I find it difficult to avoid the on going discussion regarding
whether Sam Clemens was or was not a racist. I read a few of his
books as a younger man and just considered them as amusing. As an
older fellow, now-76- and very worried about the state of this
nation, I have been engrossed in his writings about race, religion,
politics and the foibles of man in general. His essay on the silent
lie of slavery in the south; his extensive discourse about how so
called civilized men destroyed numerous stable and happy cultures
with meddling missionaries; and militaries; and his scathing
anti-imperialism begat by abuses by this nation in the name of
liberty, frame my view of Sam as a brilliant caring human being. He
had not one drop of racist blood in those veins, even when he wrote
Huck Finn. I read it years ago and again recently with an aged
perspective marinated by the atrocities of the current US
administration. We need Twain today to fight against continuing
racism and expanding imperialism foisted on humanity by our so called
God fearing nation and it's  God chosen current president.
I am currently trying to write a fiction by transporting an educated
Finn into this century to observe and document Sam's view of
politics, religion, and US imperilism. I may ask interested
partner-authors to submit chapters for inclusion and make this a
collaboration, so to speak. Any one interested contact me off list
for details of this project. Oh and thanks to the several responses I
received regarding my recent query about Twains view of Jefferson. Bob
Brownlee