The Fishermen and the Dragon: Fear, Greed, and a Fight for Justice on the Gulf Coast
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-02 17:21:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kirk W. Johnson
- ISBN：B09MGGHGY3
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Summary
A gripping， twisting account of a small town set on fire by hatred， xenophobia， and ecological disaster—a story that weaves together corporate malfeasance， a battle over shrinking natural resources， a turning point in the modern white supremacist movement， and one woman’s relentless battle for environmental justice。
By the late 1970s， the fishermen of the Texas Gulf Coast were struggling。 The bays that had sustained generations of shrimpers and crabbers before them were being poisoned by nearby petrochemical plants， oil spills， pesticides， and concrete。 But as their nets came up light， the white shrimpers could only see one culprit: the small but growing number of newly resettled Vietnamese refugees who had recently started fishing。
Turf was claimed。 Guns were flashed。 Threats were made。 After a white crabber was killed by a young Vietnamese refugee in self-defense， the situation became a tinderbox primed to explode， and the Grand Dragon of the Texas Knights of the Ku Klux Klan saw an opportunity to stoke the fishermen’s rage and prejudices。 At a massive Klan rally near Galveston Bay one night in 1981， he strode over to an old boat graffitied with the words U。S。S。 VIET CONG， torch in hand， and issued a ninety-day deadline for the refugees to leave or else “it’s going to be a helluva lot more violent than Vietnam！” The white fishermen roared as the boat burned， convinced that if they could drive these newcomers from the coast， everything would return to normal。
A shocking campaign of violence ensued， marked by burning crosses， conspiracy theories， death threats， torched boats， and heavily armed Klansmen patrolling Galveston Bay。 The Vietnamese were on the brink of fleeing， until a charismatic leader in their community， a highly decorated colonel， convinced them to stand their ground by entrusting their fate with the Constitution。
Drawing upon a trove of never-before-published material， including FBI and ATF records， unprecedented access to case files， and scores of firsthand interviews with Klansmen， shrimpers， law enforcement， environmental activists， lawyers， perpetrators and victims， Johnson uncovers secrets and secures confessions to crimes that went unsolved for more than forty years。 This explosive investigation of a forgotten story， years in the making， ultimately leads Johnson to the doorstep of the one woman who could see clearly enough to recognize the true threat to the bays—and who now represents the fishermen’s last hope。
By the late 1970s， the fishermen of the Texas Gulf Coast were struggling。 The bays that had sustained generations of shrimpers and crabbers before them were being poisoned by nearby petrochemical plants， oil spills， pesticides， and concrete。 But as their nets came up light， the white shrimpers could only see one culprit: the small but growing number of newly resettled Vietnamese refugees who had recently started fishing。
Turf was claimed。 Guns were flashed。 Threats were made。 After a white crabber was killed by a young Vietnamese refugee in self-defense， the situation became a tinderbox primed to explode， and the Grand Dragon of the Texas Knights of the Ku Klux Klan saw an opportunity to stoke the fishermen’s rage and prejudices。 At a massive Klan rally near Galveston Bay one night in 1981， he strode over to an old boat graffitied with the words U。S。S。 VIET CONG， torch in hand， and issued a ninety-day deadline for the refugees to leave or else “it’s going to be a helluva lot more violent than Vietnam！” The white fishermen roared as the boat burned， convinced that if they could drive these newcomers from the coast， everything would return to normal。
A shocking campaign of violence ensued， marked by burning crosses， conspiracy theories， death threats， torched boats， and heavily armed Klansmen patrolling Galveston Bay。 The Vietnamese were on the brink of fleeing， until a charismatic leader in their community， a highly decorated colonel， convinced them to stand their ground by entrusting their fate with the Constitution。
Drawing upon a trove of never-before-published material， including FBI and ATF records， unprecedented access to case files， and scores of firsthand interviews with Klansmen， shrimpers， law enforcement， environmental activists， lawyers， perpetrators and victims， Johnson uncovers secrets and secures confessions to crimes that went unsolved for more than forty years。 This explosive investigation of a forgotten story， years in the making， ultimately leads Johnson to the doorstep of the one woman who could see clearly enough to recognize the true threat to the bays—and who now represents the fishermen’s last hope。
Reviews
Louise
，
When I first read the blurb， I was a little skeptical。 How well could a single book encompass both environmental justice and racial justice？ As it turns out， these stories are more intertwined than I’d expected。The character- and story-focused narrative style is engaging and immediately hooks the reader with a feeling of suspense。 Narrative nonfiction is delightful when done well， but runs the risk of leaning too far into sensationalism and abandoning good scholarship。 This book’s extensive cita When I first read the blurb， I was a little skeptical。 How well could a single book encompass both environmental justice and racial justice？ As it turns out， these stories are more intertwined than I’d expected。The character- and story-focused narrative style is engaging and immediately hooks the reader with a feeling of suspense。 Narrative nonfiction is delightful when done well， but runs the risk of leaning too far into sensationalism and abandoning good scholarship。 This book’s extensive citations are evidence of a well-balanced tightrope act。Full Review at Lone Star on a Lark 。。。more
Sam - Read & Buried
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The Fishermen and the Dragon dives into the racist， polluted history of Texas's Gulf Coast。 The book primarily deals with the relationship between Vietnamese refugees and racist white shrimpers/Klan members in the gulf， but it also sheds light on a fight against the chemical plants that have had a stranglehold on the economy there in recent decades。 Both stories are intertwined in interesting ways， and the epilogue of the book shows the impact of both on the community in the "Cancer Belt。"Johnso The Fishermen and the Dragon dives into the racist， polluted history of Texas's Gulf Coast。 The book primarily deals with the relationship between Vietnamese refugees and racist white shrimpers/Klan members in the gulf， but it also sheds light on a fight against the chemical plants that have had a stranglehold on the economy there in recent decades。 Both stories are intertwined in interesting ways， and the epilogue of the book shows the impact of both on the community in the "Cancer Belt。"Johnson's strength is in crafting a nonfiction narrative that feels not unlike reading a good novel - there are no dry， dense paragraphs to wade through to get a real understanding of the atmosphere or conditions at the time。 With nonfiction， I sometimes find myself overwhelmed with the amount of information thrown at me at once， thus slowing down the read。 Johnson balances the line perfectly between providing that information while also making the book unputdownable， despite the blatant and at times sickening displays of racism and violence on show。 Although the two narrative threads diverge for a while， they are ultimately brought together in a way that demonstrates the long-lasting effect both have had on the community over the decades。I'll read anything about Texas history that isn't just about licking the boot， and while I was aware of the pollution issues near the gulf， I had no idea about the disgustingly racist history between Klan-allied white fishermen and the Vietnamese community who just wanted to earn a living。 I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise at this point， but I'm glad that Johnson is shedding light on this story， as I'm sure I'm not the only Texan who was unaware of or too young to have seen this part of our history。 I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Texas history， Gulf Coast history， or the fight for justice in the South。Thank you to Viking and NetGalley for providing a copy for review。 。。。more
Audrey
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