False promises : the struggle for Black voting rights in 1800s Ohio / Ric S. Sheffield.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sheffield, Ric S., 1954- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans--Suffrage--Ohio.

African Americans.

African Americans--Civil rights--Ohio--History--19th century.

African Americans--Ohio--Social conditions--19th century.

Ohio--Politics and government--19th century.

Ohio.

United States--Race relations--History--19th century.

United States.

Physical Description:

ix, 214 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Other Title:

Struggle for Black voting rights in 1800s Ohio

Place of Publication:

Athens, Ohio : Swallow Press, an imprint of Ohio University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"In False Promises, the fight for Black voting rights in Ohio comes alive through narratives of men of color who defied the state's nineteenth-century restrictions on suffrage. Though ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment ostensibly extended the franchise, state election laws still forced men of color into a perilous struggle for full citizenship. Ric S. Sheffield depicts their courage and determination, revealing their humanity through stories of sacrifice, resistance, and hope. Drawing on Saidiya Hartman's concept of critical fabulation, Sheffield weaves together historical records with imaginative reconstructions of dialogue, setting, and descriptive elements beyond the dusty courthouse pages. Grounded in archival evidence yet reimagined to fill in the silences, these stories recount the lived experiences of those who risked everything to exercise their right to vote. False Promises also connects these historical battles to the present, illustrating how voter-suppression tactics in today's Ohio have roots in the racial exclusions of the nineteenth century. By exposing the enduring legacy of white supremacist policies, the book challenges the widespread misconception that racial disenfranchisement was solely a southern problem. Ohio's complex racial history-noted for its role in the Underground Railroad but also for its repressive Black Laws-also includes a fierce and ongoing struggle over the right to vote. Through compelling storytelling, historical analysis, and a reclamation of voices lost to history, False Promises urges readers to reconsider their understanding of democracy and the right to vote." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

What suffrage means especially when it isn't guaranteed in this nation

"Go Down Moses"

"Shall We Gather at the River"

"His Eye is On the Sparrow"

"Precious Lord, Take My Hand"

"One Wide River to Cross"

"Steal Away"

"I Don't Feel Noways Tired"

"Lift Every Voice and Sing."

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780804012577

0804012571

OCLC:

1514657031