
substantial financial stipend, publication of his submitted/judged work, key reading
appearances. His was one of four awarded out of a large pool of applicants.
His short stories have appeared in many of the top-flight literary magazines in the United
States.
An excellent
collection of his fine short stories has -- March 2002 -- been published in cloth and
paper. The book is ALBERTA CLIPPER -- issued by
Livingston Press / University of West Alabama. It's available from all of the
conventional sources.
He received a substantial grant through the
Minnesota Arts Council. in 2002.
In 2003, he was their guest -- for an extensive stay -- at the Yaddo artists and
writers retreat at Saratoga Springs, New York.
A second book of his fine short stories plus a novella will be coming out
before long. It will be called PURPLE SAGE.
BUT THE BIG NEWS OF THIS MOMENT IN HISTORY IS
THAT HIS CURRENT MAJOR NOVEL, A TROUT IN THE SEA OF CORTEZ,
HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN LATE SUMMER 2006 BY COUNTERPOINT [A DIVISION OF PERSEUS],
NEW YORK CITY!
AND IT IS
DRAWING TRULY GREAT REVIEWS!
AND NOW,
FOR THE SECOND TIME, JOHN HAS JUST RECEIVED THE MCKNIGHT WRITER'S FELLOWSHIP --
AND HAS JUST RECEIVED THE TOP BUSH FOUNDATION [TWIN CITIES] WRITER'S FELLOWSHIP
AS WELL.
John Gray [Ignace Hatchiorauquasha], great/great/great
grandfather of Hunter Gray:
"Gray -- Ross had described him the year before
as "a turbulent blackguard, a damned rascal" -- then launched into a
denunciation of the policies of HBC in general and the men of the Columbia Department in
particular: ". . .the greatest Villains in the World & if they were here
this day I would shoot them . . ." John Gray [Ignace
Hatchiorauquasha], Mohawk, fighting leader of the Iroquois fur-hunters in the Far West, to
Peter Skene Ogden et al. of the Hudson's Bay Company, on May 24 1825, at the point John
Gray and his Native band struck Ogden's camp -- near the present northeastern
Utah/southeastern Idaho border -- and successfully ended a viciously exploitative pricing
system and quasi-indentured servitude over the whole, entire wide region.
Cited from: Don Berry, A Majority of
Scoundrels: An Informal History of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company [New York:
Harper & Brothers, 1961], page 97.
John Gray [Ignace
Hatchiorauquasha] and his wife, Marienne Neketichon [Mary Ann Charles] Mohawk
Indians
My radical essay, "Unfriendly
Forces, Mountain Lions, and Our Rattlesnake Friend [Reflections on Idaho]" in
the January/February 2001 issue of the excellent socialist magazine, Against The
Current. It's also available on the Net.
What follows here via
the above Links are some of the major points in our struggle against an extremely
lethal disease -- SLE Lupus -- and the accompanying serious diabetes. [SLE is
rare and Natives, Chicanos, and Blacks are especially vulnerable to it.] We
believe our record here is important. We know the fine comments and thoughts by
many friends are absolutely critical to us. Thus we are listing this highly
significant material.
MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON [HUNTER BEAR
3/21/05] NED A. HATATHLI
OF NAVAJO NATION: VISIONARY, TRAIL-BLAZER, MENTOR OF MINE -- AND, IT IS A TOUGH BUT
NECESSARY CALL -- "LAST THINGS" ON LIFE'S TRAIL [HUNTER
BEAR 3/23/05]
VIGILANTES AND LYNCH MENTALITY [HUNTER BEAR
4/02/05]REMEMBERING
RAYMOND NAKAI [HUNTER BEAR, 8/16/05]
Note by Hunterbear:
In just two days, this particular post has drawn a flood of continuing
praise. Here are just a few of many indeed:
"This
near-death experience by an authentic American hero--who was deeply
involved in the Mississippi civil rights movement among many other
principled stands--is so moving that I have to share it with you."
Steven F. McNichols [Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Attorney]
San Francisco, CA 94104-3503 12/21/03
great writing. xoKass Fleisher
Author of forthcoming THE BEAR RIVER MASSACRE [Spring 2004]
12/22/03
I
HAVE FORWARDED THIS TO MY SONS, CALLING IT A WONDERFUL READ BY A WONDERFUL
MAN WHO HAS LED A WONDERFUL LIFE. THE WHOLE THING BELONGS IN YOUR
AUTOBIOGRAPHY, INCLUDING YOUR PRESENT ILLNESS, BECAUSE THAT WILL TELL
READERS ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER. AND I URGE YOU ONCE AGAIN TO GET IT WRITTEN
PRONTO, MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOUR WRITER AND EDITOR SONS AND WHOEVER ELSE
TO FINISH THE JOB IF YOU DONT.
