A History of the African-American People (Proposed) by Strom Thurmond by Percival Everett, James Kincaid Page A

shouting “Yo—bah!”
 
Until the heat doth go—bah.

    F ROM THE D ESK OF P ERCIVAL E VERETT
    November 5, 2002
    Jim—Let’s draft a letter right away to Wilkes, laying out the grounds of our confusion and trying to get him to tell us what the fuck he’s doing. You want to draft it and THEN SEND IT TO ME (not Wilkes, until I see it)?
    Percival

    S IMON & S CHUSTER , I NC .
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
    November 8, 2002
    Dear Percival and James,
    Well, our project is attracting some attention, you’ll be glad to hear, and it’s attention from the highest quarters. Because my dealings with those in high positions, elected and appointed, would be damaged, perhaps irreparably, were I to bandy about names, I must leave you to guess, or, rather, not to guess but to quiet your curiosity on this point.
    In any case, I received a phone call this morning from a Senator—I think I can say that much—asking about our project. This senior and highly respected Senator said that he had heard talk (in the corridors of the Senate and the Senate dining room) about our project. (He also said he had heard wonderful things about me, which I pass on just for completeness sake.) I might add that, in addition to having his ear to the ground, he is a person who has fought back against calamity and, even worse, the calumny of the vicious press in reporting an accident he had years ago. I can’t use names, but it is a tribute to his fighting spirit and that of his family the way he has stood solid and large against those who would be willing to turn a mere accident into something more.
    I’ll add only that he is not even of Senator Thurmond’s party and thus is speaking out of concern for the dignity and democratic forms of the Senate. To quote him, “I wouldn’t even call it ‘concern,’ Martin, confident as I am that a friend like you—may I call you a friend? [I said “certainly”]—will do the thing right. I know I can count on you and won’t insult you by asking.”
    So, I think that’s wholly reasonable. And I’ll just repeat the luminous Senator’s words: I know I can count on you to do this thing right and won’t insult you by asking. I mean I can count on you not to mock Senator T or anything like that, right?
    Yours truly,
Martin A. Snell
Martin Snell, Editor

    S IMON & S CHUSTER , I NC .
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
    November 8, 2002
    Barton,
    Atlantic City?
    Juniper

    Interoffice Memo
    Percival—This OK?
    DRAFT
    November 9, 2002
    Dear Martin,
    I enclose here material received from Wilkes.
    What in God’s name are we to make of it? I mean, he says we are to work it up. What the hell does “work it up” mean? Here we are waiting patiently for real material FROM THURMOND and we get what are apparently writing exercises from this Barton person. Who is he? How are we to deal with him?
    Is he mad? Are you?
    The material also. For fuck’s sake, it leans toward the most absurd apologetic I’ve ever seen. We supposed to say that all was peachy for Southern darkies, that the only ones suffering were those who went North? It gets worse, as you will see.
    We are serious writers, Snell, and we sure as Christ cannot proceed without knowing what it is we are to be doing. I can tell you what we won’t do:
    —write some cockeyed history designed to make salmon-head look like a friend to man
    —sit around for months playing hide-the-hankie with Wilkes
    —put up with much more crowshit from you
    So, with all respect, do clarify things for us. We don’t mean to cause difficulties. We mean to work. We are dying to work. We work well, you’ll see. Let us work!
    Cordially yours,
    Percival and Jim

    F ROM THE D ESK OF P ERCIVAL E VERETT
    November 10, 2002
    Jim:
    I altered the tone a little and sent it on.
    Percival

    Office of Senator Strom Thurmond
217 Russell Senate Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
    November 10, 2002
    Juniper:
    Atlantic City is fine by me. Good suggestion. Next