Antagonistinction And Separation Among Groups In Caliph Washington

The simplest way to group characters in a story, by protagonist or antagonist, will provide multiple examples as to how wealth led to greater distinction and separation among groups. Antagonists in the Caliph Washington saga are numerous; however, the local Bessemer police force stands out as the constant obstacle standing between Caliph Washington and freedom. Hugo Black reviewed the police department in the Bessemer cutoff and found that the office “violated the fundamental rights and constitutional privileges of its citizens.” (54) That was in 1915 but in 1957 after the alleged murder of Cowboy Clarke by Caliph Washington, the Bessemer police department ravaged through the city searching for Caliph. It led to Tommy Silomon getting shot in
David Hood was the only black attorney, and few organizations like the SCLC or NAACP were willing to cast their lot in Bessemer. Instead, Bessemer was given the unsung hero, Howard Asbury. Bass declared that he was previously unaware of the Bessemer Civil Rights Leader until he received further information from the FBI. There, he saw the fiery spirit that was Asbury fighting for the rights he knew were guaranteed to African Americans. He and David Hood ardently argued for the Bessemer Voters’ League, which was in place to increase the number of Bessemer Blacks who were registered to vote. The group did this by helping citizens to pass the “understanding test” that the local government had enforced as a means to obstruct African Americans in Bessemer from “seeking the franchise.” Although overlooked by many historical records of the Civil Rights movement, the Bessemer Voters’ League made real impactful strides towards equality. As Bass cites, “ Eight years later, voter registration among blacks in Bessemer increased from seventy five to two thousand”(130). The Bessemer Voters League caused such an uproar that many of its own members were surprised at the progress they had made. Even with their accomplishments, Bass and many other historians have been completely unaware of the contributions of Bessemer’s Asbury Howard. He was not funded by any movements or organizations, and did not become one of the national Civil Rights Leader icons like that of MLK. This lack of funding or political recognition showed itself during the trials of Caliph