(now bargain-priced on Amazon!) is that of Lovett Forte-Whiteman. He was born in Dallas, graduated from the Tuskegee Institute, edited the socialist magazine The Messenger, founded the American Negro Labor Congress, and--big mistake!--moved to Moscow in 1930 to work as a science teacher at the American School. After three years--even bigger mistake!--he changed his mind and applied for a visa to return to the United States. He was arrested for counter-revolutionary activities and sent to a labor camp in Kazakhstan. Beaten because he failed to meet his work quota, his teeth knocked out, he died of starvation on January 13, 1939, at the age of forty-four. So much for life in the worker's paradise. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford
Monday, May 23, 2011
Lovett Forte-Whiteman meets the Gulag
Probably the most poignant story in The Forsaken (now bargain-priced on Amazon!) is that of Lovett Forte-Whiteman. He was born in Dallas, graduated from the Tuskegee Institute, edited the socialist magazine The Messenger, founded the American Negro Labor Congress, and--big mistake!--moved to Moscow in 1930 to work as a science teacher at the American School. After three years--even bigger mistake!--he changed his mind and applied for a visa to return to the United States. He was arrested for counter-revolutionary activities and sent to a labor camp in Kazakhstan. Beaten because he failed to meet his work quota, his teeth knocked out, he died of starvation on January 13, 1939, at the age of forty-four. So much for life in the worker's paradise. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford
(now bargain-priced on Amazon!) is that of Lovett Forte-Whiteman. He was born in Dallas, graduated from the Tuskegee Institute, edited the socialist magazine The Messenger, founded the American Negro Labor Congress, and--big mistake!--moved to Moscow in 1930 to work as a science teacher at the American School. After three years--even bigger mistake!--he changed his mind and applied for a visa to return to the United States. He was arrested for counter-revolutionary activities and sent to a labor camp in Kazakhstan. Beaten because he failed to meet his work quota, his teeth knocked out, he died of starvation on January 13, 1939, at the age of forty-four. So much for life in the worker's paradise. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford
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