Something Southern: A History of Mules in South Georgia presented by Tyler Hendrix: Further Readings and Videos

Behind the Mule by Michael C. Dawson Political scientists and social choice theorists often assume that economic diversification within a group produces divergent political beliefs and behaviors. Michael Dawson demonstrates, however, that the growth of a black middle class has left race as the dominant influence on African- American politics. Why have African Americans remained so united in most of their political attitudes? To account for this phenomenon, Dawson develops a new theory of group interests that emphasizes perceptions of "linked fates" and black economic subordination.

Beyond Forty Acres and a Mule by Debra A. Reid (Editor); Evan P. Bennett (Editor) "This ground-breaking collection proves that there is still a great deal to learn about the lives of black southerners. The essays offer a counterpoint to the standard story that all African Americans in the rural South found themselves mired in poverty and dependency."--Melissa Walker, author of Southern Farmers and Their Stories "A remarkable achievement. The authors in this collection have retrieved African American farm owners from the margins of history, making clear that life on the land for African Americans not only transcended sharecropping but also shaped the contours of the struggle for freedom and justice."--Hasan Kwame Jeffries, author of Bloody Lowndes This collection chronicles the tumultuous history of landowning African American farmers from the end of the Civil War to today. Each essay provides a case study of people in one place at a particular time and the factors that affected their ability to acquire, secure, and protect their land.      ?The contributors walk readers through a century and a half of African American agricultural history, from the strivings of black farm owners in the immediate post-emancipation period to the efforts of contemporary black farm owners to receive justice through the courts for decades of discrimination by the U.S Department of Agriculture. They reveal that despite enormous obstacles, by 1920 a quarter of African American farm families owned their land, and demonstrate that farm ownership was not simply a departure point for black migrants seeking a better life but a core component of the African American experience. Debra A. Reid, professor of history at Eastern Illinois University, is author of Reaping a Greater Harvest: African Americans, the Extension Service and Rural Reform in Jim Crow Texas. Evan P. Bennett is assistant professor of history at Florida Atlantic University.

The Book of Mules: An Introduction to the Original Hybrid by Donna Campbell Smith The Book of Mules: An Introduction to the Original Hybrid, written and photographed by Donna Campbell Smith, is a celebration of mules, those long-eared hybrids that helped carry pioneers west, tilled the tobacco and cotton fields of the South, and served in the military throughout America history. Today, they are still working hard in fields, working as pack animals, as favorite mounts for trail riders and are still used in the military. The Book of Mules includes history and origin of the mule, care, selecting, breeding, showing, and owning mules for fun. Written with a sense of recapturing the past The Book of Mules is an essential introduction for anyone who owns, rides, plans to buy, or is otherwise fond of mules.

Hogs, mules, and yellow dogs : growing up on a Mississippi subsistence farm by Jimmye Hillman ; with a foreword by Robert Hass "It's in the nature of things that whole worlds disappear," writes the poet Robert Hass in the foreword to Jimmye Hillman's insightful memoir. "Their vanishings, more often than not, go unrecorded or pass into myth, just as they slip from the memory of the living." To ensure that the world of Jimmye Hillman's childhood in Greene County, Mississippi during the Great Depression doesn't slip away, he has gathered together accounts of his family and the other people of Old Washington village. There are humorous stories of hog hunting and heart-wrenching tales of poverty set against a rural backdrop shaded by the local social, religious, and political climate of the time. Jimmye and his family were subsistence farmers out of bare-bones necessity, decades before discussions about sustainability made such practices laudable. More than just childhood memories and a family saga, though, this book serves as a snapshot of the natural, historical, and linguistic details of the time and place. It is a remarkable record of Southern life. Observations loaded with detail uncover broader themes of work, family loyalty, and the politics of changing times. Hillman, now eighty-eight, went on to a distinguished career as an economist specializing in agriculture. He realizes the importance of his story as an example of the cultural history of the Deep South but allows readers to discover the significance on their own by witnessing the lives of a colorful cast of characters. Hogs, Mules, and Yellow Dogs is unique, a blend of humor and reflection, wisdom and sympathy--but it's also a hard-nosed look at the realities of living on a dirt farm in a vanished world.

Horse Power : a history of the horse and the donkey in human society by Juliet Clutton-Brock A blend of natural and social history follows the role that the horse has played in shaping human progress from the evolution of the wild ass to the concept of using horses for labor and transportation.

The Missouri Mule by Melvin Bradley

The Mule Companion by Cynthia Attar This fourth edition of The Mule Companion is a comprehensive book on mules with new photos of many real people and mules doing real mule activities. The Mule Companion has been called an excellent 'mule primer' for those people just getting into mules. However, the book also hosts an in-depth study of why mules do what they do, their idiosyncrasies, training, and problem solving. Also, the book is rich with 'how to' information on: caring for, breeding for, fitting tack on, buying, and mule activities, past and present. About the Author Cynthia Attar, previously a mule trainer-schooled by the mule itself, learned how the mule mind works. Using this information, she obtained amazing results without force, fear, or pain. With a deep love for mules, Cynthia now empowers others to understand these long-eared equines, and aims to show how great mules truly are and to show the bond that mules and their people share. Currently as one who communicates with all animals, and aids in their healing, Cynthia resides in Washington State with her animal friends. She continues to write and share her passions with the world.

