Description: Bullets and Fire is the first collection on lynching in Arkansas, exploring all corners of the state from the time of slavery up to the mid-twentieth century and covering stories of the perpetrators, victims, and those who fought against vigilante violence.
Among the topics discussed are the lynching of slaves, the Arkansas Council of the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching, the 1927 lynching of John Carter in Little Rock, and the state's long opposition to a federal anti-lynching law. Throughout, the work reveals how the phenomenon of lynching--as the means by which a system of white supremacy reified itself, with its perpetrators rarely punished and its defenders never condemned--served to construct authority in Arkansas. Bullets and Fire will add depth to the growing body of literature on American lynching and integrate a deeper understanding of this violence into Arkansas history.Review Quotes: "Prior to the publication of this much-needed volume, Arkansas had been one of the most understudied southern states in terms of its history of frequent lynching violence. ... with this impressive volume Arkansas has been transformed from one of the least studied southern states ... to one of the best and most comprehensively analyzed. An excellent volume that will reward reading by all interested in Arkansas history, the history of American and southern lynching, and the history of racial violence."
--Michael J. Pfeifer, Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Summer 2018