First in a series
[img]2761|right|Charles Blow||no_popup[/img]Tall, stately, reserved, pillow-soft of tone, exactly the opposite of his weekly roaring-fire essays in The New York Times, 44-year-old Charles Blow strode unnoticed, and solo, into the spacious African-American Museum on the USC campus this morning.
Invited by Dr. Anthony Asadullah Samad to address the Urban Issues Breakfast Forum, timely, on “Violence and Abuse in American Culture,” the subject of his book tour, breaking news intercepted Mr. Blow before he could reach the microphone.
As a bomb-dealing essayist centrally surrounded by the prickliest thorns of contemporary racism, Mr. Blow first was asked about the seemingly sudden, curiously timed resignation of controversial U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder.
Handlers on his nationwide book tour – for “Fire Shut up in My Bones” – “have been running me around like a crazy person,” Mr. Blow said. “I haven’t had a chance to process it since yesterday. The White House sent me a statement, but I haven’t even read it.”
Plumbing the Timing
Like every other American commentator this morning, the urbane 6-foot-4 native of Gibsland, La, is baffled by Mr. Holder’s timing. “I don’t know why now,” he said. “And I didn’t have time to figure out why now.”
In the absence of the attorney general’s revelation on why he is quitting at this politically sensitive juncture, as California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris lines up as one favored successor, Mr. Blow was asked about Mr. Holder’s place in history.
Is he at the shoulder of the 1960s’ Bobby Kennedy, generally regarded by liberals as the ultimate attorney general of the modern era?
Mr. Blow, perhaps surprisingly, was reluctant to draw a comparison. Below his furrowed brow, “I don’t know,” he said, hesitantly. “I don’t know. I have to think about it before I put it in context, which I haven’t had a chance to do.”
Would Mr. Blow rank Mr. Holder with the premium A.G.’s?
“I have been very impressed by him,” he said, without sounding like a cheerleader.
In civil rights areas?
“In general. Just as a very outspoken advocate. A very aggressive attorney general, including civil rights areas.”
Mr. Blow’s appearance easily could have passed for a diplomat, and now he was speaking like one, though not for long.”
(To be continued)
