At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black AmericaWINNER OF THE SOUTHERN BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR NONFICTION • “A landmark work of unflinching scholarship.”—The New York Times This extraordinary account of lynching in America, by acclaimed civil rights historian Philip Dray, shines a clear, bright light on American history’s darkest stain—illuminating its causes, perpetrators, apologists, and victims. Philip Dray also tells the story of the men and women who led the long and difficult fight to expose and eradicate lynching, including Ida B. Wells, James Weldon Johnson, Walter White, and W.E.B. Du Bois. If lynching is emblematic of what is worst about America, their fight may stand for what is best: the commitment to justice and fairness and the conviction that one individual’s sense of right can suffice to defy the gravest of wrongs. This landmark book follows the trajectory of both forces over American history—and makes lynching’s legacy belong to us all. Praise for At the Hands of Persons Unknown “In this history of lynching in the post-Reconstruction South—the most comprehensive of its kind—the author has written what amounts to a Black Book of American race relations.”—The New Yorker “A powerfully written, admirably perceptive synthesis of the vast literature on lynching. It is the most comprehensive social history of this shameful subject in almost seventy years and should be recognized as a major addition to the bibliography of American race relations.”—David Levering Lewis “An important and courageous book, well written, meticulously researched, and carefully argued.”—The Boston Globe “You don’t really know what lynching was until you read Dray’s ghastly accounts of public butchery and official complicity.”—Time |
Contents
Judge Lynchs Law | 17 |
To Gather My Race in My Arms | 53 |
The Compromise | 109 |
Let the Eagle Scream | 138 |
Writing History with Lightning | 190 |
The Wisest and Best Response | 215 |
The Shame of America | 252 |
The Tragedy of Lynching | 303 |
Other editions - View all
At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America Philip Dray No preview available - 2003 |
Common terms and phrases
accused Alabama antilynching appeared arrested assault ASWPL Atlanta Atlanta Constitution attorney began bill black Americans burned Charles citizens civil rights colored Congress conviction County courthouse crime criminal crowd death defendants deputies due process effort Emmett Till fear federal government fight film forced Georgia Governor hands Hose Ibid jail James Weldon Johnson jury justice killed Klan Klux Ku Klux Klan later legislation lynch mob lynchers McGee Memphis Milam Mississippi murder NAACP named Neal Negro newspaper nigger night North person Phillips County police President Press prisoner prosecution punishment race racial rape Reconstruction reported Republican riot Sam Hose segregation Senate sexual sheriff shot slave social South Carolina Southern Street Supreme Court thousand tion told town trial Tuskegee U.S. Supreme Court victim violence W.E.B. Du Bois Walter White Washington Wells-Barnett white women Willie McGee woman wrote York young