41 pages • 1 hour read
George SchuylerBlack No More: Being an Account of the Strange and Wonderful Workings of Science in the Land of the Free
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1931A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 6-8 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary
It is Easter Sunday in 1934. Matthew and Helen are getting married, despite his dislike of Helen’s mother, and their wedding day happens to mark one year since the founding of the Knights of Nordica, which took place the night of Matthew’s first speech. Matthew now works for Rev. Givens, and thanks to Matthew’s success and influence, the reverend is now imagining himself in a powerful position like the Presidency of the United States. This marriage enables the reverend to focus less on his mistrust of Matthew and more on the money Matthew brings into the organization. Matthew’s canny methods of confronting the Black-No-More movement have succeeded in hoodwinking his audience, so much so that “he almost persuaded himself that it was all true” (65). The Knights of Nordica is now a very wealthy organization and Matthew’s reputation as an organizer is well-known throughout the South.
Though Michael is earning good money at the Knights of Nordica, Matthew is also working hard to cultivate business relationships with other powerful men in Atlanta. When he meets with these men, he first explains that messengers from the North are being sent to the South to stir up trouble amongst the workers; then he explains how the Knights of Nordica are different from the KKK, and then finally, he asks for financial support for the Knights of Nordica, which he then keeps for himself. Thanks to the unemployment rates in Atlanta and the potential for unions to form amongst the white laborers who work for these men, Matthew does well in these arrangements as the businessmen are eager to protect themselves. However, the white workers of Atlanta are reluctant to take action because they believe that black workers are ready to step in as soon as they vacate their jobs. The Black-No-More treatment has complicated this situation because newly white men are now “undermining their American standard of living” (68) as well as threatening the employment status of truly white men.
Not long after his wedding, Bunny, Matthew’s old friend from Harlem, appears at his office, but Matthew does not recognize him, post-treatment. Bunny has just been released from jail after assaulting his lover’s husband. Matthew offers Bunny a job as his “right-hand man” (70), which Bunny accepts, and then Matthew tells Bunny about his new life before giving Bunny an assignment to spy on Santop Licorice, who is secretly working for the Knights of Nordica. Bunny wonders why Matthew is paying someone “to fight the same people that are fighting your enemy” (72), but his confusion clears when Matthew explains that the longer it takes to settle everyone down, the longer he can capitalize on the discord.
Two days later, Bunny leaves for New York City, hoping to find Licorice and ensure he is doing good work and to meet with the members of the NSEL to persuade them to do paid speaking engagements to the members of the Knights of Nordica. Like the members of the Knights, the NSEL are deeply troubled by the success of Black-No-More, and Rev. Givens sees an opportunity in bringing the two groups together. While on the train north, Bunny sees an article in the newspaper about a white woman who has given birth to a black baby, an alarming phenomenon that causes the membership of the Knights of Nordica to grow and the sex lives of white people to change dramatically. Black-No-More also makes money off of this development as they offer a special treatment to newborn babies in their new Lying-In hospitals. Upon his return to Atlanta, Bunny reports that money is wasted on Licorice, who is doing nothing productive for the Knights of Nordica, and that he was unable to locate any of the members of the NSEL as their offices have been closed.
Chapter 7 Summary
In June 1934, Matthew receives word that workers for a cotton mill company belonging to two Germans in Paradise, South Carolina are planning to go on strike. Matthew and Bunny use the Knights of Nordica’s plane to fly to South Carolina and meet with the two Germans to offer to fix the problem for $10,000. When the two Germans hesitate, he raises the price to $15,000. They agree on the deal, and Matthew then goes to a Knights of Nordica meeting in Paradise, encourages the workers to fight for their rights, and collects dues from the new members who are excited by Matthew’s speech. When Matthew returns to Atlanta, he meets with “a half-dozen of his secret operatives” (79) and tells them to go to Paradise to work; the operatives start rumors amongst the workers that the strike leaders are newly white men and, therefore, unfit to lead. The workers quiet down, the Germans are incredulous, and matters of race and white supremacy supersede matters of the working people in terms of societal importance.
Chapter 8 Summary
Two years have passed since the introduction of Black-No-More. Fewer and fewer blacks are visible in both the North and the South, and while the North has adapted easily to the change, the South is now in a difficult position. Without black people to blame and to marginalize, the South is struggling to maintain its values; as well, the absence of black people is having a negative impact on the Southern economy. Taxes have gone up as a result, and the members of the upper class find they are less comfortable than before. The political landscape is also changing as Socialism takes root, displacing the Republican and Democratic Parties, which inspires Senator Rufus Kretin, a Democrat, to join forces with Rev. Givens against the Reds. With the senator’s money, the reverend’s connections, and Matthew’s clever schemes, white supremacy can endure even without black people.
The two men entrust Matthew with the issues at hand, and he discusses his strategy with Bunny; because “hatred and prejudice always go over big” (89), Matthew has decided to reintroduce the so-called black problem. Bunny wonders how Matthew will proceed, but Matthew confesses that he is more concerned with the fact that Helen is pregnant and that she will likely refuse to go north to one of the Lying-In hospitals that can turn a newborn baby white as soon as it is born. Bunny encourages Matthew to tell Helen the truth, but Matthew refuses, explaining that his wife is even more racist than her father. For $5,000, Bunny is confident he can fix the problem.
That evening, Bunny goes to the “Niggerhead Café” (90), where he recognizes the white waiter as Dr. Joseph Bonds, who used to be the head of the Negro Data League in New York City. He offers the waiter $100 to work with a friend the waiter trusts, and when the waiter says he will work with a friend named Santop Licorice, Bunny is shocked to learn that Licorice is a dishwasher at the same cafe. The three men make a plan to meet at Bunny’s hotel when the cafe closes. Bunny promises the men $1000 each if they will set fire to the home of Rev. Givens. At the scene of the fire, Helen’s mother persuades Helen to go away to have the baby. The next morning, Bunny and Matthew talk over the fire and Helen’s plan to go north, and they are interrupted by a phone call announcing that Helen has had a miscarriage. Meanwhile, Dr. Bonds and Licorice are on an express train back to New York.
Chapters 6-8 Analysis
These chapters concern the marriage of Matthew and Helen, and the implications of their marriage, as well as the earliest stages of Matthew and Rev. Givens’ careers in politics. The South is becoming more restless, just as Matthew becomes agitated with the news of Helen’s pregnancy, and these parallel plot lines gather momentum until the fire at the Givens’ house makes a few matters clearer. Helen’s miscarriage allows Matthew to postpone his worry about a biracial baby, which will out him as an imposter, and the return of Dr. Bonds and Licorice to New York foreshadows more action from the black leaders of various organizations.
Bunny’s arrival in Atlanta is a significant event in Matthew’s life; Bunny’s lack of scruples, and Matthew’s approval of Bunny’s unscrupulous methods, gives the reader an understanding of how far Matthew will go to protect his interests. Bunny is an ideal sidekick for Matthew; both Matthew and Bunny have a kind of savvy that enables them to navigate the world of white people with skill. The business meeting with the Germans is an example of their expertise, but it is unclear if Matthew could have presented his demands without Bunny there to give him moral support. Their shared military experience may explain the strength they bring as a united pair.
The willingness of Dr. Bonds and Licorice to commit arson and their immediate return to New York with Bunny’s cash in their pockets reiterates the theme of greed. Money appears to buy Matthew any kind of favor, no matter how personal the request. Helen’s miscarriage foreshadows the death of other babies, all of whom symbolize an innocence that no longer exists in America.
