Brian K. Mitchell

A fine biography of a significant but neglected figure in U.S. history, Oscar James Dunn, the first Black lieutenant and acting governor of not only Louisiana but any state in the country. He took office following the civil war, and the book also serves as a brief look at the rise, fall and erasure of the Reconstruction period.

The author, Brian K. Mitchell, is a descendant of Dunn's stepchildren and inserts himself into the story with an effective framing sequence set in the 1970s. His diligent research reveals Dunn's childhood as a slave and confirms that Dunn was America's first acting governor, not the frequently cited P. B. S. Pinchback, Dunn's successor as Louisiana lieutenant governor. The author seems to have an axe to grind against Pinchback -- about whom I know little myself -- and his admirers may be shocked to see him come off as a villain of the tale. As the story got mired in the internecine struggles of Louisiana's Republican Party my attention started to flag, not helped by the writing being a bit dry and the art a bit awkward and murky.

But I felt the book picked up again with the end matter's historiography of Reconstruction and examination of source material. There's a map showing how the major events of Dunn's life -- from birth to burial -- played out over a surprisingly small number of blocks in New Orleans. And even the endnotes are full of wonderful asides about the research and Dunn's life that I wish had made it into the body of the graphic novel.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Introduction. Oscar Dunn, Forgotten Hero -- Part One. Origins -- Part Two. War and Emancipation -- Part Three. The Riot and the Radicals -- Part Four. The Black Lieutenant Governor -- Part Five. In Need of an Exorcism -- Part Six. No Greater Divide -- Part Seven. Collapse -- Part Eight. Monuments of Mournful Hearts -- Historiography: Reconstructed Narratives -- Primary Sources: Finding Oscar Dunn -- Timeline -- Oscar Dunn's New Orleans -- Glossary -- Acknowledgments -- Graphic History Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Creators… (mais)