I Saw Death Coming

A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction

By: Kidada E. Williams

Narrated by: Karen Chilton

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

From a groundbreaking scholar, a heart-wrenching reexamination of the struggle for survival in the Reconstruction-era South and what it cost.

The story of Reconstruction is often told from the perspective of the politicians, generals, and journalists whose accounts claim an outsized place in collective memory. But this pivotal era looked very different to African Americans in the South transitioning from bondage to freedom after 1865. They were besieged by a campaign of white supremacist violence that persisted through the 1880s and beyond. For too long, their lived experiences have been sidelined, impoverishing our understanding of the obstacles post-Civil War Black families faced, their inspiring determination to survive, and the physical and emotional scars they bore because of it.

In I Saw Death Coming, Kidada E. Williams offers a breakthrough account of the much-debated Reconstruction period, transporting listeners into the daily existence of formerly enslaved people building hope-filled new lives. Drawing on overlooked sources and bold new readings of the archives, Williams offers a revelatory and, in some cases, minute-by-minute record of nighttime raids and Ku Klux Klan strikes. And she deploys cutting-edge scholarship on trauma to consider how the effects of these attacks would linger for decades—indeed, generations—to come.

For fans of Carol Anderson, Tiya Miles, and Clint Smith, I Saw Death Coming is an indelible and essential book that speaks to some of the most pressing questions of our times.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Kidada E. Williams (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

An OUTSTANDING History

This should be required reading to understand the accomplishments achieved by black people as soon as they were freed after slavery’s end. I now understand the trauma - passed down through to today’s generation - caused by the violence and dispossession that our forefathers experienced at the hands of Ku Klux and white supremists who stole land, destroyed black business, wealth and income, and destroyed black people’s sense of safety and security - both physical and psychological. This seems to be happening all over again.

A powerful and painful but necessary book.

Expertly researched, revealing in detail and analysis, and beautifully read. I highly recommend this book to all who want to understand our history and our present.

Underrepresented piece of history

More Americans need to hear these stories. Check out the author's interview with Sam Seder of the Majority Report on YouTube.