Description:
Civil Wars, Civil Beings, and Civil Rights in Alabama's Black Belt: A History of Perry County offers a groundbreaking examination of one of the South's most intriguing historical communities. Historian Bertis D. English reveals how Perry County, located in the heart of Alabama's Black Belt, developed a distinctive tradition of African American leadership, educational advancement, religious influence, and interracial political cooperation during Reconstruction and beyond. Challenging conventional narratives of post-Civil War violence and racial conflict, this deeply researched study illuminates the forces that fostered Black agency and civil rights activism in a region often overlooked by historians. Rich with archival research, personal stories, and insightful analysis, this essential volume is invaluable for scholars, students, and readers interested in Southern history, African American studies, Reconstruction, and the long struggle for civil rights.
Review Quotes:
"Bertis English presents a treasure chest of relevant and important historical material related to Perry County, Alabama, providing information that comprehensively illuminates experiences of the area's residents in a way that state and regional studies cannot."--Kenneth M. Hamilton, author of Booker T. Washington in American Memory