Wielding an Unlikely Weapon: Black Americans, White Violence, and Damage Suits during the Early Days of Jim Crow.

This article examines how Black Americans utilized tort law during the Jim Crow era to seek justice for white violence, even when criminal courts failed to protect them. It focuses on cases where Black plaintiffs sued white individuals and companies for acts of violence, particularly in public spaces such as train stations. The article argues that civil courts offered Black Americans a legal path to hold white perpetrators accountable and to financially penalize entities that supported Jim Crow, emphasizing the untold history of Black legal resistance through damage suits during this period.