‘Damaged Heritage’ online discussion set July 16

Two people with family connections to a little-known event in American history will join a live online spirited discussion of the book “Damaged Heritage: The Elaine Race Massacre and a Story of Reconciliation,” presented by the History Book Festival, at 5 p.m., Thursday, July 16.

The massacre took place in and around the town of Elaine, Ark., in 1919 when white residents felt threatened by black sharecroppers’ attempts to unionize. “Damaged Heritage” author J. Chester Johnson was an adult before he learned that his beloved grandfather had participated in an event that led to the deaths of at least 100 African Americans. (Exact numbers are unknown.)

In 2014, Johnson met Sheila L. Walker, a descendant of several massacre victims, and the two joined to pursue a path toward racial reconciliation. The resulting book offers a blueprint for how a pluralistic society can acknowledge and repudiate its damaged heritage of racism and begin a path toward true healing.

Johnson is a poet, essayist, and translator who has written extensively on race and civil rights. He was co-chair of the Elaine Massacre Memorial Committee.

Walker, who wrote the foreword to “Damaged Heritage,” will be in conversation with Johnson. She became involved in the civil rights movement at an early age and has served in federal law enforcement, the U.S. Army Reserve and the healthcare field.

This Zoom event is free, but registration is required. To register, go to www.historybookfestival.org and click on 2020 Events.

Copies of “Damaged Heritage” with signed archival bookplates are available from the festival’s official bookseller, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach. The festival encourages readers to support local independent bookstores. Copies also may be borrowed from the Lewes Public Library.