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The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South
C. P. Ellis grew up in the poor white section of Durham, North Carolina, and as a young man joined the Ku Klux Klan. Ann Atwater, a single mother from the poor black part of town, quit her job as a household domestic to join the civil rights fight. During the 1960s, as the country struggled with the explosive issue of race, Atwater and Ellis met on opposite sides of the public school integration issue. Their encounters were charged with hatred and suspicion. In an amazing set of transformations, however, each of them came to see how the other had been exploited by the South's rigid power structure, and they forged a friendship that flourished against a backdrop of unrelenting bigotry.
Rich with details about the rhythms of daily life in the mid-twentieth-century South, The Best of Enemies offers a vivid portrait of a relationship that defied all odds. By placing this very personal story into broader context, Osha Gray Davidson demonstrates that race is intimately tied to issues of class, and that cooperation is possible--even in the most divisive situations--when people begin to listen to one another.
Rich with details about the rhythms of daily life in the mid-twentieth-century South, The Best of Enemies offers a vivid portrait of a relationship that defied all odds. By placing this very personal story into broader context, Osha Gray Davidson demonstrates that race is intimately tied to issues of class, and that cooperation is possible--even in the most divisive situations--when people begin to listen to one another.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Osha Gray Davidson
13 books13 followersOsha Gray Davidson is a writer who focuses on energy, the environment and other social and human rights issues. He was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and grew up in Iowa, studying at the University of Iowa.
Osha Gray Davidson is an award-winning author of six books of non-fiction and more than a hundred articles on a range of topics. He covered the environment for Rolling Stone magazine and blogged on renewable energy at Forbes.com. His freelance work has also appeared in InsideClimate News, Grist, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Salon, Mother Jones and other publications. Davidson co-wrote the screenplay for the IMAX documentary Coral Reef Adventure and his photographs have appeared in Rolling Stone, InsideClimate News, Forbes.com, and elsewhere.
His Rolling Stone article about Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat fighting for the United States, was nominated for a National Magazine Award for feature writing. He was a finalist for both the Natural World Book Award (UK) and the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. Coral Reef Adventure was the highest grossing documentary film of 2003 and was voted Best Picture of 2003 by the Giant Screen Theatre Association. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and a Fellow at the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights.
Davidson lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where he publishes the blog The Phoenix Sun, about renewable energy.
[Source: Wikipedia]
Osha Gray Davidson is an award-winning author of six books of non-fiction and more than a hundred articles on a range of topics. He covered the environment for Rolling Stone magazine and blogged on renewable energy at Forbes.com. His freelance work has also appeared in InsideClimate News, Grist, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Salon, Mother Jones and other publications. Davidson co-wrote the screenplay for the IMAX documentary Coral Reef Adventure and his photographs have appeared in Rolling Stone, InsideClimate News, Forbes.com, and elsewhere.
His Rolling Stone article about Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat fighting for the United States, was nominated for a National Magazine Award for feature writing. He was a finalist for both the Natural World Book Award (UK) and the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. Coral Reef Adventure was the highest grossing documentary film of 2003 and was voted Best Picture of 2003 by the Giant Screen Theatre Association. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and a Fellow at the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights.
Davidson lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where he publishes the blog The Phoenix Sun, about renewable energy.
[Source: Wikipedia]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
September 15, 2010
I sympathize with readers who said it was slow reading, and if it's any consolation, it was far slower to write.
July 23, 2019
Extremely well written and researched story of race relations in Durham, North Carolina in the 1960's, and the transformation of the Executive Cyclops of the local KKK chapter with the realization that it is really class that has created the common problems he and his African-American fellow citizens face. For those familiar with at least some of the history of the civil rights movement, some of the people who figure in the story will be familiar.
July 13, 2021
Fascinating and well-written history of Durham, NC and race relations in the downtown core from the late 19th century through to the mid-1970s. It is surprisingly relevant to current events given the book was written in the 1990s.
I think this is as accurate and even-handed a picture of central Durham and the integration of the city schools as could be written by someone who doesn't have roots in the area and who had to work with the (definitely not objective) newspaper coverage at the time. Davidson managed to get a good handle on the class structure and division within/between the black and white communities and how that dysfunctional dynamic affected local politics.
Two things about which Mr. Davidison (or his marketing agent) should have made more clear when updating the book for re-release with the upcoming movie. The first is that the movie is based on the book; the book is not a novelization or script for the movie. That distinction seems to be going over some people’s heads judging from some of the reviews on GR. The book is a social regional history in which Ellis and Atwater play only a part toward the end. Davidson writes in a straight journalistic style, which takes more effort to read and digest than fiction does.
