viralmysteries's review
4.0
Thanks to Insight Comics for the ARC at BEA 2019!
I enjoyed this graphic novel that tells the story of Madge Oberholtzer, a young Hoosier who is sexually assaulted by D.C. Stephenson, the Grand Wizard of the Indiana KKK, and how the trial to bring D.C. Stephenson to justice helped break the Klan's hold on the state of Indiana and played an important role in damaging the Klan's reputation around the country, ending the 2nd wave of the Klan.
This is a story that I had never heard of before, and I greatly appreciated seeing it put to print in this fashion. My only frustration with it was how several of the characters acted like the Klan was an aberration, a sort of strange pox that emerged out of nowhere, when it really really wasn't. Less than a decade prior to the Oberholtzer case in 1925, President Woodrow Wilson had shown the famous Klan movie "Birth of a Nation" at the White House. The Klan was one of the most powerful institutions in the country at the time, as evidenced by D.C. Stephenson's chokehold on the politicians. Between his control of the various county prosecutors, the state Attorney General, the various state and federal elected officials, and his deep ties to the business community, D.C. Stephenson was not a foreign malignancy brought to Indiana. He and his supporters were all too homegrown.
Overall, I found this to be a valuable historical lesson on the way that reactionary hate groups like the Klan organized and took power, and it showed how the Klan integrated themselves into existing social and political infrastructure to spread far and wide and turn their hateful doctrine into law. Recommend if you are looking for an interesting story portrayed in a different method (we need more history told through graphic novels).
I enjoyed this graphic novel that tells the story of Madge Oberholtzer, a young Hoosier who is sexually assaulted by D.C. Stephenson, the Grand Wizard of the Indiana KKK, and how the trial to bring D.C. Stephenson to justice helped break the Klan's hold on the state of Indiana and played an important role in damaging the Klan's reputation around the country, ending the 2nd wave of the Klan.
This is a story that I had never heard of before, and I greatly appreciated seeing it put to print in this fashion. My only frustration with it was how several of the characters acted like the Klan was an aberration, a sort of strange pox that emerged out of nowhere, when it really really wasn't. Less than a decade prior to the Oberholtzer case in 1925, President Woodrow Wilson had shown the famous Klan movie "Birth of a Nation" at the White House. The Klan was one of the most powerful institutions in the country at the time, as evidenced by D.C. Stephenson's chokehold on the politicians. Between his control of the various county prosecutors, the state Attorney General, the various state and federal elected officials, and his deep ties to the business community, D.C. Stephenson was not a foreign malignancy brought to Indiana. He and his supporters were all too homegrown.
Overall, I found this to be a valuable historical lesson on the way that reactionary hate groups like the Klan organized and took power, and it showed how the Klan integrated themselves into existing social and political infrastructure to spread far and wide and turn their hateful doctrine into law. Recommend if you are looking for an interesting story portrayed in a different method (we need more history told through graphic novels).
larakaa's review
challenging
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
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