The diminutive Raymond A. Palmer was far from averse to printing everything from Richard Shaver's "memories" of Lemuria to the distinct possibilities that flying saucers were from alien planets in his magazine, OTHER WORLDS SCIENCE STORIES. He published 31 issues from 1949 to 1953. Earlier in his career, Palmer was the editor of AMAZING STORIES and FATE.
Now the editor and owner of his own publishing company, he had free reign over the selection of material for OWSS. As a result, controversial topics didn't escape his omnivorous imagination. One of these stories was by the fantasy and science fiction grandmaster, Ray Bradbury. Titled, "Way in the Middle of the Air", it told the tale of all the African-Americans (called "Negroes" in this story) on Earth gathering en masse for transport to Mars. Bradbury said that he was so distressed about the plight of African-Americans at the time of its writing (1950), "I put them in rocket ships and send them off to Mars, in a short story, to rid myself of that tension".
Using the "N" word in a number of instances to reflect the social climate in the South (where the story takes place in 2003!), Bradbury pulled not punches in this powerful tale. Professor Emeritus of English, Robert Crossley stated that it was "the single most incisive episode of black and white relations in science fiction by a white author".
"Way in the Middle of the Air", was rejected by several mainstream "family" and literary magazines, including COLLIER'S, until Palmer had a chance to publish it in OWSS. Palmer thanks Bradbury for the opportunity to include it in his editorial for that issue.
The story found its way into Bradbury's landmark collection, "The Martian Chronicles", but removed from the 1997 edition, presumably for its controversial language and subject.
Below is an article written by the pre-eminent science fiction historian and anthologist, Sam Moskowitz discussing the role of the African-American in science fiction. It appeared in Fredrick Pohl's WORLDS OF TOMORROW (May, 1967). Following that is Bradbury's story from Palmer's OWSS.
WARNING!
THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOCIALLY-SENSITIVE INDIVIDUALS.
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