"Peekskill USA": Fiction Vs. Fact

Howard Fast, in his book titled "Peekskill USA," effectively did two things which he accurately accused his most vocal opponents of doing: first, he attempted to create distrust and hysteria; second, he attempted to throw a blanket of shame over the whole for the wrongs of a very small minority.

In my opinion, the 1949 riots in Peekskill were wrong-- these events should not have happened. However, in asserting that the riots were in any way racially-motivated, Howard Fast intentionally misled the readers of "Peekskill USA." My concern is people in the current era as well as future generations may read "Peekskill USA" and believe it to be fact. Instead, Howard Fast, a self-avowed Communist, blatantly misused his platform as a journalist to further his own agenda.

First, we can look at this particular era. Similar to Pete Seeger's song, "Which Side Are You On?" the majority did see themselves as on one side or the other; and many who did not verbally and visibly choose a side were "assigned" one, anyway. It is likely that anyone who was alive at the time, or has picked up an American history book since, has been familiar with Joe McCarthy. McCarthy's mass hysteria over "Commies" resulted in jobs and careers being lost, reputations being ruined, and lives being destroyed-- often with no wrongdoing whatsoever on the parts of those who were affected. In writing "Peekskill USA," Howard Fast was no better. While McCarthy saw "Commies" under every rug and in every shadow, Howard Fast's labeling of all those who participated in the 1949 riots as "racists" and "fascists" placed him in the same category as Joe McCarthy.

Second, if condemning the whole for the wrongs of a few is wrong, Howard Fast did this, too. Surely there were indeed individuals who participated in the Peekskill riots who held the ignorant point of view "if one Black person is a Communist, all Black people are Communists; if one Jewish person is a Communist, all Jewish people are Communists." However, Howard Fast misled his readers by asserting that this was the viewpoint of the majority.

Third, if "Peekskill USA" is any evidence of Howard Fast's "platform," he was decidedly way ahead of his time. One of these points covers his interesting terminology: "progressive." By heralding the viewpoints of Paul Robeson and his followers in terms of 'let's tear America down, and rebuild it Our way,' he freely labeled those who had no intention of tossing aside everything they believed in, stood for, and lived for, as "fascists." While I do not have statistics, frankly I resent the one direct connection I personally had to the Peekskill riots-- a World War II veteran and survivor of Pearl Harbor-- being deemed a 'fascist.'

The other point covers what I refer to as "hauling out the race card." The card Howard Fast played in "Peekskill USA" was it is not possible to disagree with someone's viewpoint or actions and consider those viewpoints or actions to be wrong-- claiming instead that it was a 'racial' issue. The fact is the majority did not object to Paul Robeson because he was Black-- he was objected to because he was seen as promoting Communism in an era when the entire subject was considered a serious threat.

However, in "Peekskill USA," Howard Fast misused his voice as a journalist to not only withhold the truth about the Peekskill riots, but to set a platform of lies and build on those lies. As he likely saw the repercussions of Joe McCarthy's so-called "Red Scare," he went right ahead and did the same thing: tarnishing reputations, and giving people all the wrong ideas. People who do not have any background with the facts about the Peekskill riots are likely to come away from his book with thoughts like "What horrible people-- and what a horrible place!

Perhaps it would be better to hear what Peekskill was really like in the words of Richard E. Jackson, Jr. Richard E. Jackson, Jr., was not only Peekskill's first African-American mayor, he was also the first African-American mayor in New York State. In a recent article by Mr. Jackson's daughter, he was quoted as saying "I remember Peekskill as a warm, loving, nurturing community... It has always been a place where people of all walks of life, of all ethnicities and all religious backgrounds could make their home." * Richard E. Jackson, Jr.'s words ring true-- this is the Peekskill I remember, also.

* http://peekskill.patch.com/articles/a-look-back-peekskills-first-african-american-mayor