Incredible story. Callie House was a dirt poor woman from Nashville who lead a remarkably large grassroots movement to push the government to pay pensions to ex-slaves. It was obviously a long shot, but the movement was big enough to scare The Man. Government officials cracked down on her, blatantly violating her constitutional rights over and over again. In the end she was found guilty of mail fraud by an all-white jury and locked away in Jefferson City, Missouri, for just long enough to pretty much kill the movement. She went down about the same time Marcus Garvey rose in power and influence.
The book drags a bit in some parts. But you can skim the ponderous parts and still get your money's worth. This is an important chapter in our story. Mary Frances Berry definitely deserves a big hand for digging it up!
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