Beyond That Room by Susie Ruth Powell is a stirring historical novel that traces one Black family's multigenerational saga against the searing backdrop of the 1898 Wilmington Massacre in North Carolina-a dark chapter in American history that marked the only successful coup d'état on U.S. soil.
Set on the family's rural farm just outside the city, the novel follows their intimate triumphs and tragedies amid a larger storm of political upheaval, racial terror, and systemic injustice. As North Carolina's Democratic Party wages a ruthless white supremacy campaign to overthrow a biracial government, threats, intimidation, and electoral fraud culminate in a violent eruption that forever changes the landscape of Wilmington-and the lives of those who call it home.
With lyrical precision and unflinching honesty, Powell explores the resilience of family in the face of unthinkable cruelty. Themes of identity, love, loss, generational trauma, and survival are woven throughout this emotionally rich narrative. As the family grapples with questions of belonging and the meaning of freedom, their story echoes far beyond the confines of their farm-and far beyond that room where safety once seemed possible.
Written by acclaimed attorney and Emmy-award winning storyteller Susie Ruth Powell, known for her work on The Loving Story and The Rape of Recy Taylor, this novel is both a deeply personal tale and a powerful illumination of a pivotal moment in American history.
Language
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
ISBN-13
978-1-956879-46-9 (9781956879469)
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Schweitzer Classification
Susie Ruth Powell is a celebrated author, retired managing attorney, and longtime advocate for justice. A distinguished graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law (Class of '73), Powell built a remarkable career in public interest law, serving as a managing attorney and litigator with North Carolina Legal Services and later as an assistant professor of law at North Carolina Central University. Her decades-long commitment to poverty law has resulted in landmark victories for disenfranchised individuals and communities, many rooted in the principles she first embraced at Case.Powell's talents extend beyond the courtroom and classroom into the realm of storytelling. She was a writer on the Emmy Award-winning documentary The Loving Story, and served as a story developer for The Rape of Recy Taylor, both acclaimed films that explore the enduring legacy of race and justice in America. In recognition of her extraordinary contributions to law and society, she was honored with the prestigious Centennial Medal Award, the highest honor awarded to a CWRU Law graduate.She is the author of Beyond That Room, a powerful and poignant historical novel set against the backdrop of the 1898 Wilmington Massacre. Blending her legal insight with lyrical storytelling, Powell brings to life a family's struggle for survival, dignity, and hope during one of the most pivotal-and suppressed-events in American history.