BILL [William
Mandel] Activist and author of many books -- including
SAYING NO TO POWER. 12/21/03
Oh, John! This is wonderful. Even with your
terrible illness, your strength shines -- blazes, really. My warmest wishes
and gratitude to you and Eldri. Paz. Clyde
Clyde Appleton, Tucson, a close radical activist friend from the '50s.
December 27, 2003
Having been a subscriber for less than a year, I have
very much regrettednot having the opportunity to meet this man. Knowing what I've learned ofhim through these pages inspires me to let him know that I very muchappreciate his contributions and will miss him and his work when he is nolonger with us. My wishes are for his impact to influence my thought worldand that of others for many seasons and for his continued strength tocontinue to be with us for as long as he needs to be.
Marie Jackson SNCC
discussion list January 6, 2004
ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING!
Dale Jacobson Poet and scholar January 23 2004
Maybe the world is out of balance (Koyaanisqatsi?)
and you're in balance. John Salter
[Beba] 2/21/05
Thank you for all you have done and will
continue to do. The struggle continues for as long as injustice does, and
as long as human life prevails upon this planet and perhaps some other
planet in the future. Our spirits are with you.
Mario Marcel Salas 2/22/05
San Antonio, Texas SNCC
From Tiffany: 2/21/05
Wow! All that I can say is that I'm
amazed. i know you've probably heard
this so much that it's old, but your writing ability is incredible! I'm
totally blind, lost my sight at two months old, have never been to Arizona,
and yet I saw the places to which you were referring. I felt that I was
with you as you made that journey. Then again, what else should i expect
from such an admirable figure as yourself?
[Tiffany]
ORGANIZER 8:THOUGHTS ON RED SCARES AND "AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL"
[HUNTER GRAY 5/11/02] FURTHER COMMENT ON RED SCARES -- [HUNTER GRAY MAY 20, 2002]
ORGANIZER
12: WRITING JUST AS I FEEL MOVED TO DO -- NOW AND FOREVER
[HUNTERBEAR 5/ 23 / 02] A BRIEF DISCUSSIONAL NOTE [5
/20 /02] -- UNIONS AND THE SOUTH [COLLOQUY CONTINUED] HUNTER GRAY MAY
10-11, 2002 -- [AND A NOTE ON, WHERE'S THE HUMOUR IN THE AMERICAN RADICAL MOVEMENT
THESE DAYS? BY HUNTERBEAR 5/16/02]
This is one very substantial portion of a large
amount of Mississippi material located in several sections of our Website. It's all listed
at various points in this Index.
A] The Jackson Movement of 1962-63
was the most massive upheaval in the history of blood-dimmed
Mississippi. It cracked Jackson, shook Mississippi to its deepest roots, very
tangibly scattered its burning and rights-stimulating sparks across the South and the
Nation -- and had very substantial international ramifications.
I was privileged by History to be, starting in 1961,
the Advisor to the Jackson Youth Council of NAACP and a member of the Board of Directors
of the Mississippi State Conference of NAACP Branches. [And some of us certainly
worked very closely with SNCC and CORE and SCEF.] I was a very primary organizer of the
developing Jackson Movement and, as it emerged full-blown, its Strategy Committee
Chair. And I was certainly very much a grass-roots participant in many of the
increasingly massive demonstrations. I was badly beaten on several occasions, jailed
a number of times, and very seriously injured.
Because of its radical origins and nature and intent,
and because of the negative roles of both the Kennedy Administration and, when the
crucible came, most of the National Office of NAACP, the Jackson Movement has frequently
been marginalized or otherwise ignored by some -- often avowedly "liberal"
-- historians and their editors and publishers. Blatant examples are Taylor Branch,
the late Willie Morris, University of Illinois Press, and certainly the University Press
of Mississippi. A prime case was the very sanitized [non-radical] PBS film, Eyes On
The Prize, of the 1980s. But some other writers and film people have been
fine.
I'm always intrigued by learning, especially at this
latter-day point, of people who claim or imply Civil Rights Movement backgrounds who were
never there -- or people who claim to have been beaten who weren't, or who tag themselves
as major assassination targets who were not. Fortunately, my papers -- including my
organizer's reports and my massive FBI files and much much more -- are at State Historical
Society of Wisconsin and Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
Very significantly, my racist enemies clubbed and
otherwise injured me seriously enough to bring my name and face into many news media
indeed; and Mississippi honored me with City of Jackson v. John R. Salter, Jr. et al. --
the most sweeping anti-Movement injunction of the '60s [and one which we defied.] But
countless other brave souls have been ignored.
The Jackson Movement is now legend. Its place in
History is quite secure -- and this link takes you
to several representative "snap-shots" of this great, epochal struggle. Reachable through this one link,
there are several Mississippi pages in the foregoing general cluster.After that, the following Mississippi pages are linked
individually. In addition, other stuff relating to the
Mississippi struggle is found in this website -- clearly indicated down in this
Index.
