In this Book
- Uncompromising Activist: Richard Greener, First Black Graduate of Harvard College
- Book
- 2017
- Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press
- Series: The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science
summary
Almost forgotten until his papers were discovered in a Chicago attic, Richard Greener was a pioneer who broke educational and professional barriers for black citizens. He was also a man caught between worlds.Richard Theodore Greener (1844–1922) was a renowned black activist and scholar. In 1870, he was the first black graduate of Harvard College. During Reconstruction, he was the first black faculty member at a southern white college, the University of South Carolina. He was even the first black US diplomat to a white country, serving in Vladivostok, Russia. A notable speaker and writer for racial equality, he also served as a dean of the Howard University School of Law and as the administrative head of the Ulysses S. Grant Monument Association. Yet he died in obscurity, his name barely remembered.His black friends and colleagues often looked askance at the light-skinned Greener’s ease among whites and sometimes wrongfully accused him of trying to “pass.” While he was overseas on a diplomatic mission, Greener’s wife and five children stayed in New York City, changed their names, and vanished into white society. Greener never saw them again. At a time when Americans viewed themselves simply as either white or not, Greener lost not only his family but also his sense of clarity about race. Richard Greener’s story demonstrates the human realities of racial politics throughout the fight for abolition, the struggle for equal rights, and the backslide into legal segregation. Katherine Reynolds Chaddock has written a long overdue narrative biography about a man, fascinating in his own right, who also exemplified America’s discomfiting perspectives on race and skin color. Uncompromising Activist is a lively tale that will interest anyone curious about the human elements of the equal rights struggle.
Table of Contents
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- 1. Boyhood Interrupted
- pp. 7-14
- 2. Being Prepared
- pp. 15-23
- 3. Experiment at Harvard
- pp. 24-34
- 4. An Accidental Academic
- pp. 35-47
- 6. The Brutal Retreat
- pp. 64-73
- 7. Unsettled Advocate
- pp. 74-88
- 8. A Violent Attack and Hopeless Case
- pp. 89-105
- 9. Monumental Plans
- pp. 106-116
- 10. Off White
- pp. 117-128
- 11. Our Man in Vladivostok
- pp. 129-143
- 12. Closure in Black and White
- pp. 144-160
- Epilogue: The Passing of Richard Greener
- pp. 161-168
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 169-170
- Bibliography
- pp. 191-198
Additional Information
ISBN
9781421423302
Related ISBN(s)
9781421423296
MARC Record
OCLC
1004659795
Pages
216
Launched on MUSE
2017-09-28
Language
English
Open Access
No