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Imperium in Imperio

Imperium in Imperio

Author	Sutton E. Griggs
Language	English
Genre	Historical Fiction, Political Fiction, social science fiction
Published	1899
Publication place	United States of America

Imperium in Imperio is a historical fiction novel by Sutton Griggs, published in 1899. The novel covers the life of Belton Piedmont, an educated and disciplined black man in the Jim Crow south and his role in a shadow government of black men operated out of a college in Waco, Texas.

Characters

Belton Piedmont--An educated black man and member of the Imperium. Belton is acutely aware of racial discrimination for the whole of his life, but ultimately chooses to pursue integration and advocates peace.

Bernard Belgrave--A schoolmate of Belton's and member of the Imperium. Contrasting with Belton, Bernard is much more militant and strongly advocates a military takeover of Texas.

Plot

Belton Piedmont is a born to a poor but hardworking family in Virginia and grows up intimately familiar with racism and segregation. He attends school with another black child, Bernard Belgrave, whom he builds a rivalry and friendship with. Belton and Bernard's educations take radically different turns when Bernard goes to Harvard while Belton is too poor to attend a prestigious university.

Belton's graduation speech is published in a Richmond newspaper and it catches the attention of a southern democrat who vehemently opposes lynching, Mr. V.M. King. King takes a liking to Belton and gives him a check that will take him through college, but not before giving Belton some sage advice.

With King's aid, Belton attends a college in Nashville, Tennessee. Belton is perturbed when he discovers that even in the seemingly egalitarian school, there are black professors that are silently ostracized and barred from eating meals with their white counterparts. Belton organizes a movement of civil disobedience and daunts the school's president into changing things.

After Belton graduates, he is harassed by a mob after encouraging black men to vote. The mob goes to lynch him, even shooting him in the head, but the bullet is caught in Belton's skin and only leaves him unconscious. He's claimed by a doctor who wishes to dissect his body, but Belton awakens on the table and kills the doctor in self-defense. Belton flees and is eventually arrested for murder. The trial goes poorly when many of the jurors are from the mob that lynched him. But Belton's case reaches the attention of Bernard who uses his political connections to appeal Belton's verdict.

Belton later contacts Bernard asking him to come to Waco, Texas without any more explanation. Bernard agrees to come to his friend. Belton reveals the existence of the Imperium in Imerio, a shadow state comprised of black men aiming to counteract segregation and to protect blacks in the south from persecution an violence. Belton and others in the Imperium believe that Bernard could be their George Washington.

Bernard is eventually elected president of the Imperium and the concoct a plan to infiltrate the United States Navy and use it to protect a new nation they plan to form in the heart of Texas. Belton opposes this plan, still holding onto his belief in the United States and that it would be wrong to betray nation. He remains committed to the goal of improving the states rather than seceding and tenders his resignation from the Imperio, knowing full well that he'll be executed by his peers for attempting to leave. The members of the Imperium attempt to allow Belton to escape his sentence, but Belton refuses. Bernard and the Imperium execute Belton for his treason.

The novel opens with a confession from Berl Trout, a member of the Imperium who declares himself a traitor to his race, and an explication of the events surrounding Belton and the Imperium. After Belton's death, Trout writes that he was moved by Belton's convictions and betrays the Imperium, revealing its existence to the world and leaving it to the audience to judge the novel's events.

Publishing

Imperium in Imperio was published door-to-door, as most of Grigg's works were and didn't see much popularity in its printing life, but saw a resurgence in the late 1960's with the success of the Civil Rights Movement.

Further reading

• Tess Chakkalakal and Kenneth W. Warren (eds.), Jim Crow, Literature, and the Legacy of Sutton E. Griggs. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2013.
• Finnie D. Coleman, Sutton E. Griggs and the Struggle Against White Supremacy. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 2007.

References

Imperium in Imperio: A Study of the Negro Race Problem: A Novel. 1899. — HTML full text.

https://ugapress.org/book/9780820345987/jim-crow-literature-and-the-legacy-of-sutton-e-griggs/