On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-FirstCentury (Paperback)

Book Description Concrete ways for communities with histories of racial violence to move toward reconciliation

Nearly 5,000 black Americans were lynched between 1890 and 1960, and as Sherrilyn Ifill argues, the effects of this racial trauma continue to resound. Ifill traces the lingering effects of two lynchings in Maryland to illustrate how ubiquitous this history is and issues a clarion call for the many American communities with histories of racial violence to be proactive in facing this legacy. A landmark book, On the Courthouse Lawn is a much-needed road map to help communities finally confront lynching's long shadow by embracing pragmatic reconciliation and reparation efforts.

"Inspired by South Africa's post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission, civil-rights attorney Ifill offers a new approach to addressing the history of lynching in America. One legacy of [racial violence] is the difficulty blacks and whites have even of discussing it, since few really want to remember what, for most on both sides of the divide, were traumatizing events. Yet remembering is essential. An intriguing, immodest proposal that itself warrants discussion—and action." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A sobering and eye-opening book on one of America's darkest secrets. A must read for anyone willing to examine our history carefully and learn from it." —Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice