A gorgeous full-color graphic historical novel, sure to become an instant classic, that explores the friendship and feud between Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass, offering new insights into slavery and incarceration in the United States.
Told from the perspectives of statesman and orator Frederick Douglass, and journalist and activist Ida B. Wells, Before 13th is a story that illuminates the contradictions of freedom. Friends and rivals, Douglass and Wells clashed over how to grapple with the racism and exoticism that defined portrayals of African Americans at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, where Douglass was invited to speak after they had initially agreed to boycott the event. It uses the story of this real-life conflict as a lens through which we see the history of slavery and incarceration as never before.
Historical anthropologist Michael Ralph joins forces with acclaimed illustrator Laura Molnar to reimagine these two influential Black Americans and the controversies surrounding the Thirteenth Amendment—which some contend did not abolish slavery, claiming instead it was used to keep African Americans in a condition approximating bondage in the years immediately following Emancipation. Before 13th boldly takes on this issue, offering a provocative re-thinking that goes back years earlier than the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, to a practice known as convict leasing, an experiment in capitalist innovation and progressive legal reform, whose profound effects on social justice continue to be felt today.
Before 13th features100 four color illustrations.
This groundbreaking graphic novel reframes American history to reveal:
- Dual Perspectives: Experience the 1893 Chicago World's Fair through the eyes of friends and rivals Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass as they clash over the future of Black America.
- The Thirteenth Amendment: A provocative re-examination of the amendment that supposedly abolished slavery, revealing how it was used to continue bondage through other means.
- Convict Leasing: Uncover the forgotten history of this experiment in capitalist innovation and its lasting legacy on the American carceral state.
- Stunning Visual Storytelling: Witness this complex history brought to life with over 100 pages of full-color illustrations by acclaimed artist Laura Molnar.
