On June 2, 1892, in the village of Port Jervis, New York, a young Black man named Robert Lewis—accused of sexually assaulting a white woman—was lynched by a massive crowd. Americans were shocked by this incident, the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist At the Hands of Persons Unknown suggests here, because it demonstrated that racial violence was not solely a Southern phenomenon. In reflecting on the causes of this pivotal moment in race relations, Philip Dray follows its ramifications down to the present day.

"Vivid and well-researched…. An illuminating and distressing look at America's history of racial violence."—Publishers Weekly