The Jim Crow Car: Denouncement of Injustice Meted Out to the Black Race

In a time three decades removed from the Civil War, the Reverend J.C. Coleman, author of THE JIM CROW CAR is a black activist traveling the country. He experiences the indignities forced upon his race in every state and witnesses the aftermath of the greatest indignity of all-lynching-murder in its vilest form. His mode of travel is the Jim Crow car, not for the benefit of his own people, but for the benefit of white passengers aghast at the idea of sitting by his side. His goal is to spread the word across the world of the innocence of the murdered, the injustice of denied rights, the dignity and worth of a people whose desire is only the enjoy the rights and opportunities they deserve in the country of which they are citizens. But Reverend Coleman's own voice is not the only voice he provides. We hear those of plaintiffs and defendants in late 19th century legal cases-those seeking to deny and those to grant justice for former slaves, free persons of color, and their descendants. We hear the courageous voice of journalist Ida B. Wells Barnett. But, most of all, we hear the voices of long ago crying for peace and justice.