Certain Reprisal by Kevin Macklin

Author:Kevin Macklin [Macklin, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: KMP
Published: 2020-06-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

The early days of the Cold War coincided with the Civil Rights Movement. Many black Americans were unhappy with conditions in the US, and the communist regime saw an opportunity to work with people involved in the Movement to spread communism. The appeal of communism to many blacks was the emphasis on equality, and minimizing the power concentration for the benefit of everyone.

Many notable African Americans moved to, or spent time in Russia, including Langston Hughes. Many less notable and average black Americans moved to Russia as well.

The Civil Rights Movement also coincided with the migration of many Africans to Russia, after colonialism began to topple across the continent. This was all in the late '50s and early '60s. The children of these migrants were known as The Festival Children.

Edgar Ivanovich was born in America, but raised in Russia as one of The Festival Children. His parents, not too keen on the idea of raising their child in a segregated America, fled to Russia shortly after he was born.

The powers that be saw a golden opportunity: train a native born, African American, in the ways of Mother Russia and the Communist Party, then send him back to America when he was of age, to act as an agent for the Rodina.

He came back in the early '80s and realized that the West was nothing like he was led to believe, and ended up fully embracing capitalism. He stayed.

I met him in the mid '90s, as a young kid living in a tough neighborhood. Edgar Ivanovich made a priceless contribution to my life by teaching me the Russian System of Self Defense.

I'm still not sure what he saw in me, but I'm thankful he saw it. His teachings and wisdom have been invaluable over the years. He took me from being a scared kid, and turned me into a respected man. He didn't agree with my chosen profession, but he understood. You gotta get it how you get it.

Juicy straddled the bike, arms wrapped around my torso, as we pulled into his driveway. Which was more than just a driveway. About a hundred yards long, it was the entrance to an estate, complete with circular drive and a fountain outside of the front door.

Edgar Ivanovich had been alerted to my presence the moment I turned onto his property and he met us at the front door.

"Ivan!" He'd always called me by the Russian version of my name. "It's been too long, tovarishch. And, who is this beautiful creature you grace me with today?"

I made the introduction, then he led us into his house. The front door opened into a foyer with polished, hard wood floors. We followed Edgar down the hallway and into a sitting room, and sat in chairs around a coffee table.

"Want something to drink?" he offered.

"No," I replied.

He looked over at Juicy, who simply shook her head.

"I assume this isn't a social call," he prompted. "What can I do for you and the lady?"

I told him everything that had led up to this moment.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.