Auburn Alumnus presents online book talk

The public is invited to an online book talk by Bertis English, author of "Civil Wars, Civil Beings, and Civil Rights in Alabama's Black Belt: A History of Perry County", on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 12 p.m. on the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities Facebook page, www.facebook.com/cmdcah.

"Civil Wars, Civil Beings, and Civil Rights in Alabama's Black Belt" examines reconstruction politics and race relations between freed blacks and the white establishment in Perry County, Alabama. In his in depth study, English analyzes why Perry County, situated in the heart of a violence-prone subregion of Alabama, enjoyed more peaceful race relations and less bloodshed than several neighboring counties. Choosing an atypical locality as central to his study, English raises questions about factors affecting ethnic disturbances in the Black Belt and elsewhere in Alabama. He also uses Perry County to caution against the tendency of some scholars to make sweeping generalizations about entire regions and subregions.

Bertis D. English is professor of history at Alabama State University. He received his Ph.D. from Auburn University.

The Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities at Pebble Hill is located at 101 S. Debardeleben Street, Auburn. For more information on the program, call 334-844-4903 or visit www.auburn.edu/cah.