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Benjamin R. Justesen is a freelance writer and editor. A former U.S. Foreign Service officer, he is a Ph.D. candidate in interdisciplinary studies at Union Institute and University in Cincinnati. He is the author of numerous journal articles and two previous books, a biography of George Henry White (George Henry White: An Even Chance in the Race of Life, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in biography) and a collection of White’s letters and writings (In His Own Words). He and his wife, Margaret, live in Alexandria, Virginia. American History / African American Studies “This book is critical to understanding the modern civil rights movement .”—Stephen Middleton, author of The Black Laws: Race and the Legal Process in Early Ohio “Broken Brotherhood fills a gap in the literature. . . .The dynamics, alliances, and fissures among strong-willed leaders are fascinating. Justesen tells a good story.”—Dennis C. Dickerson, author of Militant Mediator: Whitney M. Young Jr. Broken Brotherhood: The Rise and Fall of the National Afro-American Council gives a comprehensive account of the first truly nationwide U.S. civil rights organization, which existed from 1898 to 1908. Based on exhaustive research, the volume chronicles the Council’s achievements and its annual meetings and provides portraits of its key leaders, including journalist T. Thomas Fortune , Bishop Alexander Walters, educator Booker T. Washington, and Congressman George Henry White. Author Benjamin R. Justesen provides historical context for the Council ’s development during an era of unprecedented growth in African American organizations. Justesen establishes the National Afro-American Council as the earliest national arena for discussions of critical social and political issues affecting African Americans and the single most important united voice lobbying for protection of the nation’s largest minority. In a period marked by racial segregation, widespread disfranchisement, and lynching violence, the nonpartisan council helped establish two more enduring successor organizations , providing core leadership for both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League. Benjamin R. Justesen is the author of George Henry White: An Even Chance in the Race of Life and editor of In His Own Words: Speeches and Letters of George Henry White. southern illinois university press 1915 university press drive mail code 6806 carbondale, il 62901 www.siu.edu/~siupress Cover illustrations: Booker T. Washington, Alexander Walters, and T. Thomas Fortune (reprinted from William J. Simmons, Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising); and George H. White (courtesy Odessa Spaulding) Printed in the United States of America isbn 0-8093-2843-7 isbn 978-0-8093-2843-7 ...

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