The Stump (and Alexander and Tommy Lee Jones) versions of Cobb are unfair. The revisionist account by Leerhsen paints a fairer and far more flattering picture of the man. (Perhaps it "overcorrects?") By the end of his life Cobb was positively progressive on race. But my understanding is that his fury as a young man (a very very southern young man in the early 20th century who lived and worked in the north) often had a racial edge.... The incident with the handicapped heckler comes to mind. I can't think of anything else off-hand though -- maybe I'm remembering things from the Alexander bio although I read the Leershen book more recently.
Perhaps I'm overstepping in calling the young Cobb racist... I'll retract that.
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