'Ruled by Race' published by Arkansas Press

A book described as the first comprehensive history of race relations in the Natural State has been published by the University of Arkansas Press.

Titled "Ruled by Race: Black/White Relations in Arkansas from Slavery to the Present", the book was written by long-time Arkansas writer Grif Stockley. It describes the ways that race has been at the center of much of the states formation and image since its founding.

The subject of race is a passionate interest for Stockley, who was raised in Marianna. My family owned slaves and my father owned plantations in eastern Arkansas and Mississippi, so I am a direct beneficiary of white supremacy, Stockley said.

Influenced by the idealism of the Kennedy era but not substantially involved in the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s, Stockley began to question the status quo in earnest only after a stint overseas. I joined the Peace Corps after college and became radicalized by the poverty in Colombia, Stockley said.
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