Melvin B. Tolson (The Radical)

Melvin B. Tolson (February 6, 1898–August 29, 1966) was an American Modernist poet, educator, columnist, Trade Unionist, politician and (some say) a rationalist. Tolson was recently portrayed by Denzel Washington in the 2007 film, The Great Debaters, which tells the story of Tolson’s personal life, his private causes and his work in developing an award-winning debate team at Texas’ Wiley College.

His public work displays both his perceptive intellect and his sharp, comical edge. Perhaps this speaks more of his legend, but it has been said that Tolson was so proficient at argumentation and debate that he would often anticipate the arguments and counterarguments of his opponents and memorize his responses to each potential counterargument in order to lessen the chances that his opponents would ever catch him by surprise. Impressive.

But I was even more impressed by the fact that, while Tolson was known a public intellectual, he still maintained a sense of connection with the people in his community. His contemporary, Langston Hughes, once said that Tolson was “no highbrow. Students revere him and love him. Kids from the cotton fields like him. Cow punchers understand him ... He’s a great talker.”

Here a few excerpts from Tolson’s column Caviar and Cabbage, a regular column that appeared in The Washington Tribune newspaper from 1937- 1944.

On being prepared for debates:
"It seems that I am always in the objective case. But the records show that Aristotle, Columbus, Pasteur, Socrates, and Jesus were in the same classification. So I’m in good company. I am not a yes-man nor an amen-brother. In fact, the only reason I can endure this worst of all possible worlds is this: I have a supply or brickbats and there are plenty of glass houses to throw at. The Big Boys have tried to buy me off and some of them have tried to cut off my meal ticket in this Christian Country, but I go on my way hurling my rocks at superstitions and prejudices and cruelties. If I think a thing is right, I'm ready to debate any man, anywhere, and at any time…I myself meet all comers in the arena of argumentation. A.B.s, A.M.s, and Ph.D.s are not barred. I admit I do have some fear of D.D.s, for they may call upon me the wrath of an angry God."

A Warning to Black People
"Black folk are too easily deluded by superficial facts. Call a man an infidel or a radical and you can hoodwink us to death. Why should a black man fear a radical? The abolitionists were radicals in their day. At one time it was radical in America to say 'I believe the black man has a soul; I believe a black man can be educated.' If it had not been for the radicals, every black man would be in a cotton patch with a white man standing over him with a forty-four and a horsewhip three yards long. And whenever you hear anybody denounce radicals, remember this: persecuted races get their rights only through the agitation of radicals. The man who denies the truth of this is as dumb as Balaam’s jackass. Amen!"


- Excerpts taken from Melvin B. Tolson's article, "The Death of An Infidel" featured in the April 2, 1938 issue of The Washington Tribune. Click here to read more of his work.

Courage to be contrary

"If you care about the points of agreement and civility, then, you had better be well-equipped with points of argument and combativity, because if you are not then the 'center' will be occupied and defined without your having helped to define it, or determine what and where it is... Conflict may be painful, but the painless solution does not exist in any case and the pursuit of it leads to the painful outcome of mindlessness and pointlessness; the apotheosis of the ostrich."

Just yesterday, a good friend of mine forwarded me the above excerpt from author Christopher Hitchens' 2001 book, Letters to a Young Contrarian. I find Hitchens' well-phrased words to be helpful because I often find myself surrendering my true views and silently yielding my intellectual and moral stances for fear of causing conflict with other people. Such a habitual reflex has begun to erode my credibility, my integrity and my sanity.

Perhaps it is indeed naive to believe that any significant or worthwhile progress can be made without taking unpopular stances, making painful decisions or paying costly prices. And perhaps I am getting too old to expect growth to come about by another other way.

I suspect that much of my hesitancy to engage in conflict or debate is caused by intense feelings of inadequacy. But, in light of Hitchens' advice, this insecurity can be largely remedied by taking advantage of those times when I am not actively engaged in a debate or discussion about controversial matters and committing myself to sufficient preparation and articulation of my ideas.

If anything, even if I am unable to provide a conclusive answer to a dilemma, I can at least master my ability to understand other perspectives and articulate my own series of challenging questions that seek to dismantle falsehoods and provoke a thoughtful reappraisal and reexamination of facts, personal prejudices, philosophical underpinnings and ethical implications. But even this feels less than sufficient as I also need to take steps to honestly affirm that which I hold to be true and that which I understand to be of value- even when I feel the bounds of my own limited vision and partial knowledge.

I feel less need to provide conclusive answers to stifle any disagreement with my ideas, but I can at least articulate the view from where I stand- knowing that we all have so much more to learn.

This is the challenge. This is my goal.