Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of Amer

Description: Unexampled Courage by Richard Gergel "A nonfiction book detailing the case of Isaac Woodard, its influence on Judge J. Waties Waring, and how Waring went on to lay the groundwork for landmark civil rights rulings"-- FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description *The book that inspired the 2021 PBS American Experience documentary, The Blinding of Isaac Woodard.*How the blinding of Sergeant Isaac Woodard changed the course of Americas civil rights history. Richard Gergels Unexampled Courage details the impact of the blinding of Sergeant Woodard on the racial awakening of President Truman and Judge Waring, and traces their influential roles in changing the course of Americas civil rights history. On February 12, 1946, Sergeant Isaac Woodard, a returning, decorated African American veteran, was removed from a Greyhound bus in Batesburg, South Carolina, after he challenged the bus drivers disrespectful treatment of him. Woodard, in uniform, was arrested by the local police chief, Lynwood Shull, and beaten and blinded while in custody. President Harry Truman was outraged by the incident. He established the first presidential commission on civil rights and his Justice Department filed criminal charges against Shull. In July 1948, following his commissions recommendation, Truman ordered an end to segregation in the U.S. armed forces. An all-white South Carolina jury acquitted Shull, but the presiding judge, J. Waties Waring, was conscience-stricken by the failure of the court system to do justice by the soldier. Waring described the trial as his "baptism of fire," and began issuing major civil rights decisions from his Charleston courtroom, including his 1951 dissent in Briggs v. Elliott declaring public school segregation per se unconstitutional. Three years later, the Supreme Court adopted Warings language and reasoning in Brown v. Board of Education. Author Biography Richard Gergel is a United States district judge who presides in the same courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina, where Judge Waring once served. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Judge Gergel earned undergraduate and law degrees from Duke University. With his wife, Dr. Belinda Gergel, he is the author of In Pursuit of the Tree of Life: A History of the Early Jews of Columbia, South Carolina. Table of Contents Introduction: A Collision of Two Worlds PART I: THE BLINDING 1. A Tragic Detour 2. A Wave of Terror 3. "The Place was Batesburg" 4. The Bystander Government PART II: THE AWAKENING 5. "My God . . . We Have Got to Do Something" 6. The Isaac Woodard Road Show 7. The Gradualist 8. A "Baptism in Racial Prejudice" PART III: THE CALL TO ACTION 9. "I Shall Fight to End Evil Like This" 10. "We Know the Way. We Need Only the Will" 11. Confronting the American Dilemma 12. There Will Be No Fines 13. Fighting the "Battle Royal" 14. Driving the "Last Nail in the Coffin of Segregation" Conclusion: Unexampled Courage Appendix: A Forensic Analysis of the Blinding of Isaac Woodard Notes Index Review "Richard Gergel presents a deeply researched account of [Isaac] Woodards tragic story and weaves it into a larger narrative . . . The definitive account of Woodards blinding." --Kenneth W. Mack, The Washington Post "Remarkable . . . riveting . . . a revealing window into both the hideous racial violence and humiliation of segregation . . . and the heroic origin of the legal crusade to destroy Jim Crow . . . an engrossing history . . . The great value of Unexampled Courage is that it might garner a broad audience for the kinds of heroism involved in this history of litigation." --David W. Blight, The New York Times Book Review "Gergels hallmark is an emphasis on how people at every level contribute to the making of history...He makes that point memorably in Unexampled Courage. Hopefully it will nurture the ground from which will arise more effective efforts in our own time to confront the ongoing menace of racially motivated police violence." --Randall Kennedy, The American Prospect "Packed with overlooked history . . . Gergel recounts [the story of Sergeant Woodward] with compelling prose, revealing how a single injustice led to some of the nations most important civil rights victories." --Eric Deggans, NPR "A fascinating historical and legal investigation . . . Gergel reintroduces oft-forgotten civil rights heroes in this captivating, deeply researched work that is likely to draw in general readers, historians, and legal scholars alike." --Karl Helicher, Library Journal "Gergel presents a compelling account of a case that helped point the way for broader, more intense, and more effective efforts in the civil rights movement." --Jay Freeman, Booklist "In this enlightening study, judge and historian Gergel illuminates the far-reaching effects of an individual act of cruelty . . . This is an important work on the prehistory of the civil rights struggle and an insightful account of how a single incident can inspire massive social and political changes." --Publishers Weekly (starred) "A federal judge from South Carolina examines a rarely mentioned 1946 race-based crime . . . Gergel is both an astute researcher and an engaging writer, bringing this significant story to vivid life . . . civil rights history at its most compelling." --Kirkus Reviews (starred) "Unexampled Courage, set in the Jim Crow South after World War II, recovers a pivotal moment in Americas civil rights movement. This remarkable story reminds us of the enduring power of the rule of law, even under the most daunting circumstances, when men and women stand for justice. A timely book; a monumental achievement." --Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University"Drawing on his exhaustive investigation of the brutal encounter between a black soldier and a southern police officer, Richard Gergel widens the lens on a critical moment in American history. Unexampled Courage tells a riveting