Kay Wright Lewis, “A Curse upon the Nation: Race, Freedom, and Extermination in America and the Atlantic World” (U. Georgia Press, 2017)

In her new book, A Curse upon the Nation: Race, Freedom, and Extermination in America and the Atlantic World (University of Georgia Press, 2017), Howard University’s Kay Wright Lewis chronicles the history of white and black perspectives on the idea of “race war.” She examines the ways in which this concept shaped such events such as the Haitian Revolution, Vesey’s Plot, Nat Turner’s Rebellion, John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry, and terrorist Dylann Roof’s shooting of nine churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina. Ultimately, A Curse upon the Nation provides us with a deep intellectual history of “race war” and an analysis of the ways it continues to affect us today. Dr. Kay Wright Lewis’ research focuses on slavery and abolition, African American intellectual history, Atlantic World history, and the history of violence.

Adam X. McNeil is a graduating M.A. in History student at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and received his Undergraduate History degree at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University University in 2015.

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