Thousands of black men died violently at the hands of mobs in the 
post–Civil War South. But in Brazos County, Texas, argues Cynthia 
Nevels, five such deaths in particular point to an emerging social 
phenomenon of the time: the desire of newly arrived European 
immigrants to assert their place in society, and the use of racially 
motivated violence to achieve that end.

    Driven by economics and the forces of history, the Italian, Irish, and 
Czech immigrants to this rich agricultural region were faced with the 
necessity of figuring out where they fit in a culture that had essentially 
two categories: white and black. In many ways, the newcomers 
realized, they belonged in neither position.

    In the end, they found ways to resolve the ambiguity by taking 
advantage of and sometimes participating directly in the South's most 
brutal form of racial domination. For each of the immigrant groups 
caught up in the violence, the deaths of black men helped to establish 
racial identity and to bestow the all-important privileges of whiteness.
    This compelling and superbly written study will appeal to students 
and scholars of social and racial history, both regional and national.

_________________________________________________________

CYNTHIA SKOVE NEVELS is a history instructor at Blinn College 
in Bryan, Texas. She is a member of the Texas State Historical 
Association and the Organization of American Historians. This is 
her first book.


Number 106: Centennial Series of the Association of Former
Students


What people are saying about this book

"Her excellent, detailed study of the region's ethnic and racial 
composition clearly establishes the complex diversity of Brazos 
County's population, and by implication, other areas of the South, 
and should contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the 
history of these communities. . . . Highly recommended."—CHOICE, 
September 2008