Rope and Faggot: A Biography of Judge Lynch (African American Intellectual Heritage)

"Rope and Faggot: A Biography of Judge Lynch" by Walter White is an incisive exploration into the harrowing occurrences of lynching in the American South, first published in 1929 and reissued in 2002 with a new introduction by Kenneth Robert Janken. This seminal work unveils the brutal reality of racial violence, challenging the prevailing myths that justified such atrocities. White, leveraging his unique position as an African American with a fair complexion, conducted daring firsthand investigations into these acts of terror. His findings reveal that accusations of sexual assault barely accounted for a fraction of these lynchings, instead asserting that economic and cultural forces primarily fueled these acts to subjugate the African American community and control their labor. Ideal for adult education settings, this book not only offers a historical account but prompts critical reflection on the intersections of racial, criminal, and economic justice, urging readers to consider the profound impacts of these injustices and the ongoing struggle for reform.