by Vladimir Alexandrov
I had forgotten that in the aftermath of WWI the Greeks, with Allied assistance, attempted to partition Turkey, conquer (retake) the Greek founded city of Smyrna, and make Istanbul an international city, with the likely aim of eventually claiming it for Greece and of course changing the name back. The Greeks were unsuccessful, something that would have a negative effect on Thomas' life and business interests. Frederick Thomas was born in 1872 Mississippi, not a place that was very hospitable to black people, especially black people who "didn't know their place". This was probably a designation that fit both of Frederick Thomas' parents, Lewis and Hannah, as well as his stepmother India, who helped to raise him after Hannah's death. Former slaves, Lewis and Hannah (and later India), had left sharecropping as early as 1869. Lewis and Hannah purchased their own farm.
The Thomas property grew to over 600 acres, a decent sized farm then or now for a single family. The Thomas family wealth allowed them to donate land for schools and churches. The family made business partnerships with white English immigrants and hired local black residents as workers and sharecroppers. White people noticed the economic power wielded by Lewis Thomas and his wife. This would prove to be the downfall of the Thomas family in Mississippi.
It was probably proof of both the unusual time in post-bellum Mississippi and the high level of dislike that other whites had for Dickinson that Lewis and India weren't immediately arrested or lynched. They even won a few court battles. This example of his parents standing up to someone trying to cheat them must have left an impression on Frederick Thomas. After his father's tragic murder in Memphis (Lewis tried to protect the wife of an abusive boarder) Frederick left home and worked in St. Louis, Chicago and New York City as a porter, valet, waiter and messenger.
Eventually, gaining experience in a wide variety of roles and perhaps frustrated by the limits placed on him due to American bigotry, Thomas left for Europe. Thomas worked as a waiter and maitre'd at increasingly fancier and more expensive restaurants and night spots. Thomas became fluent in French, German, Italian, Russian, Greek and Turkish. He also saved his money and settled in Russia, where he would become a millionaire. There he was known as Fyodor Fyodorovich Tomas. Thomas owned and operated two of Moscow's most impressive and profitable theaters, entertainment gardens and restaurants. He dabbled in real estate investment, boxing promotion, (he was a Jack Johnson fan) married multiple times, and established a reputation as a tough but fair businessman. He didn't tolerate customers engaging in what would now be termed "sexual harassment" of his waitresses. And despite some lurid accusations from American travelers infuriated that a black man could employ and supervise white women, his mostly Russian, German or French waitresses/hostesses had no complaints about him. Thomas became a fixture among the Russian elite in the entertainment and restaurateur worlds.
Because Constantinople was under Allied rule, Thomas wasn't initially concerned about prudish Turks. But Thomas' Russian experiences made him skittish about his family's security. Thomas wanted to have a safe escape route should revolution take place again. Thomas attempted to get a US passport but was stymied in this by white American embassy officials who were angered by his success and repulsed by his interracial marriage. Thomas' long residence overseas also made even sympathetic US officials distrustful of his birthplace and intentions. It didn't help that Thomas' second wife, catching wind of his attempt to obtain a US passport, had contacted the US embassy. As second wives tend to do in such situations, she attempted to make Thomas' life as unpleasant as she could. And during his Turkish sojourn, perhaps because he was operating with lower margins, Thomas started to have problems with creditors, something that would become a major problem for him in later years.
Alexandrov has an engaging writing voice. He's done the research. The book is thoroughly footnoted and documented. This is a really entertaining adventure into a world that's both long gone and yet feels so familiar. There is sly humor included, often when a White American tourist interacts with Thomas. Thomas is often clearly laughing up his sleeve at them. Occasionally there is more direct confrontation. This is a book which could and should be made into a film. I enjoyed learning something I didn't know reading this story.