The second thing, and maybe I'm nitpicking, is that it should be made clear that until 1992, Durham Public Schools were two very separate systems: city and county. The two school systems underwent desegregation somewhat concurrently circa 1969-1970, but the two systems had few commonalities and almost never interacted unless you count sports rivalries. This book focuses on Durham's central downtown core and the city school system two years after integration. The county experience with desegregation was different. Not better or worse, not smoother or more volatile, just different. The author briefly touches on this division between city and county residents, but I think it got lost amidst all the other stuff. To many residents of Durham "outer doughnut" during this time, events unfolding downtown might as well have happened on the moon for all the connection they felt with it.
I think this is as accurate and even-handed a picture of central Durham and the integration of the city schools as could be written by someone who doesn't have roots in the area and who had to work with the (definitely not objective) newspaper coverage at the time. Davidson managed to get a good handle on the class structure and division within/between the black and white communities and how that dysfunctional dynamic affected local politics.
Two things about which Mr. Davidison (or his marketing agent) should have made more clear when updating the book for re-release with the upcoming movie. The first is that the movie is based on the book; the book is not a novelization or script for the movie. That distinction seems to be going over some people’s heads judging from some of the reviews on GR. The book is a social regional history in which Ellis and Atwater play only a part toward the end. Davidson writes in a straight journalistic style, which takes more effort to read and digest than fiction does.
The second thing, and maybe I'm nitpicking, is that it should be made clear that until 1992, Durham Public Schools were two very separate systems: city and county. The two school systems underwent desegregation somewhat concurrently circa 1969-1970, but the two systems had few commonalities and almost never interacted unless you count sports rivalries. This book focuses on Durham's central downtown core and the city school system two years after integration. The county experience with desegregation was different. Not better or worse, not smoother or more volatile, just different. The author briefly touches on this division between city and county residents, but I think it got lost amidst all the other stuff. To many residents of Durham "outer doughnut" during this time, events unfolding downtown might as well have happened on the moon for all the connection they felt with it.
November 10, 2021
My sister told me about this book and from her description I knew I had to read it. Former leader in the KKK and a single mother from the poor black part of town are thrown together on opposite sides of the fence during the civil rights battles of the 1960s. Who could ever imagine them becoming friends, much less best friends? It isn't possible, is it? Yes!
This is one of those books which is work to read, but nothing like the hard work the author put into researching and writing it, or the even harder work of C.P. and Ann struggling for years with poverty/class and racial discrimination in the rural South.
It took 246 pages of background before getting to the actual transformational encounter between Ann and C.P. but I was very glad I hung in for the count. I learned more about the Civil Rights battle in the South, especially as it unfolded in Durham, NC than I ever knew I didn't know. Very worth while read.
This is one of those books which is work to read, but nothing like the hard work the author put into researching and writing it, or the even harder work of C.P. and Ann struggling for years with poverty/class and racial discrimination in the rural South.
It took 246 pages of background before getting to the actual transformational encounter between Ann and C.P. but I was very glad I hung in for the count. I learned more about the Civil Rights battle in the South, especially as it unfolded in Durham, NC than I ever knew I didn't know. Very worth while read.
August 6, 2019
This book is a great synopsis of some of the civil rights movements in Durham. The majority of the book is spent discussing the issues and tensions of the area. Less time is spent illustrating the friendship of CP and Ann, but it does a great job of driving the similar problems they both were facing and perfectly shows how natural it was for their friendship to develop.
February 16, 2020
I docked 1 star because I wanted more. The story was richer because of the history of Durham. But I wanted to know more about what happened to C.P. and Ann after. I was invested and wanted more than what the epilogue provided.
August 5, 2019
If you want to talk about strange bedfellows... what would the local leader of The Ku Klux Klan in Durham NC in the 1950s and the 1960s and a Black Female Activist have to talk about??? C. P. Ellis and Ann Atwater are at odds with each other. However both are poor and want better schools for their children. When they are assigned to serve on a board together for their children's sake , they start a dialogue and come to respect each other. One of my favorite passages in the book, when they look at each other and see each other mirrored in their faces and thus begin to empathize with each other. Empathy transcends no matter what race you are. I find it very sad when people read books just about them. No matter what color, sexual orientation, or age you are we all share experiences. I think this book is so important when liberals and conservatives are attacking each other when you could have dialogue. Kudos to Osha Gray Davidson for the meticolous research and hard work in writing this hope filled and inspiring book!
May 29, 2019
I rated this very low (and would have given 0 stars, if I could) because it was more of a history lesson than a story. The story of the characters didn’t really start until the end of the book. This was more of a history book and I fell asleep numerous times! Took me forever to get thru this short book. If you are a history buff, go for it! I am not! Movie was a little better. Check out our podcast which discusses the book to movie/TV transition called Read Watch & Wine at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
February 28, 2015
The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South by Osha Gray Davidson (Scribner 1996) (305.800). This book has a distinctly National Public Radio flavoring to it. It's the story of how blacks overcame the status-quo Jim Crow South in the 1960's and 1970's in Durham, North Carolina. It follows two community organizers as they worked to improve the lot of their constituents: Ann Atwater was a poor uneducated black single parent who rose to a position of leadership among the poor blacks of Durham, and C.P. Ellis was “poor white trash” who was the head of the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. They became if not friends, then at least trusted enemies. Strangely (or inevitably), the book concludes before the two sides are able to achieve any real progress or before they actually demonstrate any ability to work together for the common good. What an odd (and oddly hopeful) book! My rating: 7/10, finished 2/27/15.
