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THE BLACK RUSSIAN, A TRUE STORY

  • Broadcast in Books
The Halli Casser-Jayne Show

The Halli Casser-Jayne Show

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Vladimir Alexandrov, the B.E. Bensinger Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature at Yale University joins The Halli Casser-Jayne Show to talk about his new book, "The Black Russian," in which he tells the little-known true story of Frederick Bruce Thomas, who left the color-conscious Mississippi Delta, seeking a better life.Frederick found freedom and extraordinary success in, of all places, Moscow where he renamed himself Fyodor Fyodorovich Tomas. But thans to the Bolshevik Revolution he was forced to escape his adopted country, leaving everything he'd built behind to start over in Constantinople. Once again his brain and brawn led him to success, when he opened what became a series of celebrated nightclubs and introducing jazz to Turkey. Sadly, the long arm of American racism, the xenophobia of the new Turkish Republic, and Frederick's own extravagance landed him in debtor's prison. He died in Constantinople in 1928.
 
With the stamp of approval of some of the African-American communities most prominent voices, including those of Cornel West and Dr. Henry Louis Gates, "The Black Russian," is a story you won't want to miss.

 

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