Providence

by Will D. Campbell

Traces the history of a small town in central Mississippi from colonial times to the present

Genres: History

292 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1992

About the author

Will Davis Campbell was a Baptist minister, lecturer, and activist.

Reviews

[Michael Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book. It traces the history of a square mile piece of earth from the Treaty of Doak’s Stand in 1820 with the Choctaw to Reconstruction and sharecropping on Providence Plantation to an interracial cooperative farm from 1930s-1950s. It holds the drama of many lives-their joy, failure, and sometimes healing.

[KayG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for those interested in Mississippi history. I would have to read it again, or perhaps two times, before I could do it justice.

[Leroy Seat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book by a man I have long admired. This book is the unlikely story of one section (square mile) of land in central Mississippi.

From the paperback description of the book: "Hailed as Will Campbell's most literary work, Providence chronicles the more than 170-year history of a square mile of plantation land in Holmes County, Mississippi. Shifting between history and autobiography, Campbell illustrates the quest for justice among the Choctaws, African-Americans, and Whites on the parcel of land designated Section 13. From the forcible removal of native Choctaws, to slavery and sharecropping on the Providence Plantation, to an interracial cooperative farm in the 1930s-50s, and finally to the present-day ownership by the Department of the Interior, Providence, according to Campbell, 'has seen a lot. In a way its saga is the story of the nation.'"

It is fitting, perhaps, that I finished reading Campbell's book on the Fourth of July, for his underlying criticism of the way the Whites treated the Native Americans and African-Americans stands in sharp contrast to much of the excessive patriotism exhibited today.