Summary

In a collection of essays about the “American Grain,” Williams needs to have one about race. In “Advent of Slaves,” the author includes half-clear allusions and half-told anecdotes. The Mayflower is set against the slave ship, and what enables African Americans to succeed on this continent is their appropriation of Christianity for their own uses. Williams draws on his experience as a doctor to freely describe some African Americans he knows.

The title of the next essay, “Descent,” refers to Sam Houston’s life in two worlds. He periodically leaves the white world to live with the Cherokee Indians, This is essential for him to know his character, understand himself, and succeed in the white world.

Analysis

What is the “genius of the place?” It must come from somewhere far below the meaningless filler of everyday life. It is the...