The Skull Measurer's Mistake: And Other Portraits of Men and Women Who Spoke Out Against Racism

by Sven Lindqvist

Overview

Enlightening stories of courageous eighteenth- and nineteenth-century men and women who defied the racial prejudices of their communities

In this unique book, Sven Lindqvist, author of the acclaimed “Exterminate All the Brutes,” shows why the history of antiracist work must not be limited only to the study of racists. Here we have the inspiring stories of more than twenty eighteenth- and nineteenth-century men and women who struggled and fought against ignorance and animus, often going against the times to expose the many facets of racism and hate.

Well-documented and rich in anecdote, The Skull Measurer’s Mistake recounts the antiracist efforts of Benjamin Franklin, Helen Hunt, Joseph Conrad, and Alexis de Tocqueville, as well as others whose names are perhaps forgotten but whose important work lives on. Lindqvist—whose writing, Adam Hochschild has said, “leaves you changed”—shows how racist arguments emerged, and reemerged, over time. At a time when conversations about racial justice are occurring in every corner of society, knowledge of past antiracists can help us defeat racism today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620977101
Publisher:	New Press, The
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Sven Lindqvist was the author of more than thirty books, including “Exterminate All the Brutes,” The Skull Measurer’s Mistake, A History of Bombing, Terra Nullius, and The Dead Do Not Die. A resident of Stockholm, he held a PhD in the history of literature from Stockholm University, an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University, and an honorary professorship from the Swedish government.

Table of Contents

Preface 3

Introduction 5

1 The Discovery of Prejudices Benjamin Franklin, 1764 10

2 "Whether a Slave, by coming into England, becomes free?" Granville Sharp, 1772 16

3 "Why not?" Georg Lichtenberg, 1778 22

4 The Struggle Against the Slave Trade Begins James Ramsay, 1784 27

5 For Jews and Blacks Henri Grégoire, 1789 31

6 Doctor in Africa Thomas Winterbottom, 1803 37

7 The Skull Measurer's Mistake Friedrich Tiedemann, 1837 42

8 Poet Astray William Howitt, 1838 48

9 The Three Races of America Alexis de Tocqueville, 1840 53

10 The Myth of the Anglo-Saxon Master Race Charles Anderson, 1850 61

11 Let the Chinese Come! Raphael Pumpelly, 1870 67

12 Exterminating People Is Wrong Langfield Ward, 1874 75

13 "Anti-Semitism, the monster of national emotion" Theodor Mommsen, 1880 81

14 A Century of Dishonor Helen Hunt, 1881 90

15 The Silent South George Cable, 1885 99

16 White Natives of Europe William Babington, 1895 106

17 How Perilous Is the Yellow Peril? Jacques Novicow, 1897 113

18 "The dying negro" Joseph Conrad, 1897 119

19 "Equality or massacre" Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu, 1897 131

20 The Miss Marple of Anthropology Mary Kingsley, 1897 140

21 For a Democratic South Africa Olive Schreiner, 1897 146

22 Denied Heritage Theophilus Scholes, 1899 154

Sequence of Events 161

Bibliography 167

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Skull Measurer’s Mistake:
“[A] unique and groundbreaking book . . . [which] should form part of everyone’s intellectual armory.”
—Richard Gott, former literary editor of The Guardian

“Lindqvist is a courageous, subtle thinker and a dogged researcher . . . [who writes about] systems of oppression with subtlety and force.”
—Washington City Paper

“These original sources can help students understand past debates about racist institutions such as slavery and anti-immigration laws and give insight as to how to argue against racist perspectives today.”
—Rethinking Schools

“This is a useful, unpretentious volume that may give context and hope to the fight against racism.”
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Lindqvist ("Exterminate All the Brutes": One Man's Odyssey into the Heart of Darkness and the Origins of European Genocide, 1996, etc.) honors courageous visionaries from the 18th to the mid- 20th centuries who stood up to the prevailing racism of their time—a well-intentioned notion only partially carried off.

The author achieves his modest primary goal, "to remind readers of some anti-racists, who today are often forgotten." In fact, some of those featured are well known, for instance, Benjamin Franklin, who rode out to intercept the "Paxton boys" as they headed to Philadelphia to murder Indians. His speech to the mob persuaded them to turn back. Other idealists are rescued from obscurity, among them Friedrich Tiedemann, a gynecological surgeon during the Napoleonic Wars, who is the subject of the title essay. He conducted a skull-measuring experiment that dared to conclude that Europeans did not have the largest brains. Though his work "delay[ed] the advance of racism" for a time, eventually the conclusions of smaller-minded scientists (such as the American Samuel Morton) prevailed. The lives of these outspoken figures were often lonely. Olive Schreiner, a South African activist and author, was "detested by men because she was a feminist, and by South African feminists because she insisted on the vote for black women as well." Through lively, brief vignettes, Lindqvist shows that racist doctrine had its opponents, even in generally unenlightened times. But the author's tone, perhaps muddled further by a weak translation, undermines the book. Some writings of activists are quoted. But many are paraphrased at length, and the author's voice becomes confused with his subjects'.

This is a useful, unpretentious volume that may give context and hope to the fight against racism, while admittedly charting no new territory.

Kirkus Reviews