o The story of Reconstruction is often told from the perspective of the politicians, generals, and journalists whose accounts claim an outsized place in collective memory. But this pivotal era looked very different to African Americans in the South transitioning from bondage to freedom after 1865. They were besieged by a campaign of white supremacist violence that persisted through the 1880s and beyond. For too long, their lived experiences have been sidelined, impoverishing our understanding of the obstacles post-Civil War Black families faced, their inspiring determination to survive, and the physical and emotional scars they bore because of it.
o In I Saw Death Coming, Kidada E. Williams offers a breakthrough account of the much-debated Reconstruction period, transporting readers into the daily existence of formerly enslaved people building hope-filled new lives. Drawing on overlooked sources and bold new readings of the archives, Williams offers a revelatory and, in some cases, minute-by-minute record of nighttime raids and Ku Klux Klan strikes. And she deploys cutting-edge scholarship on trauma to consider how the effects of these attacks would linger for decades--indeed, generations--to come.
o Please join the ALPLM’s Education and Research teams in this exciting virtual Book Club for Educators, a program that invites you to come as you are, drink what you want, and chat about great books with your peers. This virtual event is free, but registration is required. All participants who read I Saw Death Coming: A History of Terror and Survival in the War against Reconstruction and attend the discussion will receive 6.5 CPDUs.
This is a free program, but advance registration is required.
Reserve Tickets