"Though the Heavens Fall" Parts I & II

On Texas, Old Newspapers, Race Music, and Two Black Lives that Shaped the History of Civil Rights

This pair of stories was born out of months reading Black newspapers from the early 20th-century on microfilm. During that period––as John Jeremiah Sullivan wrote "The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie" for The New York Times Magazine––I was his researcher. This was our first shared byline.

            –Clifton “C. F.” Richardson behind his desk at the Houston Informer, 1920s

Long live the memory of these fearless, old time editors: C. N. Love and C. F. Richardson. Read both parts here at The Oxford American.