Following the very bloody
Jackson Movement era, I then went immediately into full-time grassroots civil
rights and anti-Klan organizing in the hard-core South as the Field Organizer
for the radical Southern Conference Educational Fund [SCEF] -- then headed by
the excellent Jim Dombrowski at New Orleans. Those rough-and-ready years, and my subsequent work in the
militant dimension of the Southern anti-poverty movement, are well covered here
-- and are clearly listed down in this Index.
All told, we were in the
South from 1961 well into 1967.
Note: Jackson, Mississippi is probably
still available via Robert E. Krieger Publishing Co., Malabar, Florida
[my contract with them expired several years ago] and is readily secured
through ABE and other Net resources. It's listed, of course, under my original
name of John R. Salter, Jr.
Fall 2002: Our copies of
Jackson, Mississippi -- hardback first editions and the later paperback editions --
are not for sale. The hardback edition, as per ABE and book catalogues, is now going
for $40 and $50. Paperback edition is selling at between $12.50 and $20.00.
More Material From Mississippi Secret Police
Files On Me This is a cluster of several pages. This is one portion of a
large amount of Mississippi material located in several sections of our Website. It's all
listed at various points in this Index.
NATIVE AMERICANS AND THE
NEW CENTURY: TWO NEW ARTICLES FOR STRUGGLE, ORGANIZING, FIGHTING, AND VICTORY
[Hunter Gray - SPRING 2002 ] One
of these articles, NATIVE AMERICAN STRUGGLE: ONE
CENTURY INTO ANOTHER has now been published in the Spring 2002 issue of DEMOCRATIC LEFT --
official journal of Democratic Socialists of America[DSA]. On April 20, 2002,
Portside [the news service of Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and
Socialism] published and sent it to about 4,300 recipients. The second article,
"NATIVES, ISSUES, AND RADICALS, has appeared in the Spring
2002 issue of the CCDS journal DIALOGUE AND INITIATIVE as NATIVE PEOPLES AND THE
LEFT.
NATIVE AMERICAN STRUGGLE has also been published [9/9/02] on the website of the
Anti-Racism Commission [DSA], Our Struggle/Nuestra Lucha
JRS/HG Oral
Histories -- Woolworth Sit-In at Jackson, Mississippi
Solidarity;Socialist
Party USA; Anti-Racism Commission [DSA];
Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism;
National Writers Union/UAW Local 1981/AFL-CIO; United Association for
Labor Education. NOTE:
The foregoing organizations are affiliations of mine and strong commitments. I endorse them vigorously.
This is an
individual, direct link.
This is an individual, direct link.
This is an individual, direct link.
THE AMERICAN SOCIALIST IS
NOW ON-LINE!
[January 14, 2002]
If you go to:
,
you
will find the home page for the American Socialist/Socialist Union. This
consists of dozens of articles from the magazine edited by Bert Cochran and
Harry Braverman from 1954 to 1959, most of which appeared on Marxmail last
year. Among the contributors are W.E.B. Dubois, Harvey Swados, Joseph
Starobin, Isaac Deutscher and John Salter Jr., who is known nowadays as
Hunter Gray. You will also find commentary on the Cochranites written by
Michael Livingston who argues that Harry Braverman retained a Trotskyist
outlook even after leaving the SWP, myself and others. Highly recommended.
Louis Proyect
Marxism mailing list:
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH [ASPR]
: Because of certain consistent experiences that I've had from very early
childhood on, I have been affiliated with ASPR for almost 40 years. This scientific
organization -- closely related to the British Society for Psychical Research -- was
founded in the United States in 1885 by, among others, Professor William James and William
Mackintire Salter -- and vigorously led in later years by such well established figures as
Professor Gardner Murphy. The ASPR conducts orderly and scientific studies of
parapsychological phenomena: among them, clairvoyance, telekinesis [psychokinesis],
telepathy, precognition, survival. This is an individual, direct link.
_________________________
Note: This site is constantly being up-dated and
streamlined. In addition, we experiment with such things as font size, colours, and
other technical facets. The complicated tech matters are handled primarily by my
oldest daughter, Maria H. Salter [Maria Gray] -- with on-going assistance by my oldest
grandson, Thomas Gray Salter, and with frequent help by my youngest daughter, Josie Heath
Salter. These able souls, with Maria's youngest, Samantha, live here at Pocatello,
Idaho with Eldri and myself. From some distance, critical suggestions are made by my
oldest son, John R. Salter, and my youngest son, Peter Gray Salter. Eldri and I
stand in awe of the foregoing -- truly priests in the new and mysterious Faith of
Cyberspace.
Again, if you have questions or comments,
feel free to write us at hunterbadbear@earthlink.net
I respond very promptly.
