Monday, August 15, 2016
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Excerpt from the book, Letters from an American volunteer in the Spanish Civil War
Sept. 27, 1937
Dear Comrade
Harry:
Best wishes dear comrade and give my very
best wishes to all my friends. Are you still with Mack, please say hello to
him. Evelyn wanted to give me her photograph, have her send it in your letter.
Spain is a beautiful country and the
climate is very much like southern California. The countryside however is very
much different. The appearance is dry like in California, but homes, gardens,
fields are much different. There are no orange orchards, but vast quantities of
grapes are seen everywhere. Corn and melons are the chief crops.
The homes are made of clay, mother earth
is the floor, and there are very few cement roads, considering these conditions
it rather surprising how clean and well kept are the homes of these peoples.
There is no running hot waters, soap is
expensive, and seldom seen on the market. Clothes must be washed in cold water
and peoples have very few clothes. Because of these conditions it is not
surprising that the children are generally always dirty, clothes not clean, and
sores all over their faces.
These sores are due to unsanitary
conditions and the lack of medical attention. I saw a little baby its little
face marred by a hideous sore, and the mother covering the sore with a dirty
rag. There is great need of doctors in Spain, and I believe that you should
advise Dr. Jaimie to come to Spain. What a field for experience for an
intelligent doctor.
The Spanish women have not the slightest
idea of hygienic conditions. Birth control is an art due to the Catholic
Church, these peoples have never heard of. The C.P. of America should emphasize
even more the importance of medical aid to the Spanish peoples. The ideas I
have presented above should not leave you under the impression that these
people are dirty.
I mean hygienic conditions in the sense of
the utilization of douche bags, birth control and contraceptives. On Sunday,
these women put on nice inexpensive clothes and they are attractive. Few countries
beat Spain in the quantity of attractive women.
I cannot talk about the morals of these
women because I don’t know the language. Now I have been in the homes of many
Spaniards, natural intelligence of these peoples are equal to any peoples. As
for customs I simply don’t know and that is the best I can do.
I entered the home of a small farming
family--they had a 19 year old daughter named Blanca and a friend named Anita.
I drew a picture of Anita and she told me something about Spain life in the big
cities is no difference than in the United States. People go to shows, dances
and go with each other. But when you go with a Spanish girl it means matrimony.
She was very careful to find out whether I was married.
I met and was in the home of a still younger
girl Maria. She is teaching me Spanish and she is very patient with me. I have
eaten at her house, and her people are very strict. Now she says in small
villages never put your arm around a girl, in large cities like Madrid you put
your arms around a girl. I go walking each evening with her, and she walks the
life out of you. Say these girls are far more muscular and better shaped than
American girls. The calves are rounder and the breasts are much firmer.
It is a relief to find people who do not
know race prejudice. There is nationalism in Spain. That is, Catalonians do not
marry people of Valencia. For 4 years I went to Oxnard high school. I was never
in the home of any of my school mates. Three weeks here, and I have been in the
homes of many peoples. I saw the difference as soon as I entered Paris. This
country is poor, Harry. In L.A. I made over $7.50 a day in Spain I make less
than 40¢ a day. I was miserable in L.A. I have found myself. I can in truth
say, the best step I ever made was to come to Spain. I was rapidly
deteriorating in L.A. and now I feel like a new man.
I cannot tolerate peoples with race
complex. In this army there are means at hand to deal with race prejudice. The
army of America encouraged race prejudice, but in this country any man guilty
of prejudice will be sent to jail.
There are some Americans who brought their
prejudice with them, they over stepped their bounds this time and are out of
their place. This army has no place for race prejudice. The American group has
more petty fights when drunk than any other group. As soon as they get pay you
can expect a fight or the start of a fight. Well, we will get all the fighting
they want. We break camp tomorrow, where I go I don’t know so I will write
again soon. Say hello to mother.
Alphaeus Prowell
Monday, April 25, 2016
Grace
I was curious as to what became
of Alphaeus’ ex-wife Grace Fisher. I continued to research her life and discovered
she had an equally noteworthy life; a successful entrepreneur, educator and
pioneer in the fashion industry. She was also a columnist for the California Eagle
and the Los Angeles Sentinel newspapers. A socialite, her life was filled with
great achievements and tantalizing scandals that played out in newspapers.
