Arc of Justice

Why did the Sweets decide to cross the color line and move to Garland Avenue despite threats of violence?

How did the defense team turn Ossian and the other defendants' trial from a murder charge to a broader consideration of race in America?

Choose three of the book's main characters and show how they conceive of and pursue their versions of 'justice.' 

What are some of the factors that Boyle argues made Ossian into the person he was? Why does it seem that Boyle puts so much pressure on Ossian's personality in terms of the trial?

Why did native-born whites in the North come to see the influx of black migrants as a threat?

What was the Talented Tenth? What role did it have in the burgeoning civil rights movement?

How did segregation in Detroit become established following the Great Migration? How did individuals help further the color line? What about groups? 

What arguments do the prosecution and defense ultimately make? How do the prosecution and defense's opening and closing statements differ between the first trial and Henry Sweet's trial?