The Marrow of Tradition

The Marrow of Tradition (1901) is a historical novel by African American author, lawyer, and political activist Charles Chesnutt. Based on the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898—in which a group of white supremacists rioted and overthrew the elected government of Wilmington, North Carolina, killing hundreds of African Americans and displacing thousands more—The Marrow of Tradition follows two interconnected families on opposite sides of the violence.

Set in the fictional city of Wellington, th...