March 7, 2015
This is an amazing book, framed as a dual biography, about Durham NC during the Civil Rights era.
The two principal subjects are Ann Atwater (an African-American Civil Rights activist) and C.P. Ellis (a member of the KKK); during the course of their activism they begin as bitter opponents, and slowly come to realize that they're both actually fighting the same enemies--chiefly poverty and lack of opportunity. This discovery, their extraordinary collaboration in working out the required integration of the Durham school system, and their eventual close friendship, makes this well-researched book a page turner and a story of hope.
It also provides a brilliant "biography" of Durham. I always recommend this book to new Durhamites who want to get a feel for the town and its history.
The two principal subjects are Ann Atwater (an African-American Civil Rights activist) and C.P. Ellis (a member of the KKK); during the course of their activism they begin as bitter opponents, and slowly come to realize that they're both actually fighting the same enemies--chiefly poverty and lack of opportunity. This discovery, their extraordinary collaboration in working out the required integration of the Durham school system, and their eventual close friendship, makes this well-researched book a page turner and a story of hope.
It also provides a brilliant "biography" of Durham. I always recommend this book to new Durhamites who want to get a feel for the town and its history.
January 11, 2020
I talked with a colleague regularly while reading this book. I expressed some naïve surprise at how casually the Klan operated in the open in Durham in the 60s. She was in junior high school in Durham around the time, one of a handful of black students in a previously all-white school. She explained how unapologetically common it was, and talked about classmates who would talk and write about their weekends at the junior Klan rally or potluck. She said they talked about it the same way you might mention a church retreat or a camping trip with family. That, like a lot of this book, just wasn’t something I knew. Local landmarks and events with ties to violence and rallies—I’ve been insulated from them, because it’s part of Durham’s story that isn’t so lightly told.
The issues of class and Durham’s willingness to promote itself while its people often struggle to survive are relevant. CP’s personal revelation comes at huge cost to himself, and part of me worries we’ve passed the time to willingly forgive others for their previous ignorance and worldviews. This book is worth your time, especially if you’re a child if the “New South.”
The issues of class and Durham’s willingness to promote itself while its people often struggle to survive are relevant. CP’s personal revelation comes at huge cost to himself, and part of me worries we’ve passed the time to willingly forgive others for their previous ignorance and worldviews. This book is worth your time, especially if you’re a child if the “New South.”
April 17, 2021
As so many have pointed out, this book is less about the relationship between C.P. Ellis and Ann Atwater than it is a history of race relations in Durham, NC. However, that history is expertly told in fascinating detail, and I couldn't put this down. Davidson is a fabulous writer.
I suggest viewing the excellent film before reading this. Then you'll already know story's ending and will more thoroughly enjoy its background details.
I suggest viewing the excellent film before reading this. Then you'll already know story's ending and will more thoroughly enjoy its background details.
February 5, 2020
I confess that I skimmed parts of this book. It contains a very detailed history of Civil Rights in our country, much that I already knew. What I didn't know was the history of Civil Rights in Durham, NC. In this book a KKK leader and a female black activist who hated each other become dear friends while working on a Charette to improve the Durham County Schools for the sakes of thier children.
April 12, 2020
If you are interested in the story promised by the title, you only need to read the last 50 pages. It's an interesting, sad story. The 250 pages prior to that tell the history of race relations in Durham, NC. That may or may not interest you. The book goes back and forward through time in a way that made me lose track of how this all takes place in history. Not what I expected.
December 31, 2021
Phenomenal book that should be assigned reading. This book intricately discusses how elites have used race as a way to divide the poor, while also exploring racism in what continues to be called a “progressive” city on race relations. Fascinating account of the history of Durham, the Civil Rights Movement, and race in America in general. I could not recommend this book more!
August 5, 2019
Great Book and Movie teaches you that at the end of the day united we stand divided we fall so race and discrimination have nothing to do with it at all, so love one another and give them the respect you yourself crave and desire.
September 24, 2020
I saw the movie last year and maybe initially wanted this book to be more focused on the work C.P. Ellis and Ann Atwater did with the integration charette. However, gradually I came to appreciate how this was really a history of Durham's race relations--and the story of C.P. and Ann overcoming their differences needed to be contextualized by the history of the city first. It was a great book. Very readable and interesting.
January 30, 2019
What to say...this will be longer than any review I’ve done - sorry in advance.
I started this book as part of a book club where we had to choose a book that was/is being made into a movie.
