Introduction: Fragments -- 1. The article -- 2. The letter -- 3. The clothes -- 4. The tree -- 5. The hammer and chisel -- 6. The song -- Conclusion: Archival remains.
Summary:
"This innovative study uses objects-made, collected, and imagined-to tell the story of the 1898 lynching of Tom Johnson and Joe Kizer in North Carolina. Utilizing material culture, memory, and landscapes, it brings important new insights to the understanding of racial violence in the American South and beyond"-- Provided by publisher. The 1898 lynching of Tom Johnson and Joe Kizer is retold in this groundbreaking book. Unlike other histories of lynching that rely on conventional historical records, this study focuses on the objects associated with the lynching, including newspaper articles, fragments of the victims' clothing, photographs, and souvenirs such as sticks from the hanging tree. This material culture approach uncovers how people tried to integrate the meaning of the lynching into their everyday lives through objects. These seemingly ordinary items are repositories for the comprehension, interpretation, and commemoration of racial violence and white supremacy. Elijah Gaddis showcases an approach to objects as materials of history and memory, insisting that we live in a world suffused with the material traces of racial violence, past and present.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.