Charlottesville : an American story / Deborah Baker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baker, Deborah, 1959- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Unite the Right Rally, Charlottesville, Va., 2017.

Riots--Virginia--Charlottesville--History--21st century.

Riots.

Protest movements--Virginia--Charlottesville.

Protest movements.

White supremacy movements--Virginia--Charlottesville.

White supremacy movements.

Soldiers' monuments--Social aspects--Virginia--Charlottesville.

Soldiers' monuments.

Charlottesville (Va.)--History--21st century.

Charlottesville (Va.).

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Monuments--Social aspects.

United States.

Genre:

Informational works.

Physical Description:

xviii, 442 pages : maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis, Minnesota : Graywolf Press, [2025]

Summary:

"In August 2017, over a thousand neo-Nazis, fascists, Klan members, and neo-Confederates descended on a small southern city to protest the pending removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. Within an hour of their arrival, the city's historic downtown was a scene of bedlam as armored far right cadres battled activists in the streets. Before the weekend was over, a neo-Nazi had driven a car into a throng of counterprotesters, killing a young woman and injuring dozens. Pulitzer Prize finalist Deborah Baker has written a riveting and panoptic account of what unfolded that weekend, focusing less on the rally's far right leaders than on the story of the city itself. University, local, and state officials, including law enforcement, were unable or unwilling to grasp the gathering threat. Clergy, activists, and organizers from all walks of life saw more clearly what was coming and, at great personal risk, worked to warn and defend their city. To understand why their warnings fell on deaf ears, Baker does a deep dive into American history. In her research she discovers an uncannily similar event that took place decades before when an emissary of the poet and fascist Ezra Pound arrived in Charlottesville intending to start a race war. In Charlottesville, Baker shows how a city more associated with Thomas Jefferson than civil unrest became a flashpoint in a continuing struggle over our nation's founding myths"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Maps

Cast of characters

Introduction

Prologue: The unveiling

Part 1. A beautiful ugly city, March 2016-January 2017. Lee Park

The blue ribbon commission

The art of trolling

Holy works

A beautiful ugly city

Interlude: Heart of whiteness

Part II. The ghost in the machine, January 2017-August 2017. Capital of the resistance

We're raising an army, my liege

Fuck white supremacy

Invisible empires

Deep, abiding love

Interlude: A school for backward Southern Whites

Part III. Unite the right, August 11 & 12, 2017. Nameless field

The torch march

Emancipation Park

A state of emergency

The dodge challenger

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Sources

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Baker, Deborah, 1959- Charlottesville.

ISBN:

9781644453414

164445341X

OCLC:

1452444190