Imperium in Imperio

Sutton Elbert Griggs (1872–1933) is a key voice in African-American literature, history and proto-science fiction. He was an author, Baptist minister, newspaper publisher and social activist, who wrote social and religious tracts as well as numerous books, such as his novels Imperium in Imperio (1899), Overshadowed (1901) and The Hindered Hand; or, The Reign of the Repressionist (1905), of which the first is the most famous. His works helped further the cause against violence, racism and injustice for African-Americans.Dr. Kalenda Eaton (Introduction) is an Associate Professor in The Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. She studies the American west, the intersections of gender and Black literature, and Black social and cultural history. Eaton is noted for her writing, teaching and public scholarship on African Americans in the Great Plains region. Recent publications include the co-edited volume New Directions in Black Western Studies (2019) and ‘Teaching the Black West’ (with Michael Johnson in Teaching Western American Literature, 2020).