Hostile Heartland: Racism, Repression, and Resistance in the Midwest

by Brent M.S. Campney

We forget that racist violence permeated the lower Midwest from the pre-Civil War period until the 1930s. From Kansas to Ohio, whites orchestrated extraordinary events like lynchings and riots while engaged in a spectrum of brutal acts made all the more horrific by being routine. Also forgotten is the fact African Americans forcefully responded to these assertions of white supremacy through armed resistance, the creation of press outlets and civil rights organizations, and courageous individual activism. Drawing on cutting-edge methodology and a wealth of documentary evidence, Brent M. S. Campney analyzes the institutionalized white efforts to assert and maintain dominance over African Americans. Though rooted in the past, white violence evolved into a fundamentally modern phenomenon, driven by technologies such as newspapers, photographs, automobiles, and telephones. Other surprising insights challenge our assumptions about sundown towns, who was targeted by whites, law enforcement's role in facilitating and perpetrating violence, and the details of African American resistance.

Genres: Race, History

252 pages, Hardcover

Published June 30, 2019

Reviews

[Luke Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat academic look at the racial terrorism that took place in the Midwest from 1835-1945. The book includes many examples of lynchings, whippings, rape and other violence exacted upon Black Midwesterners, immigrants and passers-thru by whites.

It's an enlightening read for those who readily accept and understand this part of the country as one unmarred by the kind of violence that was all too common in Southern regions.

[Mason Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very illuminating book about racial violence in the Midwest up through the 1950s, mostly focusing on lynching. That being said, I feel that Campney often was repeating himself and it made the book a little dense and hard to get through. In all, this was packed full of information and I definitely learned a lot.

[Mills College Library]

977.00496 C197 2019

[Adelaide Rosene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid undertaking of a history of violence in the Midwest, especially as this topic is still under investigated. Had some issues with the language Campney uses to describe African Americans. Otherwise super informative and well written.