THE MULLET MAN

A memoir recalls how a young white boy learned about racism and prejudice when he befriended a mysterious Black fisherman known for his canniness in catching mullet.

Fields was 12 years old and new to Jacksonville, Florida, after his father—who was in the Navy—was stationed there in 1955. Having moved around a lot, but never in the Southeast, the author witnessed racism and poverty for the first time. And while his family was more tolerant, he soon learned that many of the white folks in Jacksonville were not. Enter Freddy, Fields’ new friend. Together, Fields and Freddy spent their time fishing. But when the author got curious about an enigmatic Black man who also fished in the same creek—the locals called him the “Mullet Man” because he was especially adept at catching the best mullet—Fields and Freddy’s friendship soon soured. Freddy was from a very racist family and antagonized the author for his desire to meet and befriend the Mullet Man (fisticuffs ensued). Fields’ prose is enjoyable and the account is well paced. The sincere book is interspersed with haunting illustrations by Bjurman. Everything that happens in the lucid work is a lesson for the author, from the violent rhetoric of Freddy and company to the unlikely friendship a pal eventually forges with the Mullet Man. Fields writes: “There was an awful lot that I had to learn about colored people, and, just as importantly, what I had to learn about white people as well.” Encounters with racism sparked a series of teaching moments. Unfortunately, there’s not much that’s original about the story; many memoirs have covered similar territory. Then there’s the Mullet Man—or his real name, Ulysses—himself. As the memoir recounts how he dispensed mystic wisdom and was routinely compared to a ghost, many readers will feel that this titular fisherman seems less like a real person and more like an otherworldly figure.

A vivid but uneven account about bigotry and friendship in Florida in the 1950s.