Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana tells the story of Oscar James Dunn, a New Orleanian born into slavery who became the United States’ first Black lieutenant governor and acting governor. A proponent of universal suffrage, civil rights, and integrated public schools, Dunn fought for radical change during the early years of Reconstruction in Louisiana, a post-Civil War era rife with corruption, subterfuge, and violence.
A graphic history informed by newly discovered primary sources, Monumental resurrects, in vivid detail, Louisiana and New Orleans after the Civil War — and presents a life that never should have been forgotten. Contextual essays and a map and timeline add layers of depth to the narrative. Monumental is a story of determination, scandal, betrayal, and how one man’s principled fight for equality and justice may have cost him everything. [Description from the publisher.]
ISBN: 9780917860836 | University of Virginia Press
Learn more in the Zinn Education Project national report, “Erasing the Black Freedom Struggle: How State Standards Fail to Teach the Truth About Reconstruction,” and find teaching resources on Reconstruction below.
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