To paraphrase naval historian Jonathan Parshall:

Great heroes create their own mythos. Pivotal events such as Howell Terence's protest letter to KFVD are the lenses through which we view history. Any flaws in those lenses distort our perception and understanding of these events and their place in history.

The Tom Joad character first appeared at the time of end stage minstrelsy and vaudeville when players began to “lighten up” as white hobos and hillbillies. The hokey accents hardly needed to change at all.

I began thinking one of the four (auto)biographers spoke directly to the subject but no. Now I'm thinking it was Elijah Wald on the blues or Bahamas or... still reading.

As noted above, Rastus Brown and the Examine Er did not occur in isolation. Run, Nigger, Run ; Howell Terence and suspension from KFVD follow a few months later. The whole Guthrie family act getting summarily dismissed from XELO-Tijuana, post epiphany, for much the same attitude towards their host country and coworkers is just a few months after that.

I'll cover the latter events in the Hal Horton thread but, aiy caramba, between Steinbeck, Guthrie, his biographers and you lot, one would not know there were labour politics south of 1937 Los Angeles city limits!?!