Arc of Justice is a non-fiction work published to great acclaim by Kevin Boyle in 2004. In telling the specific story of Ossian Sweet, the book shines a spotlight on the history of systemic racism in America's real estate superstructure. Boyle relates the historically factual account of the first African American family to move into an all-white neighborhood in Detroit in 1925. Dr. Ossian Sweet and his family were immediately threatened by angry racist mobs intent on driving the family out of their "racially pure" utopian suburb. Or so his opponents saw the situation. This conflict eventually culminated in mob violence and two different trials, one of which featured legendary lawyer, Clarence Darrow.
Kevin Boyle was himself born into a Detroit which had changed significantly since Sweet's experience. The author was inspired to write the book, in fact, because the story had become part of Detroit's lore and legend. In addition to being a writer, Boyle has taught history at various prestigious academic institutions, including the University of Massachusetts and Dublin's University College.
Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age is a book that focuses on the story of Ossian Sweet as a lens through which to explore the larger significance of a population shift that came to be called "the Great Migration" in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery. The 1920s witnessed a demographic shift in which millions of African Americans migrated from the rural southern United States into the big urban centers to the north. This demographic evolution would have a profound effect on race relations, racial intolerance, and the later rise of the Civil Rights Movement into which Boyle was born.
Upon release, Arc of Justice was greeted with critical acclaim. Boyle won the 2004 National Book Award for non-fiction despite going up against such heady competition as The 911 Commission Report. In 2005, it became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, losing out to another National Book Award competitor, Washington's Crossing.
