Wesley

1958 · réf. 0002131 — New York NY. Very Good. 1958. On offer is a super original relic of the Civil Rights era and the real bitterness and rage felt by some if not many on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement being the personal copy of the 128 page manifesto-autobiography 'Here I Stand' by Paul Robeson published in 1958 by Othello Associates New York owned annotated and underlined throughout by Wesley A. Williams 1897 - 1984. The target of lifelong racism as the third African-American man ever to join in 1919 the New York Fire Service Williams' ownership signature and despairing annotations fill the book from the front pastedown on: almost every page bears Williams' underlining but it is his commentary as it responds to Robeson's text which is revealing and intensely moving. The pages are stained with his holographic bitterness: he writes regarding the chapter 'Love will find out the way' in the aftermath of the assassination of President Kennedy Williams' comments: 'This Paul is your dream. Today I dream no more as I have lived my 66 years against this brutal white American who lives and dies on the blood of all people. A people who assassinate a good man like their President Kennedy - Kill coloured Sunday school children. Will stop at Nothing. They respect nothing but Force.' Underneath Robeson's suggestion that 'We must wait we are told until the hearts of those who persecute us have softened' Williams has jotted: 'That would be Never'. HISTORICAL NOTES: Wesley Williams joined the New York City Fire Department in 1919 and on the same day the Captain of the Engine Company retired and every other man requested reassignment. Williams persevered in the face of discrimination and became the prime mover in the creation of the Vulcan Society which exposed segregation within the Department. ; Manuscript; 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS ERA WESLEY A. WILLIAMS NEW YORK FIRE SERVICE HERE I STAND PAUL ROBESON BLACK CULTURE RACISM RACE RELATIONS AFRICAN AMERICAN AFRO AMERICAN NEGRO STUDIES BLACK STUDIES BLACK CULTURE ICONIC BLACK MEN AMERICANA HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT AUTOGRAPHED AUTHORS DOCUMENT LETTER AUTOGRAPH KEEPSAKE WRITER HAND WRITTEN DOCUMENTS SIGNED LETTERS MANUSCRIPTS HISTORICAL HOLOGRAPH WRITERS AUTOGRAPHS PERSONAL MEMOIR MEMORIAL PERSONAL HISTORY ARCHIVE DIARY DIARIES JOURNAL LOG PRIMARY SOURCE FIRST HAND ACCOUNT SOCIAL HISTORY PERSONAL STORIES LIVING HISTORY ANTIQUITÉ CONTRAT VÉLIN DOCUMENT MANUSCRIT PAPIER ANTIKE BRIEF PERGAMENT DOKUMENT MANUSKRIPT PAPIER OGGETTO D'ANTIQUARIATO ATTO VELINA DOCUMENTO MANOSCRITTO CARTA ANTIGÜEDAD HECHO VITELA DOCUMENTO MANUSCRITO PAPEL . unknown