A history of the independent political movement of black farmers in the late 19th century"In this insightful survey of a generation of African American political activism, Omar Ali lays to rest the common misconception that black politics in the South ended with the death of Reconstruction. He shows how, during the 1880s and 1890s, two Populist movements, black and white, mainly separate and unequal, challenged the political status quo. Anyone interested in the innovative and often bold political action undertaken by black southerners in these trying times will benefit from reading In the Lion's Mouth."--Charles Postel, author of The Populist Vision"In the Lion's Mouth breaks new ground by locating a distinctive politics of culture deeply rooted in the black radical tradition, agrarian culture, with groundings in African culture and the experience of slavery. Ali correctly resists the common tendency to either see black populists as an offshoot of white populist movement, or a failed effort at interracial organizing. Rather, he paints a compelling portrait of an independent movement. But understand that by independent, he does not mean separatist. It is an important distinction, for if we follow Ali's arguments and the evidence he marshals seriously, we can only conclude that the white Populist movement, more than any, exhibited separatist tendencies. Ali flips the script, if you will, and compels us to rethink the entire history of late 19th century S...