Unexampled courage: the blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring
(Book)
*The book that inspired the 2021 PBS American Experience documentary, The Blinding of Isaac Woodard.*
How the blinding of Sergeant Isaac Woodard changed the course of America’s civil rights history.
Richard Gergel’s Unexampled Courage details the impact of the blinding of Sergeant Woodard on the racial awakening of President Truman and Judge Waring, and traces their influential roles in changing the course of America’s civil rights history.
On February 12, 1946, Sergeant Isaac Woodard, a returning, decorated African American veteran, was removed from a Greyhound bus in Batesburg, South Carolina, after he challenged the bus driver’s disrespectful treatment of him. Woodard, in uniform, was arrested by the local police chief, Lynwood Shull, and beaten and blinded while in custody.
President Harry Truman was outraged by the incident. He established the first presidential commission on civil rights and his Justice Department filed criminal charges against Shull. In July 1948, following his commission’s recommendation, Truman ordered an end to segregation in the U.S. armed forces. An all-white South Carolina jury acquitted Shull, but the presiding judge, J. Waties Waring, was conscience-stricken by the failure of the court system to do justice by the soldier. Waring described the trial as his “baptism of fire,” and began issuing major civil rights decisions from his Charleston courtroom, including his 1951 dissent in Briggs v. Elliott declaring public school segregation per se unconstitutional. Three years later, the Supreme Court adopted Waring’s language and reasoning in Brown v. Board of Education.
Notes
Gergel, R. (2019). Unexampled courage: the blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring. First edition. New York, Sarah Crichton Books.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Gergel, Richard. 2019. Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring. New York, Sarah Crichton Books.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Gergel, Richard, Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring. New York, Sarah Crichton Books, 2019.
MLA Citation (style guide)Gergel, Richard. Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring. First edition. New York, Sarah Crichton Books, 2019.
Record Information
Last Sierra Extract Time | Mar 28, 2024 11:46:11 PM |
---|---|
Last File Modification Time | Mar 28, 2024 11:46:24 PM |
Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Mar 28, 2024 11:46:16 PM |
MARC Record
LEADER | 03603pam 2200409 i 4500 | ||
---|---|---|---|
008 | 180918t20182018nyua e b 001 0deng | ||
010 | |a 2018021690 | ||
020 | |a 9780374107895|q (hardcover) | ||
020 | |a 0374107890|q (hardcover) | ||
040 | |a LBSOR/DLC|b eng|e rda|c LBSOR|d NjBwBT|d GCmBT | ||
043 | |a n-us-sc|a n-us--- | ||
082 | 0 | 0 | |a 323.1196/073|2 23 |
100 | 1 | |a Gergel, Richard,|e author. | |
245 | 1 | 0 | |a Unexampled courage :|b the blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the awakening of President Harry S. Truman and Judge J. Waties Waring /|c Richard Gergel. |
250 | |a First edition. | ||
264 | 1 | |a New York :|b Sarah Crichton Books ;|b Farrar, Straus and Giroux,|c 2019. | |
264 | 4 | |c ©2018. | |
300 | |a 324 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates :|b illustrations ;|c 24 cm | ||
336 | |a text|b txt|2 rdacontent | ||
337 | |a unmediated|b n|2 rdamedia | ||
338 | |a volume|b nc|2 rdacarrier | ||
500 | |a Nonfiction. | ||
504 | |a Includes bibliographical references and index. | ||
505 | 0 | |a Introduction: A collision of two worlds -- A tragic detour -- A wave of terror -- "The place was Batesburg" -- The bystander government -- "My God... we have to do something" -- The Isaac Woodard Road Show -- The gradualist -- "A baptism in racial prejudice" -- "I shall fight to end evil like this" -- "We know the way. We need only the will." -- Confronting the American dilemma -- There will be no fines -- Fighting the "battle royal" -- Driving the "last nail in the coffin of segregation" -- Conclusion: Unexampled courage. | |
520 | |a "On February 12, 1946, Sergeant Isaac Woodard, a returning, decorated African American veteran, was removed from a Greyhound bus in Batesburg, South Carolina, after he challenged the bus driver's disrespectful treatment of him. Woodard, in uniform, was arrested by the local police chief, Lynwood Shull, and beaten and blinded while in custody. President Harry Truman was outraged by the incident. He established the first presidential commission on civil rights and his Justice Department filed criminal charges against Shull. In July 1948, following his commission's recommendation, Truman ordered an end to segregation in the U.S. armed forces. An all-white South Carolina jury acquitted Shull, but the presiding judge, J. Waties Waring, was conscience-stricken by the failure of the court system to do justice by the soldier. Waring described the trial as his “baptism of fire,” and began issuing major civil rights decisions from his Charleston courtroom, including his 1951 dissent in Briggs v. Elliott declaring public school segregation per se unconstitutional. Three years later, the Supreme Court adopted Waring's language and reasoning in Brown v. Board of Education. Richard Gergel's Unexampled Courage details the impact of the blinding of Sergeant Woodard on the racial awakening of President Truman and Judge Waring, and traces their influential roles in changing the course of America's civil rights history."--|c Provided by publisher. | ||
600 | 1 | 0 | |a Waring, Julius Waties,|d 1880-1968. |
600 | 1 | 0 | |a Woodard, Isaac,|d 1919-1992|x Trials, litigation, etc. |
650 | 0 | |a African Americans|x Civil rights|z United States|x History|y 20th century. | |
650 | 0 | |a African Americans|x Violence against|z South Carolina|x History|y 20th century. | |
650 | 7 | |a Minority groups.|2 eric | |
650 | 0 | |a Black people. | |
650 | 7 | |a BIPOC.|2 eric | |
650 | 0 | |a Minorities. | |
907 | |a .b20414572 | ||
940 | |a MARCIVE 05/2019 | ||
945 | |y .i32956575|i 30115000304824|l caanf|s -|h |u 1|x 0|w 0|v 0|t 100|z 190508|j 08-05-2019 15:20|r m|a 323.11 GER | ||
998 | |h z|e l |f eng|a ca |