Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and A Story of Reconciliation

By: J. Chester Johnson

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Synopsis: An illuminating journey to racial reconciliation experienced by two Americans—one black and one white.The 1919 Elaine Race Massacre, arguably the worst in our country&’s history, has been widely unknown for the better part of a century, thanks to the whitewashing of history. In 2008, Johnson was asked to write the Litany of Offense and Apology for a National Day of Repentance, where the Episcopal Church formally apologized for its role in transatlantic slavery and related evils. In his research, Johnson happened upon a treatise by historian and anti-lynching advocate Ida B. Wells on the Elaine Massacre, where more than a hundred and possibly hundreds of African-American men, women, and children perished at the hands of white posses, vigilantes, and federal troops in rural Phillips County, Arkansas. Johnson would discover that his beloved grandfather had been a member of the KKK and participated in the massacre. The discovery shook him to his core. Thereafter, he met Sheila L. Walker, a descendant of African-American victims of the massacre, and she and Johnson committed themselves to reconciliation. Damaged Heritage brings to light a deliberately erased chapter in American history, and offers a blueprint for how our pluralistic society can at last acknowledge—and repudiate—our collective damaged heritage and begin a path towards true healing.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9781643134673
Related ISBNs:: 9781643134666
Publisher:: Pegasus Books
Date of Addition:: 05/05/20
Copyrighted By:: J. Chester Johnson
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs, Politics and Government
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.