I gave it 2 stars because it is a very hard read. It is not necessarily a story about two people and their efforts together to overcome racial inequality. That is what I thought the book was about.
The author really wanted you to understand the history of of what was happening at this time, which is a good thing. However, it could have been done a lot better. It jumped all over the place from year to year where you’re asking yourself ‘wait, when was this again?’. So I found myself skipping big sections.
Now, the characters...while you are introduced to them a little in the book you don’t get to the meat of the story with the two of them until 60 pages before the end of the book (if even that many).
In a nutshell, too many history lessons and not enough emphasis on what the two characters themselves were feeling about it and the internal struggles they had. This would have went a long way to helping the last 60 pages of the book where the real story was.
I started this book as part of a book club where we had to choose a book that was/is being made into a movie.
I gave it 2 stars because it is a very hard read. It is not necessarily a story about two people and their efforts together to overcome racial inequality. That is what I thought the book was about.
The author really wanted you to understand the history of of what was happening at this time, which is a good thing. However, it could have been done a lot better. It jumped all over the place from year to year where you’re asking yourself ‘wait, when was this again?’. So I found myself skipping big sections.
Now, the characters...while you are introduced to them a little in the book you don’t get to the meat of the story with the two of them until 60 pages before the end of the book (if even that many).
In a nutshell, too many history lessons and not enough emphasis on what the two characters themselves were feeling about it and the internal struggles they had. This would have went a long way to helping the last 60 pages of the book where the real story was.
February 17, 2019
Just a note: even the author notes that it is slow reading. So, my five star rating does not ignore that. Set aside some time for this. It is worth it.
February 5, 2019
Mentioned in the book "Being Wrong" by Kathryn Schultz.
This book has been on my "want to read list" for years, but was unavailable at the local library. Finally, with the movie coming out, I got a copy via an interlibrary loan.
What a moving story. There is plenty of backstory, since the city of Durham plays a large role in this important time in the Civil Rights movement. Still, that was informative.
The important takeaway was the realization that the issues were not between races, but between the poor and the "leading citizens". Those Southern aristocrats, in their pride pitted poor whites against poor blacks. Once people came together to talk through issues of failing schools, they found that their issues were the same.
This book has been on my "want to read list" for years, but was unavailable at the local library. Finally, with the movie coming out, I got a copy via an interlibrary loan.
What a moving story. There is plenty of backstory, since the city of Durham plays a large role in this important time in the Civil Rights movement. Still, that was informative.
The important takeaway was the realization that the issues were not between races, but between the poor and the "leading citizens". Those Southern aristocrats, in their pride pitted poor whites against poor blacks. Once people came together to talk through issues of failing schools, they found that their issues were the same.
August 28, 2015
This was an interesting read. This book was mostly about the history and race relations in Durham, N.C. I felt the author only touched a little on C.P Ellis and Ann Atwater, who clearly did a lot to try to desegregate their communities. I was hoping the book would have been more about how these 2 individuals came together for a common cause and have the history of Durham as the backdrop.
June 1, 2017
Really excellent historical outlay of Durham's history as well as a profile of Ann Atwater and CP Ellis.
June 21, 2019
The Best of Enemies, based on the book by Osha Gray Davidson
8.6 out of 10
Although critics have not been enthusiastic about this motion picture, the undersigned has enjoyed very much, even if it will probably not gather Academy Award nominations and this is no Green Book.
Taraji P. Henson is formidable as Ann Atwater, a civil rights activist that tries to improve the life of African Americans in Durham, North Carolina, in 1971, when segregation was still the obsession of the white people, especially members of the Ku Klux Klan, led by C.P. Ellis aka the always outstanding Sam Rockwell.
When the school where mostly children of the black community learn suffers from a fire, the local authorities are supposed to find solutions, and the only one that makes sense and would have to be adopted is to ‘integrate’ and gather the children in another school.
However, the racist white people would not like that, at least to begin with and in a majority perhaps, led outside the Klan by the elected official Carvie Oldham aka Bruce McGill, who is using dirty tricks, illegal methods, procrastination or outright violence and blackmail to attain his nefarious purposes.
From the beginning, we see him heading a meeting where many of the African Americans protest against the housing conditions, the fact that they are pressed to pay rent or face evacuation, when the property owner is offering terrible living conditions and the local authorities do nothing to correct this.
On the issue of the school fire, the same representative – for most of the white folks of Durham, it seems and one would think of present day Trump supporters – comes out with two propositions, supposedly solutions to the problem caused by the fire…
One alternative would be for the black children to continue in the same school and the other would mean integration and would have to be accepted of voted down by a gathering of the community.
Even before the fire, the African American children had had a very rough time, for they had been given books to study which were for different years, the older students would be given material they had had to study long before and there were many other obstacles to confront.