story about the personalities and forces that converged in the aftermath of World War II to fuel the movement that would dismantle Jim Crow and transform the nation." --Patricia Sullivan, Professor of History at the University of South Carolina and author of Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement"Unexampled Courage is a searing work of history that must be read in todays America: an account of the fight for civil rights that reminds us just how much we depend on the bravery of a few to right the wrongs of the many. Reading it is an emotional journey. There are tears of rage, but also of admiration for the extraordinary courage of a brutalized and blinded black soldier; of a southern judge whose conscience drove him to oppose his racist heritage; and an American president who risked everything to do what he believed to be right at a time when the United States hoped its moral leadership would resonate around the world." --Christopher Dickey, author of Our Man in Charleston Review Quote "Richard Gergel presents a deeply researched account of [Isaac] Woodards tragic story and weaves it into a larger narrative . . . The definitive account of Woodards blinding." --Kenneth W. Mack, The Washington Post "Remarkable . . . riveting . . . a revealing window into both the hideous racial violence and humiliation of segregation . . . and the heroic origin of the legal crusade to destroy Jim Crow . . . an engrossing history . . . The great value of Unexampled Courage is that it might garner a broad audience for the kinds of heroism involved in this history of litigation . . . Would that Chief Justice John Roberts and his fellow conservative justices might read this riveting legal history and rethink the decision in Shelby v. Holder of 2013, which eviscerated federal oversight of voting rights in the Deep South. But while we wait for that unlikelihood, we should remember that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed because of the history Gergel recounts." --David W. Blight, The New York Times Book Review "Gergels hallmark is an emphasis on how people at every level contribute to the making of history...He makes that point memorably in Unexampled Courage. Hopefully it will nurture the ground from which will arise more effective efforts in our own time to confront the ongoing menace of racially motivated police violence." --Randall Kennedy, The American Prospect "Packed with overlooked history . . . Gergel recounts [the story of Sergeant Woodward] with compelling prose, revealing how a single injustice led to some of the nations most important civil rights victories." --Eric Deggans, NPR "A fascinating historical and legal investigation . . . Gergel reintroduces oft-forgotten civil rights heroes in this captivating, deeply researched work that is likely to draw in general readers, historians, and legal scholars alike." --Karl Helicher, Library Journal "Gergel presents a compelling account of a case that helped point the way for broader, more intense, and more effective efforts in the civil rights movement." --Jay Freeman, Booklist " In this enlightening study, judge and historian Gergel illuminates the far-reaching effects of an individual act of cruelty . . . This is an important work on the prehistory of the civil rights struggle and an insightful account of how a single incident can inspire massive social and political changes." -- Publishers Weekly (starred) " A federal judge from South Carolina examines a rarely mentioned 1946 race-based crime . . . Gergel is both an astute researcher and an engaging writer, bringing this significant story to vivid life . . . civil rights history at its most compelling." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred) " Unexampled Courage , set in the Jim Crow South after World War II, recovers a pivotal moment in Americas civil rights movement. This remarkable story reminds us of the enduring power of the rule of law, even under the most daunting circumstances, when men and women stand for justice. A timely book; a monumental achievement." --Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University " Drawing on his exhaustive investigation of the brutal encounter between a black soldier and a southern police officer, Richard Gergel widens the lens on a critical moment in American history. Unexampled Courage tells a riveting story about the personalities and forces that converged in the aftermath of World War II to fuel the movement that would dismantle Jim Crow and transform the nation." --Patricia Sullivan, Professor of History at the University of South Carolina and author of Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement " Unexampled Courage is a searing work of history that must be read in todays America: an account of the fight for civil rights that reminds us just how much we depend on the bravery of a few to right the wrongs of the many. Reading it is an emotional journey. There are tears of rage, but also of admiration for the extraordinary courage of a brutalized and blinded black soldier; of a southern judge whose conscience drove him to oppose his racist heritage; and an American president who risked everything to do what he believed to be right at a time when the United States hoped its moral leadership would resonate around the world." --Christopher Dickey, author of Our Man in Charleston Details ISBN1250251265 Author Richard Gergel Short Title UNEXAMPLED COURAGE Pages 352 Language English ISBN-10 1250251265 ISBN-13 9781250251268 Format Paperback Year 2020 Publication Date 2020-02-18 Illustrations Illustrations, unspecified DEWEY 323.1196073 Audience General UK Release Date 2020-02-18 Publisher St Martins Press Imprint St Martins Press Subtitle The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of America Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States US Release Date 2020-02-18 Edition Description Media tie-in We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:126872368;

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