The Red Record

Ida Bell Wells-BarnettProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.1

Word count: 196K words
Chapters: 20

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Red Record by Ida B. Wells-BarnettAuthor: Wells-Barnett, Ida B., 1862-1931,Language: English, Class: HV: Social sciences: Social pathology, Social and Public Welfare, Release Date: Feb 8, 2005

Editor's review

The Red Record continues Wells-Barnett's investigation and indictment of lynching, but its material is organized more as a systematic compilation of statistics and cases. Drawing on extensive newspaper excerpts, year-by-year records, and specific incidents, the book presents the scale and patterns of lynching and seeks to counter the prevailing defensive narratives with verifiable facts. Its strength lies in turning newspaper clippings into a weapon of argument, showing how data and individual cases together constitute a form of public intervention. For readers studying racial violence in America, the history of Black resistance, and early data journalism, this book offers indispensable primary material. Readers should note that the author has clear commitments and polemical aims, and that her selection of material serves exposure and mobilization; it is therefore best used alongside later historical scholarship. The original is a public-domain English e-book, suited to focused study rather than cover-to-cover reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Upper-level students studying the history of lynching and racial violence in America
Readers interested in the Black press and the tradition of investigative writing
Those who need primary case material for papers or classroom presentations
Readers concerned with how data and cases are used for social advocacy

Not a good fit for

General readers who expect a Chinese translation and do not read English originals
Readers who need a continuous narrative or a literary reading experience
Readers uncomfortable with themes of violence and racism

Reading tips

Start with the table of contents and the year-by-year structure, then read closely within one period to avoid being overwhelmed by the dense cases.
Keep a notebook to record the relationship between the newspapers cited for each case and the author's commentary, distinguishing factual presentation from polemical language.
Read it alongside Southern Horrors to compare how the two books move from a pamphlet of indictment to a systematic record.
After finishing, consult a later historiographical review to test how the book's material connects with, and differs from, contemporary scholarship.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is the relationship between The Red Record and Southern Horrors?

The two books share an author and a similar theme, but The Red Record leans more toward a systematic compilation of cases and records, with a higher density of material; Southern Horrors is shorter and more sharply polemical. They can be read together, starting with the shorter one.

Can the statistics and cases in the book be cited directly?

They can be cited as primary sources, but their polemical context and the sources of the material should be noted. The author had a clear aim of exposure, and the selection of cases was not a neutral sample; it is advisable to use them alongside later historiography and independent research.

Is it suitable for classroom use?

Yes. The length is manageable and the material is concrete, making it easy to discuss cases and argumentative methods in groups. Teachers should explain the historical background and the violent content in advance, and guide students to distinguish primary sources from secondary research.

Comments

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About the author

Ida Bell Wells-Barnett Author · American · 1862–1931

Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (1862–1931) was an American investigative journalist, sociologist, and pioneer of the civil rights movement. Born in Mississippi and died in Chicago, she used investigative reporting to expose lynching violence in the American South. Her major works include Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, The Red Record, and Mob Rule in New Orleans, which brought the issue of lynching to public attention through detailed documentation and sharp prose. She helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation in 2020. Three of her works are held in this collection, while common classification information is currently unavailable. Beyond the facts above, public information is limited; her writing is known for its investigative and documentary character and has had a profound influence on the American civil rights movement and the Black journalistic tradition.