This seems to develop into a confrontation between one camp on one side, led by the Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, C.P. Ellis, and the other, the community of the African Americans, led by Ann Atwater, which would have to be settled in court, only a judge decides to take an unusual step.
An expert is invited to try something like mediation, inviting the two parties together to establish some ground rules, identify some of the problems, issues, look for possible solutions and then vote on and adopt the result.
A number of white people are selected and black inhabitants of Durham, to consider if integration might be conceivable and eventually approved by vote, albeit some are so obtuse, adamant, and ferociously segregationist that it seems impossible to envisage a positive outcome.
There is one man who has gone way beyond the limit reached by other white males and this is Lee Trombley aka the very good John Gallagher Jr., who has a shop where his manager is an African American.
We would learn that they had fought in Vietnam together and the manager has been much braver than his comrade has and this rara avis in Durham respects the black community and looks like voting for integration.
This is when the Klan interferes, without the knowledge of the Cyclops, and they send an inspection at the store, where they claim to have found a minor difference of a few centimeters in some sign, an evidently pathetic claim, which is made only to signal to the voting member that if he wants his shop opened again, he has to turn against integration.
Maddy Mays, another white person in the commission is threatened with violence and rape if she does not become hostile to the positive vote for the school premises, although she had been in favor up to the point where two men enter her house and scare her.
Meanwhile, C.P. Ellis suffers an unexpected transformation, which is obviously gradual, from the loathsome, revolting and monstrous Cyclops to a man who starts listening to the ‘other side, whereas early on he would have nothing to do with those he considered ‘inferior’.
Then he sees that kindness is not a monopoly of the whites, in fact, his initial side starts doing evil, horrendous things - not that he should have been surprised given the history of that racist, murderous organization – and Ann Atwater helps him with his autistic son.
Gradually, an epiphany might be taking place, although, without spoilers of any kind, this seems so farfetched given the background, firm, and outrageous beliefs of the protagonist that nothing short of a miracle could alter the state of things.
At the end of the film, we see the real people that are depicted in the motion picture, for this is no invented fairy tale, Ellis, Atwater and the rest are based on real life personages.
8.6 out of 10
Although critics have not been enthusiastic about this motion picture, the undersigned has enjoyed very much, even if it will probably not gather Academy Award nominations and this is no Green Book.
Taraji P. Henson is formidable as Ann Atwater, a civil rights activist that tries to improve the life of African Americans in Durham, North Carolina, in 1971, when segregation was still the obsession of the white people, especially members of the Ku Klux Klan, led by C.P. Ellis aka the always outstanding Sam Rockwell.
When the school where mostly children of the black community learn suffers from a fire, the local authorities are supposed to find solutions, and the only one that makes sense and would have to be adopted is to ‘integrate’ and gather the children in another school.
However, the racist white people would not like that, at least to begin with and in a majority perhaps, led outside the Klan by the elected official Carvie Oldham aka Bruce McGill, who is using dirty tricks, illegal methods, procrastination or outright violence and blackmail to attain his nefarious purposes.
From the beginning, we see him heading a meeting where many of the African Americans protest against the housing conditions, the fact that they are pressed to pay rent or face evacuation, when the property owner is offering terrible living conditions and the local authorities do nothing to correct this.
On the issue of the school fire, the same representative – for most of the white folks of Durham, it seems and one would think of present day Trump supporters – comes out with two propositions, supposedly solutions to the problem caused by the fire…
One alternative would be for the black children to continue in the same school and the other would mean integration and would have to be accepted of voted down by a gathering of the community.
Even before the fire, the African American children had had a very rough time, for they had been given books to study which were for different years, the older students would be given material they had had to study long before and there were many other obstacles to confront.
This seems to develop into a confrontation between one camp on one side, led by the Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, C.P. Ellis, and the other, the community of the African Americans, led by Ann Atwater, which would have to be settled in court, only a judge decides to take an unusual step.
An expert is invited to try something like mediation, inviting the two parties together to establish some ground rules, identify some of the problems, issues, look for possible solutions and then vote on and adopt the result.
A number of white people are selected and black inhabitants of Durham, to consider if integration might be conceivable and eventually approved by vote, albeit some are so obtuse, adamant, and ferociously segregationist that it seems impossible to envisage a positive outcome.
There is one man who has gone way beyond the limit reached by other white males and this is Lee Trombley aka the very good John Gallagher Jr., who has a shop where his manager is an African American.
We would learn that they had fought in Vietnam together and the manager has been much braver than his comrade has and this rara avis in Durham respects the black community and looks like voting for integration.
This is when the Klan interferes, without the knowledge of the Cyclops, and they send an inspection at the store, where they claim to have found a minor difference of a few centimeters in some sign, an evidently pathetic claim, which is made only to signal to the voting member that if he wants his shop opened again, he has to turn against integration.
Maddy Mays, another white person in the commission is threatened with violence and rape if she does not become hostile to the positive vote for the school premises, although she had been in favor up to the point where two men enter her house and scare her.
