A book about peonage in my home state

[F.C.James]

"Lay This Body Down" by Gregory A. Freeman

I just finished one of the most engrossing books I have ever read. I usually take about 5 to 7 days to read a good true crime book. I finished this one in two days.

It's about a man who owns a 2,000 acre plantation in Georgia. The story is about his murdering 11 of his slaves. The problem was that it happened in 1921. Almost 60 years after Emancipation. He only thought he had slaves. Actually it dealt with peonage. Which is only a step up from chattel slavery. This guy would go to a jail and pay the fine of some black guy. This gave him the right to work the guy until the debt was re-paid. For some strange reason, it took years to work off that $25.

One of my grandfathers worked on the railroad about 30 miles from this guys plantation. Another grandfather farmed about 75 miles away. As a boy growing up, I heard many stories from the 1920s and how things were in rural Georgia. Which is one reason I have no problem believing this story.

I've never been good at book reports. So I'll just direct you to a good review. If you like history, true crime or just a good book about justice, you'll enjoy this.

http://aalbc.com/reviews/laythisbodydown.htm

One other remark. I was astounded to learn that from 1877 until 1966, there was only one white man who was ever convicted of murdering a black man in Georgia. I know my state, but I didn't know it that well. That fact shocks me.

[provis99]

1. sounds like the Southern Gothic genre

all kinds of scary historical things one can learn about one's own stomping grounds in the South. I remember reading about how during the search for the three missing civil rights workers near Philadelphia, Mississippi, they searched a nearby swamp. They didn't find their bodies, but they did find the bodies of previous lynching victims they were not even looking for. Try reading about the history of Stone Mountain in Georgia. When I went driving past there on a trip with three black friends, they were so terrified I couldn't even get them to get out of the car around there, because of the history of the area.