American Nightmare: The History of Jim Crow

· Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Terrence Kidd
5.0
1 review
Audiobook
11 hr 49 min
Unabridged
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More
Want a 1 hr 15 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline. 
Add

About this audiobook

For a hundred years after the end of the Civil War, a quarter of all Americans lived under a system of legalized segregation called Jim Crow. Together with its rigidly enforced canon of racial "etiquette," these rules governed nearly every aspect of life-and outlined draconian punishments for infractions. The purpose of Jim Crow was to keep African Americans subjugated at a level as close as possible to their former slave status. Exceeding even South Africa's notorious apartheid in the humiliation, degradation, and suffering it brought, Jim Crow left scars on the American psyche that are still felt today. American Nightmare examines and explains Jim Crow from its beginnings to its end: how it came into being, how it was lived, how it was justified, and how, at long last, it was overcome only a few short decades ago. Most importantly, this book reveals how a nation founded on principles of equality and freedom came to enact as law a pervasive system of inequality and virtual slavery. Although America has finally consigned Jim Crow to the historical graveyard, Jerrold Packard shows why it is important that this scourge-and an understanding of how it happened-remain alive in the nation's collective memory.

Ratings and reviews

5.0
1 review

About the author

Jerrold M. Packard is the author of Farewell in Splendor, American Nightmare, and The Lincolns in the White House, among other books.

A seasoned playwright, Terrence Kidd uses his skill as a storyteller to bring life to any genre. He loves narrating nonfiction best, but Terry's engaged, informed, and warm tone illuminates everything from potboiler crime thrillers to romance. A longtime bartender, Terry now narrates from his home studio in Massachusetts.

Rate this audiobook

Tell us what you think.

Listening information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.