Mississippi Library Association

Portrait of a Scientific Racist: Alfred Holt Stone of Mississippi

Hollandsworth, James G. Portrait of a Scientific Racist: Alfred Holt Stone of Mississippi.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2008.
318 pp. $45.00(hardcover)

Hollandsworth has written such varied books as Physiology and Behavior Therapy: Conceptual Guidelines for the Clinician and An Absolute Massacre: The New Orleans Race Riot of July 30, 1866. In Portrait of a Scientific Racist: Alfred Holt Stone of Mississippi, the author presents information on Alfred Holt Stone and paints a portrait of this racial theorist in his political and social context. Further, the author presents findings from correspondence between Stone and his close friend, Walter F. Willcox, a fellow scientific racist and statistician, to provide a more in-depth biographical sketch. Both Willcox and Stone believed that the black race was less than the white race. Willcox theorized that the end of slavery would be the extinction of the black race in America and Stone agreed. Stone believed that slavery presented opportunities to improve the black race, as it provided blacks with shelter and protected them from white competition. This view helped Stone feel free to use the black race as a productive, low-wage labor force on cotton plantations in Mississippi.

Hollandsworth presents an interesting view of Stone and how he may have arrived at his unique point of view (although not unique to his times). The author presents this information in a descriptive and easy to understand manner. While this straightforward portrayal of Stone may make readers uncomfortable, the narrative presents a unique understanding of Stone. Instead of simply providing a chronological history of Stone and his undertakings, the author gives insight into his person.

This book is recommended for academic readers, as it provides important insight into racism. It is also recommended for anyone seeking to understand racism and how it can develop in the first place. As such, the book is recommended for high school, public and academic libraries.

William L. Bahr
Assistant Director
Pike-Amite-Walthall Library System

Entry Filed under: Book Reviews
Posted on: March 31st, 2009