\n
Edward McCabe&rsquo\;s bio
graphy describes him in several ways: as a land developer and speculator\,
a lawyer\, an immigration promoter\, a newspaper owner\, and a politician
. But McCabe was also a key player within the Exoduster movement\, the mig
ration of African Americans who sought to live and raise families away fro
m racial threats and discrimination.
\n\n
Journalist and professor \;Caleb Gayle&rsquo\;s new book\, \;Black Moses: A Saga of Ambit
ion and the Fight for a Black State\, tells the story of the
man who championed the audacious idea of creating a state within the Unio
n &ndash\; specifically in Oklahoma where he lived for 18 years &ndash\; g
overned by and for Black people.
\n\n
Gayle discusses the book with investigative journalist \;Christopher Leonard\, author of three
books\, including \;The Meat Racket:
The Secret Takeover of America'\;s Food Business. \;They talk
about McCabe&rsquo\;s political ties and influences\, what led him to sel
ect Oklahoma as the site of the proposed Black state\, and the racism\, po
litics\, and greed that thwarted his plans.
\n\n
An associate professor in Northeastern University&rsquo\;s Sc
hool of Journalism with a joint appointment in Africana Studies\, Gayle is
an award-winning journalist who writes about the history of race and iden
tity and holds fellowships from New America\, PEN America\, and Harvard&rs
quo\;s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
\n\n
Gayle is also the author of \;We Refuse to Forget\, and his work has appeared in \;The New York Times Magazine\, \;<
em style="box-sizing: inherit\;">The Atlantic\, \;TIME\, \;The
Guardian\, \;Guernica\,&n
bsp\;The New Republic\, \;and&n
bsp\;The Boston Globe.
\n\n
This program is part of the \;Watchdog Writers Group series \;
and co-presented by the \;Missou
ri School of Journalism\, housed at the University of Missouri in
Columbia\, where Leonard is the director.
\n