Meanwhile, C.P. Ellis suffers an unexpected transformation, which is obviously gradual, from the loathsome, revolting and monstrous Cyclops to a man who starts listening to the ‘other side, whereas early on he would have nothing to do with those he considered ‘inferior’.
Then he sees that kindness is not a monopoly of the whites, in fact, his initial side starts doing evil, horrendous things - not that he should have been surprised given the history of that racist, murderous organization – and Ann Atwater helps him with his autistic son.
Gradually, an epiphany might be taking place, although, without spoilers of any kind, this seems so farfetched given the background, firm, and outrageous beliefs of the protagonist that nothing short of a miracle could alter the state of things.
At the end of the film, we see the real people that are depicted in the motion picture, for this is no invented fairy tale, Ellis, Atwater and the rest are based on real life personages.
February 21, 2019
This is an excellent book! Not only the very compelling tale of KKK leader C.P. Ellis, and social activist, Ann Atwater, but an excellent of the civil rights struggle in this country and the pivotal role played by Durham, NC. Well researched, well written and well worth reading.
An intimate yet broad presentation of the slow gains made in racial reconciliation in today's South. Davidson (Under Fire: The NRA and the Battle for Gun Control, 1993, etc.) offers a study of racial tensions in the contemporary South as reflected in the lives and thought of two school board members in Durham, N.C. Ann Atwater was a black civil rights advocate, while C.P. Ellis was, when they first encountered each other, a Ku Klux Klansman. Needless to say, they held deeply polarized positions on race, class, and, specifically, school desegregation. Durham is an appropriate backdrop to the unfolding drama of their confrontation, as it promised much and delivered little to the families of both Atwater and Ellis. The Dukes' tobacco money never filtered through to the poor Ellis family in this ""Magic City," nor did the capital of "Negro Progress" make life easier for the Atwaters. Ann's progression out of poverty was painfully slow. To C.P., civil rights legislation seemed part of a plot by blacks and Communists who were, in the words of the Ku Klux Klan, " bent on destroying the white race through economic oppression and intermarriage." Davidson skillfully reveals how the rhetoric of the Klan has had such a profound effect on poor whites. It took violent rioting in the wake of the King assassination and a violent confrontation between Ellis and Atwater at a school board meeting to shock C.P. out of his old ways. He realized that the people he had been taught to view as enemies had a just cause. More important, both Atwater and Ellis came to accept that they shared a common struggle against Durham's rich and powerful, a struggle in which they had a greater chance of victory if they worked together. This eloquent blend of history and advocacy journalism ends with a follow-up on the major figures and with that rarest quality in a book on race in America--a reason for hope.
An intimate yet broad presentation of the slow gains made in racial reconciliation in today's South. Davidson (Under Fire: The NRA and the Battle for Gun Control, 1993, etc.) offers a study of racial tensions in the contemporary South as reflected in the lives and thought of two school board members in Durham, N.C. Ann Atwater was a black civil rights advocate, while C.P. Ellis was, when they first encountered each other, a Ku Klux Klansman. Needless to say, they held deeply polarized positions on race, class, and, specifically, school desegregation. Durham is an appropriate backdrop to the unfolding drama of their confrontation, as it promised much and delivered little to the families of both Atwater and Ellis. The Dukes' tobacco money never filtered through to the poor Ellis family in this ""Magic City," nor did the capital of "Negro Progress" make life easier for the Atwaters. Ann's progression out of poverty was painfully slow. To C.P., civil rights legislation seemed part of a plot by blacks and Communists who were, in the words of the Ku Klux Klan, " bent on destroying the white race through economic oppression and intermarriage." Davidson skillfully reveals how the rhetoric of the Klan has had such a profound effect on poor whites. It took violent rioting in the wake of the King assassination and a violent confrontation between Ellis and Atwater at a school board meeting to shock C.P. out of his old ways. He realized that the people he had been taught to view as enemies had a just cause. More important, both Atwater and Ellis came to accept that they shared a common struggle against Durham's rich and powerful, a struggle in which they had a greater chance of victory if they worked together. This eloquent blend of history and advocacy journalism ends with a follow-up on the major figures and with that rarest quality in a book on race in America--a reason for hope.
April 1, 2019
The Best of Enemies is a great book about the contradictions of race and class relations in Durham North Carolina and the South and how both race and class have shaped the people and history there. It is also about two seemingly opposite people, CP Ellis and Ann Atwater. Both of them were from poor families, but Ellis was a white man and Atwater was a black women. Ellis was an Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan and Atwater was a Civil Rights activist.
Durham history shows the influences of both race and class in influencing Southern History. While, poor southerners of both races have been exploited by poor working conditions, low wages and underfunded education, wealthy white used appeals to racial solidarity to prevent poor whites and blacks from working with each other and blaming the elite, rather then each other for their plight. Whites were told they were superior to blacks and that racial equality threatened poor white's position in society and Blacks were discouraged from organizing on class as well as racial lines.
