PRESS RELEASE

Linda Wilson
Public Relations
Birmingham Public Library
(205) 226-3746
lwilson@bham.lib.al.us

BPL@Night hosts Douglas Blackmon, author of Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black People in America from the Civil War to World War II

May 6, 2008, Birmingham, AL—The Wall Street Journal Atlanta bureau chief, Douglas Blackmon, will give a presentation about his groundbreaking book, Slavery By Another Name, a book which delves into the neo-slavery that existed among African Americans well into the 20th Century.

After abolition, tens of thousands of African Americans were wrongfully arrested, imprisoned, and charged outrageous “fines” that they had to pay off in work camps, sometimes for many years. The “prisoners” had no way to pay the fines so they were sold as forced laborers in all types of work, from lumberyards and coal mines to brickyards and farm plantations. This practice occurred until the outbreak of WWII.

Mr. Blackmon has been writing about race and politics in the South for over 20 years. He first began writing stories in his native Mississippi, then moved on to local newspapers, and worked for a time at The Atlanta Journal Constitution before becoming the Atlanta Bureau chief at The Wall Street Journal.

His book, published by Doubleday, will be on sale at the library.

The announcement for his visit to the Birmingham Public Library was listed in The New York Times recently and he will be hosted in the Arrington Auditorium of the downtown library.

Important Information:

Date: Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
Time: 6:30
Event: Slavery by Another Name author Douglas Blackmon
Place: Arrington Auditorium in the Downtown Library