ABHM Book Club presents The Water Dancer By Ta-Nehisi Coates

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An NAACP flyer campaigning for the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 1922, but was filibustered to defeat in the Senate. Dyer, the NAACP, and freedom fighters around the country, like Flossie Baily, struggled for years to get the Dyer and other anti-lynching bills passed, to no avail. Today there is still no U.S. law specifically against lynching. In 2005, eighty of the 100 U.S. Senators voted for a resolution to apologize to victims' families and the country for their failure to outlaw lynching. Courtesy of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Some Exhibits to Come – One Hundred Years of Jim Crow
Mammy Statue JC Museum Ferris
Bibliography – One Hundred Years Of Jim Crow
Claude, age 23, just months before his 1930 murder. Courtesy of Faith Deeter.
Freedom’s Heroes During Jim Crow: Flossie Bailey and the Deeters
Souvenir Portrait of the Lynching of Abram Smith and Thomas Shipp, August 7, 1930, by studio photographer Lawrence Beitler. Courtesy of the Indiana Hisorical Society.
An Iconic Lynching in the North
Lynching Quilt
Claxton Dekle – Prosperous Farmer, Husband & Father of Two
Ancient manuscripts about mathematics and astronomy from Timbuktu, Mali
Some Exhibits to Come – African Peoples Before Captivity
Shackles for Adults & Children from the Henrietta Marie
Some Exhibits to Come – The Middle Passage
Slaveship Stowage Plan
What I Saw Aboard a Slave Ship in 1829
Arno Michaels
Life After Hate: A Former White Power Leader Redeems Himself

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The Water Dancer Key Art
Cover artwork for Ta-Neshisi Coates’ The Water Dancer


ABHM will be reading The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates and discussing it virtually on March 21st at 6 PM CT.

Register Here

In this mesmerizing narrative by the National Book Award-winning author of Between the World and Me, Hiram Walker, born into slavery and haunted by the loss of his mother’s memory, discovers a mysterious power after a near-death experience. With newfound determination, he embarks on a perilous journey to escape bondage, supported by his surrogate family and fueled by love for Sophia, a fellow struggler. His quest leads him through the covert battlegrounds of slavery, from Virginia’s opulent yet corrupt plantations to the clandestine cells of guerrilla resistance, and from the depths of the South to the hopeful movements in the North. As Hiram becomes entangled in the underground war between oppressors and the oppressed, his ultimate goal remains to liberate his family. But first, he must master his magical gift and confront the painful truths of his past in this poignant tale of resilience and defiance, offering a fresh perspective on America’s oldest struggle.

About ABHM Book Club:

America’s Black Holocaust Museum’s founder, Dr. James Cameron, was an avid reader and inspiring writer and educator. To this day, he is the only known survivor of a lynching to write and publish a memoir about such an experience. We have created this book club program in his honor. You can sign up for our book club and see past selections at www.abhmuseum.org.

The ABHM Book Club is free and open to all who are able to attend, although the books will need to be purchased by each participant. You can purchase a copies from Milwaukee’s independent booksellers, such as @boswellbookco , @nichebookbarllc , and @lionstoothmke. If you are having trouble finding a copy, please email admin@abhmuseum.org.


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