MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 02836cam a2200373 i 4500
001 2013033057
003 DLC
005 20140807080308.0
008 130906s2014 nyuab b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2013033057
020 $a9781616148393 (pbk.)
020 $z9781616148409 (ebook)
040 $aDLC$beng$cDLC$erda$dDLC
042 $apcc
043 $an-us---
050 00 $aE185.61$b.J695 2014
082 00 $a323.1196/073$223
084 $aSOC001000$aHIS054000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aJohnson, Nicholas,$d1959-
245 10 $aNegroes and the gun :$bthe Black tradition of arms /$cNicholas Johnson.
264 1 $aAmherst, New York :$bPrometheus Books,$c[2014]
300 $a379 pages :$billustrations, map ;$c23 cm
336 $atext$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$2rdacarrier
520 $a"Chronicling the underappreciated Black tradition of bearing arms for self-defense, law professor Nicholas Johnson presents an array of examples reaching back to the pre-Civil War era that demonstrate a willingness of African American men and women to use firearms when necessary to defend their families and communities. From Frederick Douglass's advice to keep "a good revolver" handy as defense against slave catchers to the armed Black men who protected Thurgood Marshall, it is clear that owning firearms was commonplace in the Black community. Johnson points out that this story has been submerged because it is hard to reconcile with the dominant narrative of nonviolence during the civil rights era. His book, however, resolves that tension by showing how the Black tradition of arms maintained and demanded a critical distinction between private self-defense and political violence. In the last two chapters, Johnson addresses the unavoidable issue of young Black men with guns and the toll that gun violence takes on many in the inner city. He shows how complicated this issue is by highlighting the surprising diversity of views on gun ownership in the black community. In fact, recent Supreme Court affirmations of the right to bear arms resulted from cases led by Black plaintiffs. Surprising and informative, this well-researched book strips away many stock assumptions of conventional wisdom on the issue of guns and the Black freedom struggle"--$cProvided by publisher.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 355-363) and index.
650 0 $aAfrican Americans$xCivil rights$zUnited States$xHistory.
650 0 $aFirearms ownership$zUnited States$xHistory.
650 0 $aFirearms$zUnited States$xUse in crime prevention$xHistory.
650 0 $aSelf-defense$zUnited States$xHistory.
650 7 $aSOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aHISTORY / Social History.$2bisacsh
856 42 $3Cover image$u9781616148393.jpg