Grace forged her own path in a time where few opportunities existed for African American women. Grace was a renaissance woman, a woman of her time. I’m surprised her story remains untold- until now.
Grace forged her own path in a time where few opportunities existed for African American women. Grace was a renaissance woman, a woman of her time. I’m surprised her story remains untold- until now.
(Article: Los Angeles Sentinel, February 19, 1948)
Read more about the
extraordinary life of Grace Fisher in Alphaeus
Prowell: An Unordinary Life.
Fighters for Freedom
This article in the California Eagle newspaper dated June 25, 1942, paid tribute
to the heroic efforts of the African American men from the Los Angeles area who
fought in the Spanish Civil War.
Read more of the article
in the book, Alphaeus Prowell: An
Unordinary Life
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Sophie and Mayme: The Women Alphaeus Loved
Man behind the Revolutionary. What made Alphaeus human
was the inclusion of his love life in the letters. When he wrote about Sophie
it was with still raw emotions. Undoubtedly, she was someone he cared deeply
about and couldn’t release from his heart. Then there was Mayme
Reed. Alpheus spent his last days with her before he traveled to Spain. The
letters are somewhat ambiguous on the nature of their relationship.
Who is Comrade Harry?
I tried to identify “Comrade Harry” through people
Alphaeus named in the letters, but I found no strong connections. “Comrade
Harry” was definitely someone that Alphaeus considered not only a brother in
the struggle, but also a friend and confidant. There was a moment in the
letters, after the loss of close comrades killed in the war, that Alphaeus
contemplated his own fate. He relied on, “Comrade Harry” to prepare his family
in the event he didn’t return home.
Researching Alphaeus
I had to know more about the attractive young man in
the photograph. In 2010, I began what became a fascinating journey to
uncover the life of Alphaeus Prowell. The decision to publish my research was
based on the significant amount of information I located on him. Amazingly, the
details of his everyday life were reported in newspapers. The articles are now a lasting record of his life and experiences.
Back in 1999, before I became interested
in genealogy, I saw the documentary Black Press: Soldiers without Swords, a
film on the history of the Black Press in America. Unbeknownst, to me at the
time, was how significant the role historical black newspapers would play in the
tracing of my own family history.
New Book Release
Alphaeus Prowell: An Unordinary Life
by Dawn Rolland
A stunning genealogy
picture book, that tells the remarkable life story of Alphaeus Prowell. The son
of a prominent minister, Alphaeus was afforded opportunities unimaginable to
most African Americans of his time. An Unordinary Life is filled with an
impressive collection of images and historical newspaper articles dating back
to 1924. These articles offer a fascinating look into the life of this once
celebrated athlete and political activist.
eBook available for purchase on Lulu
Thursday, March 17, 2016
An Unexpected History Lesson
I
didn’t know much about the Spanish Civil War, I definitely went through a
learning curve. In the letters, there was such a sharing of knowledge by Alphaeus
on global politics and how it impacted the war in Spain. This was all the more
evident when I later discovered Alphaeus was a history teacher.
Genealogy helped
me to discover the extraordinary lives of my ancestors and also their role in history.
To learn more about the Spanish Civil War and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade go to:
Monday, February 29, 2016
Book Release
Alphaeus Danfourth Prowell: Letters from an American volunteer in the Spanish Civil War
By Dawn Rolland
“The Spanish people are
really wonderful. They always crowd around you asking questions, and showing
the greatest kindness to you. They have no prejudice, and I really feel no
different between them and myself. Here I am treated as one of them. I like
this place,” wrote Alphaeus Prowell
an African American in Spain fighting in the Spanish Civil War in 1937.
These
extraordinary letters written by Prowell captured the heart and soul of his war
experience. They also reveal the man behind the revolutionary, and tell of the
women he loved and left behind for a cause.
Available on Amazon, Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and OverDrive
Available on Amazon, Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and OverDrive
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