Cover image for Race man : the rise and fall of the "fighting editor," John Mitchell, Jr.
Race man : the rise and fall of the "fighting editor," John Mitchell, Jr.
Title:
Race man : the rise and fall of the "fighting editor," John Mitchell, Jr.
Author:
Alexander, Ann Field, 1946-, author.
ISBN:
9780813921167
Publication Information:
Charlottesville : University of Virginia Press, 2002.
Physical Description:
xiv, 258 pages, 10 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 25 cm
Contents:
The making of a "colored gentleman" -- "Colored teachers for colored schools" -- Founding The planet -- "Lynch law must go!" -- A manly protest -- The politics of Jackson Ward -- "No officers, no fight!" -- Disfranchisement -- "Did God call the pastor?" -- Jim Crow and race pride -- The lure of fraternalism -- "A sane and sensible businessman" -- The perils of prosperity -- Collapse -- Epilogue.
Abstract:
"Best known for his crusade against lynching in the 1880s, John Mitchell Jr. was also involved in a number of civil rights crusades that seem more contemporary to the 1950s and 1960s than the turn of that century. He led a boycott against segregated streetcars in 1904 and fought residential segregation in Richmond in 1911. His political career included eight years on the Richmond city council, which ended with disenfranchisement in 1896. As Jim Crow strengthened its hold on the South, Mitchell, like many African American leaders, turned to creating strong financial institutions within the black community. He became a bank president and urged Planet readers to comport themselves as gentlemen, but a year after he ran for governor in 1921, Mitchell's fortunes suffered a drastic reversal. His bank failed, and he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to three years in the state penitentiary. The conviction was overturned on technicalities, but the so-called reforms that allowed state regulation of black businesses had done their worst, and Mitchell died in poverty and some disgrace."
Local Note:
Boardoom copy: Rosa D. Bowser Memorial Collection. In manuscript: Ann Field Alexander. Please ask for assistance from library staff to retrieve this resource.
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Summary:
"Best known for his crusade against lynching in the 1880s, John Mitchell Jr. was also involved in a number of civil rights crusades that seem more contemporary to the 1950s and 1960s than the turn of that century. He led a boycott against segregated streetcars in 1904 and fought residential segregation in Richmond in 1911. His political career included eight years on the Richmond city council, which ended with disenfranchisement in 1896. As Jim Crow strengthened its hold on the South, Mitchell, like many African American leaders, turned to creating strong financial institutions within the black community. He became a bank president and urged Planet readers to comport themselves as gentlemen, but a year after he ran for governor in 1921, Mitchell's fortunes suffered a drastic reversal. His bank failed, and he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to three years in the state penitentiary. The conviction was overturned on technicalities, but the so-called reforms that allowed state regulation of black businesses had done their worst, and Mitchell died in poverty and some disgrace."
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