Caroline Light is director of undergraduate studies in the Program in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Harvard University. She is the author of That Pride of Race and Character- The Roots of Jewish Benevolence in the Jim Crow South.
“Light’s readable account deserves strong notice by those seeking understanding of the roots of today’s polarizing debate over gun laws.” —Booklist “A powerful new book . . . Studded with striking statistics and sobering facts.” —The Boston Globe “Timely and sharp, and a potent antidote to historical amnesia. Light reminds us that these defenses are as old as the republic; they have always protected those with privilege and jeopardized those at the margins.” —Mark Anthony Neal, author of New Black Man “A profound reflection on belonging and exclusion in American society. Essential reading.” —Elizabeth Hinton, award-winning author of From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime