Bibliograph

On the laps of gods, the Red Summer of 1919 and the struggle for justice that remade a nation, Robert Whitaker

Type

Label

On the laps of gods, the Red Summer of 1919 and the struggle for justice that remade a nation, Robert Whitaker

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [361]-367) and index

Illustrations

mapsillustrationsplates

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

On the laps of gods

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

181368761

Responsibility statement

Robert Whitaker

Sub title

the Red Summer of 1919 and the struggle for justice that remade a nation

Summary

September 30, 1919. The United States teetered on the edge of a racial civil war. Racial fighting had erupted in 25 cities. Deep in the Arkansas Delta, black sharecroppers formed a union to sue their white landowners, who had cheated them for years. What happened next has long been shrouded in controversy. Over several days, posses and federal troops gunned down more than 100 men, women, and children. White authorities arrested more than 300 black farmers, and in brief trials, all-white juries sentenced twelve union leaders to the electric chair. And then, a lawyer from Little Rock stepped forward. Scipio Africanus Jones, born a slave, joined with the NAACP to mount an appeal in which he argued that his clients' constitutional rights to a fair trial had been violated. Never before had the U.S. Supreme Court set aside a criminal verdict in a state court because the proceedings had been unfair.--From publisher description

Classification