The attempts to create militant multiracial unions in Durham in the 1940's were defeated by redbaiting and racism. Poor whites were looked down on as crackers and often accuse of being the base of extreme southern racism, despite the fact that groups like the Klan couldn't exist without support from the upper class in Southern society.
Blacks in Durham struggled to remove barriers of segregation and improve conditions in housing and education for poor blacks. Poor blacks often had to struggle with conservative leaders who were used to working for gradual change with the support of conservative upper class whites. Atwater and Ellis were pushed into working with each other and even though they started out hating each other, they were surprised that they had a lot in common and had faced similar situations. Ellis eventually abandoned his racist beliefs sought to improve things for both poor whites and blacks and became lifelong friends with Atwater. I had expected that Atwater and Ellis's relationship would make up a larger part of the book but I enjoyed the information about Durham and its history.
Durham history shows the influences of both race and class in influencing Southern History. While, poor southerners of both races have been exploited by poor working conditions, low wages and underfunded education, wealthy white used appeals to racial solidarity to prevent poor whites and blacks from working with each other and blaming the elite, rather then each other for their plight. Whites were told they were superior to blacks and that racial equality threatened poor white's position in society and Blacks were discouraged from organizing on class as well as racial lines.
The attempts to create militant multiracial unions in Durham in the 1940's were defeated by redbaiting and racism. Poor whites were looked down on as crackers and often accuse of being the base of extreme southern racism, despite the fact that groups like the Klan couldn't exist without support from the upper class in Southern society.
Blacks in Durham struggled to remove barriers of segregation and improve conditions in housing and education for poor blacks. Poor blacks often had to struggle with conservative leaders who were used to working for gradual change with the support of conservative upper class whites. Atwater and Ellis were pushed into working with each other and even though they started out hating each other, they were surprised that they had a lot in common and had faced similar situations. Ellis eventually abandoned his racist beliefs sought to improve things for both poor whites and blacks and became lifelong friends with Atwater. I had expected that Atwater and Ellis's relationship would make up a larger part of the book but I enjoyed the information about Durham and its history.
September 25, 2020
This book is a well-written, well-researched history of race relations in Durham, NC. It isn't easy reading, but it is important reading for everyone, not just Durham/NC Triangle residents. There was so much in here that I'm still digesting several days later - so much that wasn't covered when I went to school - e.g., there were many viewpoints in the black community about the best way to fight for civil rights. It connected a lot of dots for me, and helped me understand some of the major threads that run through our nation's history - e.g., America's tendency to disregard issues of class. It made me feel empathy, hope, despair, anger - emotions I might expect when reading fiction or a memoir.
I deducted one star, because I felt really misled about the content. The stories of Ann and CJ serve as a supplement to the main narrative, and readers finally get the story about their friendship in the last 60 pages of the book.
I deducted a second star because I felt like there was a lot of meat left on the bone with this one. I wanted much more on Duke University's role, the first African American students admitted there, and Samuel Cook, its first African-American faculty member; there was hardly any mention of Vietnam, and it's hard for me to imagine that it played no role in this narrative about race and class; the Save Our Schools charette and Durham school issues weren't given their due. (I could go on and on...) Granted, if this book had everything I wanted, it would be 700 pages long, but there was so much content about the various committees and organizations in Durham and beyond; I think much of that could've been omitted in the interest including or expanding upon some other threads.
I deducted one star, because I felt really misled about the content. The stories of Ann and CJ serve as a supplement to the main narrative, and readers finally get the story about their friendship in the last 60 pages of the book.
I deducted a second star because I felt like there was a lot of meat left on the bone with this one. I wanted much more on Duke University's role, the first African American students admitted there, and Samuel Cook, its first African-American faculty member; there was hardly any mention of Vietnam, and it's hard for me to imagine that it played no role in this narrative about race and class; the Save Our Schools charette and Durham school issues weren't given their due. (I could go on and on...) Granted, if this book had everything I wanted, it would be 700 pages long, but there was so much content about the various committees and organizations in Durham and beyond; I think much of that could've been omitted in the interest including or expanding upon some other threads.
May 14, 2019
I listened the audible version of this book after seeing the movie trailer for it. That being said, it was not 100% what I was expecting based on that trailer. The first 70% of the book was really a history of race relations in Durham, North Carolina alternating between the two main characters, CP (the head of the Klu Klux Klan) and Ann Atwater (an African American single mom). It was very detailed and tracked the civil rights movement, politics and the integration of the public school system. I think I was expecting more focus on just the integration of the public school system and their relationship with each other, but the larger context and history was invaluable (albeit tedious at times).
As someone who didn't grow up learning in great detail about the complexity and issues surrounding Jim Crow, segregation and integration and US race relations - it is always, always helpful for me to hear as much as possible and as many times as possible because I learn something new each time.
