49 pages • 1 hour read
Patrick PhillipsBlood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Blood at the Root describes stories from multiple moments in Forsyth County’s history. Using evidence from the text, describe how these moments are thematically connected. Consider both social customs and expectations as well as political motivations and events.
In what ways could Forsyth County’s history be viewed as a mirror for larger trends in United States history? Describe using evidence from the text.
Many prominent figures are part of the events of 1912 in Forsyth County. Who of these are the most important and why? Choose two to three primary contributors to the events and describe the role they played.
Phillips describes the complete erasure of the events of 1912 in present Forsyth County. How and why did this erasure take place? Explore using events from the text.
Why did Phillips choose the title Blood at the Root? What could have been the intention of this name? Analyze possible meanings using evidence from the Introduction, Epilogue, and Author’s Note.
Phillips uses many historical images in the earlier chapters of the text. What role do these images play in supporting or altering the narrative? Explain using specific examples.
Blood at the Root alternates between different time periods and events as Phillips narrates the history of Forsyth County. In what ways does the structure of the text influence the meaning and message?
The final moment in the Epilogue of Blood at the Root is a quotation from a surviving resident of the violence of 1912. Why did Phillips choose to end with this moment? How does this connect to earlier choices Phillips makes in the structure of the text?
Several racialized myths are responsible for much of the white mob violence that takes place in Forsyth in 1912, 1980, and 1987. Choose one of these myths to explore over the course of the text. How does this myth come about and how does it cause violence?
Patrick Phillips describes writing Blood at the Root as a way to investigate the place where he spent much of his childhood and young adult life. Trace Phillips’ own relationship to Forsyth as represented in the text, analyzing his positionality to the text as a whole.
