Imperium in Imperio

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TitleImperium in Imperio
Year for Search1899
AuthorsGriggs, Sutton E[lbert](1872-1933)
Date Published1899
PublisherEditor Publishing Company
Place PublishedCincinnati, OH
KeywordsAfrican American author, Male author
Annotation

Eutopia. Black state in Texas called Imperium in Imperio with a government parallel to the U. S. government, although with some structural differences. Mostly on the problems of African-Americans and conflict among them over the use of violence, but there is some on the new government. This has long been considered the first utopia by an African-American author, and within a narrow definition of utopia, it still is. See also 1902 Griggs. Griggs wrote other works, both fiction and nonfiction, discussing the plight of African Americans. His fiction includes Overshadowed. A Novel. Nashville, TN: The Orion Pub. Co., 1901. Rpt. New York: AMS Press, 1973 which documents the mistreatment of Negroes by Anglo-Saxons in the U. S., The Hindered Hand: or, The Reign of the Repressionist. Nashville, TN: The Orion Pub. Co., 1905. The 3rd ed. rev. Illus. Robert E. Bell. Nashville, TN: The Orion Pub. Co., 1905; rpt. New York: AMS Press, 1969 which includes a positive description of the colonization of Africa by freed slaves; and Pointing the Way. Nashville, TN: The Orion Publishing Co., 1908. The novel includes a depiction of the treatment of Negroes, the beginnings of a movement joining both blacks and whites, and the argument before the U.S. Supreme Court for the enfranchisement of blacks. The nonfiction includes The One Great Question: A Study of Southern Conditions at Close Range. Philadelphia, PA/Nashville, TN: The Orion Publishing Co., 1907 (58 pp.); Wisdom’s Call. Nashville, TN: The Orion Publishing Co., 1911; How to Rise. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, [1915] (72 pp.); Light on Racial Issues. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, [1921] (62 pp.); According to Law. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1916; The Reconstruction of a Race. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1917 (62 pp.); Life’s Demands or According to Law. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, [1916] (122 pp.); rev. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1917 (170 pp.); The Guide to Racial Greatness or the Science of Collective Efficiency. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1923; Kingdom Builders’ Manual. Companion Book to Guide to Racial Greatness. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1924. 
Additional Publishers

Rpt. New York: Arno Press and The New York Times, 1969, with a “Preface by Hugh M. Gloster (iii-viii); with the subtitle, A Study of the Negro Race Problem. New York: Arno Press, 1969; and with a “Preface” by A.J. Verdelle (vii-xiii), an “Introduction” by Cornel West (xv-xvii), “Chronology of the Precocious Sutton E. Griggs” (xix-xx), and a “Reading Group Guide” ([179-81]). New York: The Modern Library, 2003; and in Black Sci-Fi Short Stories: An Anthology of New & Classic Stories (London: Flame Tree Publishing, 2021), 157-232. 
Info Notes

This has long been considered the first utopia by an African-American author, and within a narrow definition of utopia, it still is. 

Griggs wrote other works, both fiction and nonfiction, discussing the plight of African Americans. His fiction includes Overshadowed. A Novel. Nashville, TN: The Orion Pub. Co., 1901. Rpt. New York: AMS Press, 1973 which documents the mistreatment of Negroes by Anglo-Saxons in the U. S., The Hindered Hand: or, The Reign of the Repressionist. Nashville, TN: The Orion Pub. Co., 1905. The 3rd ed. rev. Illus. Robert E. Bell. Nashville, TN: The Orion Pub. Co., 1905; rpt. New York: AMS Press, 1969 which includes a positive description of the colonization of Africa by freed slaves; and Pointing the Way. Nashville, TN: The Orion Publishing Co., 1908. The novel includes a depiction of the treatment of Negroes, the beginnings of a movement joining both blacks and whites, and the argument before the U.S. Supreme Court for the enfranchisement of blacks. The nonfiction includes The One Great Question: A Study of Southern Conditions at Close Range. Philadelphia, PA/Nashville, TN: The Orion Publishing Co., 1907. 58 pp.; Wisdom’s Call. Nashville, TN: The Orion Publishing Co., 1911; How to Rise. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, [1915]. 72 pp.; Life Demands or According to Law. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, [1916]. 122 pp. 
Holding Institutions

MoU-St, PSt, W3,2286
Author Note

The African-American author (1872-1933) was a Baptist minister.
Full Text

1899 Griggs, Sutton E[lbert] (1872-1933). Imperium in Imperio. Cincinnati, OH: Editor Publishing Company. Rpt. New York: Arno Press and The New York Times, 1969, with a “Preface by Hugh M. Gloster (iii-viii); with the subtitle, A Study of the Negro Race Problem. New York: Arno Press, 1969; with a “Preface” by A.J. Verdelle (vii-xiii), an “Introduction” by Cornel West (xv-xvii), “Chronology of the Precocious Sutton E. Griggs” (xix-xx), and a “Reading Group Guide” ([179-81]). New York: The Modern Library, 2003; and in Black Sci-Fi Short Stories: An Anthology of New & Classic Stories (London: Flame Tree Publishing, 2021), 157-232. MoU-St, PSt, W3,2286

Eutopia. Black state in Texas called Imperium in Imperio with a government parallel to the U. S. government, although with some structural differences. Mostly on the problems of African-Americans and conflict among them over the use of violence, but there is some on the new government. This has long been considered the first utopia by an African-American author, and within a narrow definition of utopia, it still is. See also 1902 Griggs. Griggs wrote other works, both fiction and nonfiction, discussing the plight of African Americans. His fiction includes Overshadowed. A Novel. Nashville, TN: The Orion Pub. Co., 1901. Rpt. New York: AMS Press, 1973 which documents the mistreatment of Negroes by Anglo-Saxons in the U. S., The Hindered Hand: or, The Reign of the Repressionist. Nashville, TN: The Orion Pub. Co., 1905. The 3rd ed. rev. Illus. Robert E. Bell. Nashville, TN: The Orion Pub. Co., 1905; rpt. New York: AMS Press, 1969 which includes a positive description of the colonization of Africa by freed slaves; and Pointing the Way. Nashville, TN: The Orion Publishing Co., 1908. The novel includes a depiction of the treatment of Negroes, the beginnings of a movement joining both blacks and whites, and the argument before the U.S. Supreme Court for the enfranchisement of blacks. The nonfiction includes The One Great Question: A Study of Southern Conditions at Close Range. Philadelphia, PA/Nashville, TN: The Orion Publishing Co., 1907 (58 pp.); Wisdom’s Call. Nashville, TN: The Orion Publishing Co., 1911; How to Rise. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, [1915] (72 pp.); Light on Racial Issues. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, [1921] (62 pp.); According to Law. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1916; The Reconstruction of a Race. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1917 (62 pp.); Life’s Demands or According to Law. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, [1916] (122 pp.); rev. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1917 (170 pp.); The Guide to Racial Greatness or the Science of Collective Efficiency. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1923; Kingdom Builders’ Manual. Companion Book to Guide to Racial Greatness. Memphis, TN: National Public Welfare League, 1924. The African-American author was a Baptist minister.