My grandfather was a rich man in Jackson Mississippi in the war years who made his fortune building military bases in the buildup and war years
He had 100s of black employees and they were always around our homes families from cooks to drivers to skilled labor to horse training and deer camp work
As the whole segregation thing was reaching a boil he took a moderate tack and elevated some to supervisory slots and refused to join the popular uptown Klan.....The Citizens Council
We even were friendly with Charlie Evers and Aaron Henry and attended Vernon Dahmers funeral.....
But watching it all turn to crap he warned before his death in early 60s that Generosity breeds dependence breeds resentment beers ultimately contempt
My dad echoed the same sentiment
They were right.
Sounds positively Faulknerian, in every complicated and interesting sense.
I have spent only a little time in the South, primarily in Mississippi (this was some 20 years ago already) and I was clueless and awkward but I felt the power, the soul of the place pervading me.
I still remember it with great wonder and fondness.
Yes, the older ones saw the trouble coming, didn’t they? Although they probably didn’t see the cynicism or the viciousness (or even the sheer numbers) of those bringing it on.