Black in Selma: The Uncommon Life of J.L. Chestnut, Jr.

by J.L. Chestnut Jr., Julia Cass

The only black lawyer in Selma, Alabama, in 1965 tells his story of a life lived on the front lines, and in the long shadow, of the Civil Rights movement, from his clash with George Wallace to the present day. Reprint.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Race

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1920

Reviews

[Thiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

JL Chestnut Jr had a most insightful, complete, and nuanced picture of what black and white relationships looked like in the south in the 20th century. I've not yet read anything else that really exposed and explained the complexity like this book does. Read this. Especially today, when vestiges of systemic racism are still endorsing and creating violence and it seems that every voice - even the ones on the right side - are reductive. It's understandable that we want and need to unite to push a culture to evolve, but the personal risk, the variance in comfort with risk, and the variance in circumstances leads to diverse opinions on how change should be implemented. What's less well understood is this history - that these are the problems that Chestnut faced and what he explains so well here.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone interested in America's civil rights movement should read this book. J.L. Chestnut, Jr., a Black attorney, was born in Selma, Alabama, in 1930 and lived there his entire life. He witnessed the town's evolution from Jim Crow rules to Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge to the years afterward when Black people finally could register to vote and elect Black public servants. Chestnut also describes his own evolution from resigned hopelessness to determination and activism, from alcoholism to sober devotion to civil rights. The reader will learn much about the strategy of civil rights leaders. One astute observation that I had never considered (probably because I was young in the 1960s) is that young people can fight to change the world because they're not tied to careers, mortgages, and families to support. A truly fascinating memoir.

[Donna Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can agree with the statement that this book shows how American citizens who supported the Civil Rights Movement and its goals, both then and now, have “diverse opinions on how change should be implemented.” I think it also gives us a look at one way that was done. We read about how J.L. Chestnut, Jr. returned to his hometown of Selma, Alabama with a law degree from Howard University in Washington, DC. He became the city's first Black attorney and established a law firm with a credible reputation that was pro-Black and anti-racism. This book provides an insider’s account of the day-to-day life and activities in the city of Selma that most only know about because of Bloody Sunday in 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement. His work as a practicing attorney there before and after the passage of the Voting Rights Act enlightens the reader to the changes that took place and the real benefits that residents of color received with regards to equal justice under the law in a city in the Deep South. This is a good book for all law school students to read.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book! My mama grew up in Selma and she is about the same age as JL Chestnut, so this had particular interest for us. His was quite a life. We were sorry to have his story end. I just can't imagine being in his shoes, where one could not let their guard down for a minute or the white people would be trying to do you in yet again with some new tactic! I'm sure many people of color feel that way now. I was glad of the education. Mr Chestnut is a good writer and a grand storyteller. A very engaging book and hard to put down.

[Emma Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

For this having been a required reading, I did not expect to have enjoyed it as much as I did. This well written and honest encapsulation of the Civil Rights Movement is a must read for those a fan of American History, Black Rights, and all things genuinely human.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about the life of J.L. Chestnut Jr. It is amazing the work he did during the Civil Rights Movement, but also disheartening how little we have come since then.

[Robin Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autobiograpny of J.L. Chestnut, Jr. Nuanced and complex view by activist lawyer of the black civil rights movement who grew up at ground zero ... Selma, Alabama. From his roots growing up in the hard-scrabble, cop terrorized, black part of town under Jim Crow segregation where he learned the realities, brutalities and, yes, subtleties of black and white power relations and how they could be manipulated -- in the reality in which they existed -- to change the quality of black lives for the better.

Later armed with a law degree from Howard he returned to Selma becoming the city's first black attorney. He established a law firm that defended the oppressed, forcefully and cleverly often interacting with and outsmarting the leadership of the established white structure in town, including a racist district judge who he learned to play quite well. Always carefully evaluating the balance of forces and pushing forward the cause of justice and equality for blacks, he became a valuable player in the civil rights movement of the 60s intersecting with King and others and participating in milestone events like the Bloody Sunday march from Selma to Alabama. In the 70s and 80s he helped the black community in Selma navigate the treacherous days after the Voting Rights Act as the African American community attempted to exert its rightful majority voting strength and attempted to assume real power on city councils and school boards in Selma and Dallas County.

On one level, one could say this is a civil rights "how the sausage is made" story. Not always pretty and filled with traps and snares along away. Again, a story well-told and well-worth reading.

[MaryAlice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Becoming the first African/American lawyer in Selma, having grown up under Jim Crow segregation law, was quite a feat.

At this time in U.S. history in Selma as in other southern states, Negroes were not allowed to share space with whites and when Chestnut began his law practice, he stayed behind the courtroom rail on the black side of the room. He would wait upon the judge to call his case, before entering the court area. When he saw black Attorney Peter Hall join the white lawyers in front of the railing and Hall was not berated for violating segregation rules, he decided to do likewise. He said:

"And nothing happened the day I did it, which reinforced Peter's lesson that aggressive acts almost always leave the opposition trying to figure out what to do."

J. L. Chestnut ends his narrative speaking about "The Possibility of Miracles" and it being common in America to "hear what can't be done".

A very good read.

[Paula]

interesting essay on the exercise of power and leadership, folded into great and important history in the form of a biography of a very interesting man

[Martha Garvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrenching and necessary.

[Jeff Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book.