Whitewash: A Southern Journey through Music, Mayhem and Murder [Paperback]

Frank Beacham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2007

A Southerner returns home to discover how the Ku Klux Klan tried to suppress black music, how South Carolina¹s leaders covered-up the police killing of three black college students, and his own grandfather organized gunmen that killed seven workers at a cotton mill in 1934.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

"Young black and white South Carolinians—in a time of segregation—put their lives on the line to defy the state’s white establishment and create a genuine musical legacy. An irony is that South Carolina’s government officials made the shag and beach music the official dance and music of the state without even understanding or noting it’s remarkable historical significance.

Over the years, the state’s music and dance has almost completely been co-opted by Southern whites, leaving a new generation of blacks unaware of the cultural phenomenon they helped create. It is sad that many young blacks in South Carolina have rejected beach music and the shag because they think the music has white-only roots. Years of racism and a lack of education have helped erase one of South Carolina’s most notable creative accomplishments.

I chose the title ‘Whitewash’ for this book because only after researching these stories did I learn that each continues to live and remain fiercely unresolved for a reason. Elaborate efforts have been made to distort and misrepresent each story and to omit it from the state’s official history. Perhaps the reason for this, I found, is because these stories share cultural attributes that go back to the antebellum South: stubbornness, pride, honor, and denial. Each has a leading role in this book."

About the Author

South Carolina native Frank Beacham is a New York City-based writer and media producer. A former journalist, Beacham was executive producer of the feature film, "Cradle Will Rock," and is co-author the new play, "Maverick." He was co-producer of "Theatre of the Imagination: Radio Stories by Orson Welles & the Mercury Theatre."

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. & Beacham Story Studio, Inc.; 2nd edition (November 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591131871
• ISBN-13: 978-1591131878
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,392,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)