Description:
A Carpetbagger in Reverse is a revelatory biography of Arthur W. Mitchell, the first Black Democrat elected to the U.S. Congress and a pivotal--yet largely forgotten--figure in American political history. Born in Alabama to formerly enslaved parents, Mitchell rose from poverty to become a lawyer, educator, and congressman who challenged segregation, advocated for civil rights, and reshaped Black political identity during the Great Depression and Jim Crow era. Drawing from Mitchell's personal papers and public writings, John Morris Knapp offers a nuanced portrait of a man whose controversial strategies and enduring legacy demand a reassessment of the Black freedom struggle in the twentieth century.
Review Quotes:
"This biography of Mitchell, who has been virtually forgotten by history, is essential reading for scholars to understand the early days of the modern civil rights struggle. ESSENTIAL" --CHOICE
"A Carpetbagger in Reverse makes a great addition to the growing scholarship of the Black freedom struggle during the Great Depression." --The Alabama Review