John Dewey and the Question of Race: The Fight for Odell Waller

Abstract

In an attempt to better understand the complexity of American racism and democ- racy, this paper explores racism through the plight of an African American share- cropper, Odell Waller, and the reaction and involvement of John Dewey, America's most liberal democratic philosopher of the 20th century. This exploration delves into the nature of American justice in one of the most difficult struggles in our history, the late years of the Depression and the early years of World War II. Fur- thermore, the paper traces Dewey's limited discussion of race and his involvement in attacking racism in American society. History teaches us that American democratic values can be undermined by racism and prejudice. In an America becoming more culturally diverse, racism and cultural suspicion again cast a shadow over the landscape. While much of the suspicion can be attributed to the September 11 attacks, America has a long history of refusing the poor, people of color, and the culturally diverse the American dream—equality of opportunity. In an attempt to better understand the complexity of American rac- ism and democracy, this paper explores racism through the plight of an African American sharecropper, Odell Waller, and the reaction and involvement of John Dewey, America's most liberal democratic philosopher of the twentieth century. The Waller case provides a context for the exploration of Dewey's thought on race during one of the most difficult struggles in our history, the late years of the De - pression and the early years of World War II. In 1940, Odell Waller was a twenty-three-year-old African American share- cropper living in Gretna, Virginia, a small town in Pittsylvania County. As a share-