In 1952, Zora Neale Hurston traveled to Live Oak, Florida, to cover the trial of a black woman, Ruby McCollum, accused of... More > murdering...Dr. C. Leroy Adams, a white man. McCollum was the wife of a rich numbers operator, the mother of four of his children, and one of Dr. Adams'... Hurston was sent by the Pittsburgh Courier, a nationally known black newspaper, to cover the sensational trial, which included high racial and sexual drama...Drawing on Hurston’s newspaper coverage of the trial and interviews with town residents, Ellis—a Live Oak resident himself—recounts the sensational trial. He alternates between the first-person voice of Hurston herself and a narrative of the backstory of the love affair and fortunes made in a small town on illegal gambling and drugs.
--Vanessa Bush
Booklist (American Library Association) < Less

This is a dissertation researching the early history of the Asolo Theatre, currently located on the grounds of the Ringling... More > Museum in Sarasota, Florida. Research includes the origin of the theatre in Asolo, Italy, and its importation and early history in the United States. < Less

The complete annotated trial transcript of the famous trial of Ruby McCollum, an African American woman who murdered her... More > White physician and senator-elect lover in the Segregationist South. Trial was covered for The Pittsburgh Courier by Zora Neale Hurston, who cited the case as an instance of "paramour rights," the unwritten law of the Segregationist South that gave a White man the right to force a Negro woman to have his children, whether she was married or not. < Less

In 1952, Zora Neale Hurston traveled to Live Oak, Florida, to cover the trial of a black woman, Ruby McCollum, accused of... More > murdering...Dr. C. Leroy Adams, a white man. McCollum was the wife of a rich numbers operator, the mother of four of his children, and one of Dr. Adams'... Hurston was sent by the Pittsburgh Courier, a nationally known black newspaper, to cover the sensational trial, which included high racial and sexual drama...Drawing on Hurston’s newspaper coverage of the trial and interviews with town residents, Ellis—a Live Oak resident himself—recounts the sensational trial. He alternates between the first-person voice of Hurston herself and a narrative of the backstory of the love affair and fortunes made in a small town on illegal gambling and drugs.
--Vanessa Bush
Booklist (American Library Association) < Less

This is a dissertation researching the early history of the Asolo Theatre, currently located on the grounds of the Ringling... More > Museum in Sarasota, Florida. Research includes the origin of the theatre in Asolo, Italy, and its importation and early history in the United States. < Less

The complete annotated trial transcript of the famous trial of Ruby McCollum, an African American woman who murdered her... More > White physician and senator-elect lover in the Segregationist South. Trial was covered for The Pittsburgh Courier by Zora Neale Hurston, who cited the case as an instance of "paramour rights," the unwritten law of the Segregationist South that gave a White man the right to force a Negro woman to have his children, whether she was married or not. < Less