Sutton Elbert Griggs

Sutton E. Griggs (1872–1933) was an African American writer, Baptist minister, and social activist, born in Texas and died in Houston. In his fiction he addressed America's racial problems; his best-known novel, Imperium in Imperio, imagines a secret African American nation within the United States as a way to explore the future of the black race. His other novels, including The Hindered Hand, Overshadowed, and Unfettered, also center on racial oppression and the condition of African Americans, and are marked by strong social critique and moral purpose. He wrote more than thirty books, advocated black self-respect and self-help, and founded the Orion Publishing Company to circulate his own works and African American voices. Four of his works are held in this collection; public information on his life and career is limited, and studies tend to focus on the themes of his fiction and his publishing activities.