Sutton E Griggs

Unfettered: a Novel Sutton E Griggs

As the incomparable Morlene sings at her piano, Dorlan Warthell, enthralled by the rich harmonies she evokes from her keyboard, silently enters the parlor. He stands mute, intoxicated by her beauty before finally summoning the courage to announce himself, and together...they discuss us expansionism and the policies of the Republican Party. Set against a backdrop of post-Civil War social turmoil, Unfettered was conceived by activist and minister Sutton E. Griggs as a novelistic presentation of his program for achieving racial equality. Griggs urges Negroes to reconsider their unwavering loyalty to the Republican Party, and to instead organize on their own behalves, strengthening their religious, social, and economic institutions in order to achieve greater influence and self-sufficiency. Published in 1902, Unfettered presents an illuminating snapshot of the issues which faced Negro activists in the era following the abolition of slavery.