The South and the Southerner

by Ralph McGill, Eugene Patterson (Foreword)

A wide-ranging blend of autobiography and history, The South and the Southerner is one prominent newspaperman's statement on his region, its heritage, its future, and his own place within it. Ralph McGill (1898-1969), the longtime editor and later publisher of the Atlanta Constitution , was one of a handful of progressive voices heard in southern journalism during the civil rights era. From the podium of his front-page columns, he delivered stinging criticisms of ingrained southern bigotry and the forces marshaled against change; yet he retained throughout his career―and his writing―a deep affection for all southerners, even those who declared themselves his enemies.

In The South and the Southerner , originally published in 1963, McGill moves freely from personal anecdotes about his Tennessee upbringing and Vanderbilt education to reflections on the decline of the plantation economy and his hopes for racial justice. Scattered throughout are vividly rendered biographical vignettes of the South's diverse sons and daughters―figures ranging from demagogues like Mississippi's James Vardaman to Lucy Randolph Mason, the Virginia-born clergyman's daughter who became a tireless crusader for organized labor. Poignant and eloquent, the book remains a compelling meditation on southern identity and culture.

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

From Wikipedia: Ralph Emerson McGill (February 5, 1898 – February 3, 1969) was an American journalist, best known as an anti-segregationist editor and publisher of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper. He was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, serving from 1945 to 1968. He won a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 1959.

McGill was born February 5, 1898, near Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee. He attended school at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After high school, he attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, but did not graduate because he was suspended his senior year for writing an article in the student newspaper critical of the school's administration. McGill served in the Marine Corps during World War

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

We need more people like McGill, who can challenge the more radical elements of their own, bravely pushing for progressive change. We need Muslim leaders who calm and moderate the extremists; Republicans who counter tea partiers and the anti-science crowd; religious leaders who can promote inclusion, love, and tolerance. Although some will feel the book dated, anyone interested in the South after World War II and the struggle for racial equality is encouraged to try this.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revised in 1963, Mc Gill gives first-hand history of "his" South. He became
known as an anti-segregationist and was both lauded and attacked for his
writing on the subject. I like first-hand history, it seems more real and
more accurate.

[Jerry Wall]

The writing is clear, concise, creative, and amazingly good. A lifetime of writing for the general
reading public, Mostly, southerners but also a national prize winner evinces good writing.
Talks about southern living, education, and the change in the country after 1954 Supreme Court
decision on education saying segregation was not the American way. It may not have been
the way but some in the South made it very troublesome to change though some, like McGill
clearly laid out the best thought on the subject.
Dawson County Library reading group June 2023

[CJParker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well documented account of growing up in the south during these times. All southerns should read to further their understanding of the harsh realities of human conduct...why it started, how it continues to the present and the suffering we are all apart of.
The authors ability to write as a mediator is uncanny. His flow of words allows the reader to observe as an outsider and develop their own opinion of unscrupulous times. He is concise and expresses the difference of reality and fiction. A humanitarian who held to his morals and convictions.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with first person, politically incorrect
snippets of Southern history-it's a slow process sometimes
but worth it.