George Schuyler African American Journalist MS on WWII and Race, Possibly Unique!

A handwritten manuscript - possibly an essay or poem - in the hand of journalist George S. Schuyler. 1p, measuring 5.5" x 8.5", N.p., n.d. [ca. 1940s]. Entitled "The Lost Problem", the manuscript is a somewhat disjointed perspective on the Second World War and the impacts of war on children, the Earth, and on race. Unsigned. We have been unable to find any reference to this piece in our research, so possibly unique! With a separation at the horizontal center which has been repaired with tape on verso. Small edge tears and chipping. Minor edge soiling. Boldly written text.

In full:

"Great total war comes. Children are rushed to countryside to escape bombing. Devastating air raids decimate citing. Diseases from starvation, filth and malnutrition complete the destruction. Enemy armies also decimated. Remnants rush home. Almost only children left know nothing about race are attracted rather than repelled by color. We few remaining oldsters to show absurdity of system. Then 'Emperor Ape'."

George Samuel Schuyler (1895-1977) was a writer, journalist, and social commentator known for his conservatism despite having initially supported socialism. In 1931, he published a science fiction novel "Black No More", a story of a scientist who develops a process that turns black people to white. The novel dealt with a serious theme, wondering what would happen to race relations in America if the physical marker of exclusion was removed. Between 1936 and 1938 Schuyler published in the "Pittsburgh Courier", a weekly serial, which he later collected and published as a novel entitled Black Empire. And in the early years of WWII, Schuyler, himself a WWI veteran, urged African Americans not to support the war effort or join the military as long as segregation and Jim Crow continued to exist in America. However, during the McCarthy Era, Schuyler shifted sharply to the political right and would speak out against liberal philosophies of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s. He opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and went so far as to condemn Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois, and even Martin Luther King Jr. in articles he penned for the conservative John Birch Society’s magazine "American Opinion".

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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