The Mule Men by Louise A. Jackson Descendants of the pioneer, the mountain man, the cowboy, and the teamster, High Sierra mule packers are a breed of their own. In The Mule Men: A History of Stock Packing in the Sierra Nevada, Louise A. Jackson takes us inside the adventure, hardships, and joys peculiar to the packing trade.

Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston; Miguel Covarrubias (Illustrator) MAXnotes. . .- offer a fresh look at masterpieces of literature- present material in an interesting, lively fashion- are written by literary experts who currently teach the subjects- are designed to stimulate independent thinking by raising various issues and thought-provoking ideas and questions- enhance understanding and enjoyment of the work- cover what one must know about each work- include an overall summary, character lists, explanation and discussion of the plot, the work's historical context, biography of the author- each chapter is individually summarized and analyzed and includes study questions and answers- feature illustrations conveying the period and mood of the workEach MAXnotes measures 5 1/4" x 8 1/4" (13.3 cm x 21 cm).

Mule South to Tractor South by George B. Ellenberg The adoption of the mule as the major agricultural resource in the American South and its later displacement by the mechanical tractor The author describes the adoption of the mule as the major agricultural resource in the American South and its later displacement by the mechanical tractor. After describing the surprising slowness of southern farmers to realize the superiority of the mule over the horse for agricultural labor, Ellenberg strives to capture the symbiosis that emerged between animal and man to illuminate why and how the mule became a standard feature in Southern folk culture.   Having been slow to adopt the mule, southern farmers were then reluctant to set it aside in favor of the tractor. Ellenberg describes the transformation as the tractor gradually displaced the mule and the role of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in this process.   The work not only becomes a survey of the development of southern agriculture as revealed through an examination of this premier work animal but also follows the emergence of the animal as a cultural icon, as it figures in southern literature, folklore, and music.

Mule Trader by William R. Ferris; Eudora Welty (Foreword by) Readers captivated by this book will be happy that Bill Ferris found Ray Lum and that he thought to turn on a tape recorder. Lum (1891-1977) was a mule skinner, a livestock trader, an auctioneer, and an American original. This delightful book, first published in 1992 as "You Live and Learn. Then You Die and Forget It All," preserves Lum's colorful folk dialect and captures the essence of this one-of-a-kind figure who seems to have stepped full-blooded from the pages of Mark Twain. This riveting tale-spinner was tall, heavy-set, and full of body rhythm as he talked. In his special world, he was famous for trading, for tale-telling, and for common-sense lessons that had made him a savvy bargainer and a shrewd businessman. His home and his auction barn were in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where mules were his main interest, but in trading he fanned out over twenty states and even into Mexico. A west Texas newspaper reported his fame this way, "He is known all over cow country for his honest, fair dealing and gentlemanly attitude. . . . A letter addressed to him anywhere in Texas probably would be delivered." Over several years, Ferris recorded Lum's many long conversations that detail livestock auctioneering, cheery memories of rustic Deep South culture, and a philosophy of life that is grounded in good horse sense. Even among the most spellbinding talkers, Lum is a standout both for what he has to say and for the way he says it. Ferris's lucky, protracted encounters with him turn out to be the best of good fortune for everybody.

The Mule Train by Roland L. Freeman The Mule Train, about 150 people in twenty mule-drawn wagons from Marks, Mississippi, was determined to make the nation aware of the plight of America's poor. The Mule Train is commemorated in this collection of photographs by Roland Freeman and others accompanied by excerpts from local and national newspapers.

Shavetails and Bell Sharps by Emmett M. Essin The last U.S. Army mules were formally mustered out of the service in December 1956, ending 125 years of military reliance on the virtues of this singular animal. Much less glamorous than the cavalryman's horse, the Army pack mule was a good deal more important: from the Mexican War through World War II, mules were an indispensable adjunct to army movement.   The author has exhaustively researched the ubiquitous yet nearly invisible army mule. Through his work we learn a great deal about military procurement, transport, and supply, the bedrock on which military mobility rests.

Transportation and Revolt - Pigeons, Mules, Canals, and the Vanishing Geographies of Subversive Mobility by Jacob Shell How political regimes have responded when certain modes of transportation--from carrier pigeons to canal boats--have been associated with politically subversive activities. During World War I, German soldiers shot down carrier pigeons for fear the birds were carrying enemy communiqués; in Mexico, the United States, and other countries, mules were used for smuggling and secret travel in mountainous areas; in the British Empire in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the British feared that supplies for anti-imperialist rebellion were being transported by canal. In this book, Jacob Shell argues that many political regimes have historically associated certain modes of transportation with revolt or with subversive activities--and have responded by acting to destroy or curtail those modes of transportation. Constructing a conceptual framework linking physical geography with the politics of mobility, Shell presents historical examples of the secret, subversive mobilization of people and cargo across watery spaces and harsh terrain, carried by watercraft and transport animals including pigeons, mules, camels, elephants, and sled dogs. Efforts to suppress such clandestine mobilities ranged from the violent (the shooting of pigeons) to the indirect--curtailing financial support, certain kinds of social knowledge, or schemes for infrastructural development. To show how such efforts at immobilization could affect cities and urban transportation, Shell looks at the Port of New York in the early twentieth century, where potentially transformative plans for inner-city freight transportation were rejected--likely, Shell argues, due to fears of anarchist activities. The innovative argument advanced by Shell in Transportation and Revolt challenges conventional wisdom about the supposed obsolescence of transport methods that have become marginalized in the modern era.