The last chunk of the book does focus on both of the main characters growth when it came to stereotyping the other. I appreciated the realness of this book in not making it an easily amicable relationship but admitting that theirs was a relationship fraught with tension, anger, misunderstanding but so much desire for the same thing (a better public school system for their own kids).
I was struck again and again by the pain that both of these people had experienced by the white moderate and those in power.
I would recommend this book because it is such an important read in terms of content, even if it is slow at times.
As someone who didn't grow up learning in great detail about the complexity and issues surrounding Jim Crow, segregation and integration and US race relations - it is always, always helpful for me to hear as much as possible and as many times as possible because I learn something new each time.
The last chunk of the book does focus on both of the main characters growth when it came to stereotyping the other. I appreciated the realness of this book in not making it an easily amicable relationship but admitting that theirs was a relationship fraught with tension, anger, misunderstanding but so much desire for the same thing (a better public school system for their own kids).
I was struck again and again by the pain that both of these people had experienced by the white moderate and those in power.
I would recommend this book because it is such an important read in terms of content, even if it is slow at times.
June 2, 2020
The Best of Enemies is an intense journey through the history of Durham, NC. Osha Gray Davidson painstakingly details the economic history of the town and builds up the historical basis for the racial conflicts which occurred there during desegregation culminating in the final chapters with the story of how CP Ellis, the leader of the KKK chapter in Durham, ends up formulating a strong bond with Ann Atwater, the african American civil rights leader of the town. They both provide leadership and input for a charette to ease tensions of desegregation in Durham. During this time they realize they have more in common than they care to have and CP realizes that the enemy has always been the elite ruling class which uses racism to keep poor people divided so they can profit.
Personally read this for a Narrative in Film And Lit class where we compared it to the film which only focuses on the charette and dramatizes some events to create a streamline story for the movie. Keep in mind the book is mostly the history of Durham and the film only focuses on about 50 or so pages of the book. The film is well acted and gives a taste of life in the South to a broad audience.
I found it to me an interesting read, though a bit slow going. The book really drives home the process it takes for racism to divide and conquer and shows the flaws of a capitalist system which sprang from this countries rich history of slavery. Something everyone in the US should know more about.
Personally read this for a Narrative in Film And Lit class where we compared it to the film which only focuses on the charette and dramatizes some events to create a streamline story for the movie. Keep in mind the book is mostly the history of Durham and the film only focuses on about 50 or so pages of the book. The film is well acted and gives a taste of life in the South to a broad audience.
I found it to me an interesting read, though a bit slow going. The book really drives home the process it takes for racism to divide and conquer and shows the flaws of a capitalist system which sprang from this countries rich history of slavery. Something everyone in the US should know more about.
November 26, 2020
The first 220 pages were like slogging through those college textbooks written by the professor; you just have to read it because it's on the syllabus. Fortunately for you, you're not taking Mr. Davidson's class, so unless you are a research geek, I recommend skipping to chapter 11 (chapter 9 if you've got the time, alternatively page 273-276 if you're just looking for the most powerful anecdote). I was most interested in the relationship between the 2 main characters, and the backstory with the mayor and city council were worthy of footnotes in my opinion. While I appreciate the tremendous amount of research that goes into writing a book, it unfortunately doesn't all actually need to make the final edit. I did read a lot about the housing issue, but despite the copious pages devoted to the conflict, it still wasn't very clear to me. Once the story finally focused around the two and the school desegregation issue, the book was pretty much over. One of the final he last scenes is the celebration at the conclusion of the recommendations to the school board. There's not even mention as to whether the school board adopted the recommendations, or how the friendship continued to evolve over time. Maybe the movie will shed some light. Favorite quote: "What an awful thing the truth is, and how comforting is a lie."
April 4, 2020
This is an interesting book centering on racial issues in Durham,North Carolina. Ann Atwater, is an African American woman who finds herself involved in the fight for civil rights in Durham. Her main protagonist is CP Ellis, leader of the local KKK. After years of battling each, they find themselves as co-chairpersons of a group formed to work on integrating the local schools. In the process, Ann and CP become friends, CP is reviled by his fellow Klansmen and ends up quitting the Klan.he realizes that the issue in the community isn’t race but economic. The power structure,both black and white, play on the prejudices of the lower classes as a means of solidifying their position and maintaining the status quo.
The book also gives a history of race relations in Durham from the end of the Civil War to the time of the debate over school integration. Durham had always projected an image of being progressive in the area of race relations. The author explains how this image was created and fostered, but in fact was false. This book offers a good insight into the issue of race in one community.
The book also gives a history of race relations in Durham from the end of the Civil War to the time of the debate over school integration. Durham had always projected an image of being progressive in the area of race relations. The author explains how this image was created and fostered, but in fact was false. This book offers a good insight into the issue of race in one community.
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