A database of what Burnham calls a 'forgotten history of racially motivated homicides' in the American South during the Jim Crow era ... Recounting such stories is part of the important work that this book does, offering evidence as a rejoinder to decades of 'manufactured uncertainty' ... But historical retrieval is only part of Burnham’s goal with this book, which also makes a case for reparations ... Each death in this book is recounted with intensity and specificity, but some patterns do emerge ... With justice so elusive, even a simple acknowledgment of the facts is a necessary step.
The book is undermined by the author’s ideology and limited engagement with other similar works ... [Burnham] offers brief summaries of the tragic family losses of dozens of black citizens killed by white lawmen, and also identifies fascinating but little-known black attorneys... who merit more sustained attention than she gives them. Yet those stories pass so quickly from one to another that, as the book progresses, even a diligent reader will be hard pressed to keep track of who was who ... Ms. Burnham’s argument is as clear as her book is weak.
Burnham demonstrates how Black Americans challenged racial violence and the legal system that supported it, including efforts in Northern states to thwart rendition of fugitives back to the South ... A final eloquent chapter makes clear the need for reparations to Black communities ... Readers interested in the long history of the civil rights struggle should definitely read this.
