Imperium in Imperio

Imperium in Imperio (1899) is a historical-fiction novel by social activist Sutton E. Griggs. Imperium in Imperio explores the idea of a Black utopia, wherein Black Americans form a shadow government to seize control of the state of Texas and form their own nation. In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, the novel was sold door-to-door in Black communities and was largely unknown to the white population, ultimately garnering little notoriety upon its original publication. However, upon its republication in 2003, it became a seminal work in the study of Black nationalism and is considered a precursor to the Afrofuturism literary movement. The text explores civil rights, Black nationalism, race conservation, and Black Baptist radicalism.

This guide uses the Odin’s Library Classics edition, published in 2018 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing.

Content Warning: This text contains racist language, including racial expletives, and violence, as well as depictions of oppression, enslavement, and death by suicide. This study guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the n-word.

Plot Summary

Imperium in Imperio tells the story of two men, Belton Piedmont and Bernard Belgrave, growing up in the late 19th-century south. Belton is born to a family of formerly enslaved individuals who are impoverished and uneducated; Belton’s mother insists Belton begin school at the age of eight. As a Black child, he is abused by his teacher, Mr. Leonard. Conversely, Bernard is born to an educated mixed-raced mother with financial comfort. Mr. Leonard is also employed by Bernard’s father, resulting in favoritism of Bernard. Belton and Bernard are both highly intelligent, competing throughout grade school.

At their graduation ceremony, Mr. Leonard has Belton and Bernard compete in an oration contest. Although Belton’s speech is deemed stronger by the white judges, the medal is awarded to Bernard due to his lighter skin.

After graduation, Bernard, the valedictorian, attends Harvard University with his father’s money. Belton cannot afford college, but his graduation speech is picked up by newspapers, reaching V. M. King, the editor of The Temps. Mr. King pays for Belton to attend Stowe University, an all-Black college in Nashville, Tennessee.

Belton is shocked to see a Black teacher treated as an equal, even serving as vice president of the school. However, upon learning that he is unable to eat with his fellow teachers, Belton forms a society to fight for the teacher’s equality. The college president relents, and Belton is invigorated by the power of community and protest.

Four years later, Belton is chosen to give a graduation speech. However, a fellow student places a dirty sock in his coat where his handkerchief should be, embarrassing Belton at the ceremony. The president of the college stops Belton from enacting revenge, explaining that revenge should be left to God. Belton’s perspective shifts, and he leaves revenge to God moving forward.

Bernard, after graduating from Harvard, is taken to his father for the first time. Bernard’s father is a senator and has been funding Bernard’s life in secret through his mother, even employing Mr. Leonard to watch after Bernard in school. Bernard’s father tells him that, because his mother is mixed raced, they married in secret, and when she became pregnant, she was sent away for fear of public scrutiny. Bernard’s father implores Bernard to become a politician and use his influence to end injustices like those his mother faced.

Bernard becomes a politician, seeking the people’s love to gain control and influence. He courts Viola Martin due to her beauty and high social status. However, Bernard delays marriage and runs for Congress, where he overcomes a fraudulent voting system with the help of Mr. Leonard.

Belton struggles to find a job after graduation, realizing that educated Black men still lack career opportunities. He eventually gets a job as a teacher in Richmond, Tennessee, where he meets Antoinette Nermal. To earn more money to marry Antoinette, Belton starts a newspaper. There, he regularly speaks out against election fraud. When one of his editorials catches the attention of The Temps and is reproduced, his newspaper is shut down by powerful white men, and Belton loses his teaching job.

During the next election, Belton secures a job as a stamping clerk due to his oratory skills. This allows him to marry Antoinette, who becomes pregnant. However, Belton refuses to support the racist candidate that the postmaster supports; Belton is fired from his job.

Belton’s newborn baby’s skin is light, leading him to believe that Antoinette was impregnated by a white man. Belton returns home to Winchester; he suppresses his love for Antoinette, instead vowing to help Black people.

Belton is offered the presidency of an all-Black university in Louisiana. However, he is unaware of expectations of Black people there, and he faces racist violence throughout his journey.

Belton is beloved by the university. He employs Black people to construct a new building. He invites a white minister to speak at the school and is invited back to his church.

At the church, Belton fails to observe Louisiana’s unwritten social rules, sitting with and speaking to the white people there. He is hunted by a white mob and hanged; his body is pursued by Dr. Zackland, who intends to study Belton. However, Belton does not die, instead waking up in Dr. Zackland’s hospital. He kills him to escape and is pursued by a white mob.

The trial for the murder of Dr. Zackland is a farce. He is convicted, along with the family he was staying with. However, Bernard hears of the trial and comes to his aid, appealing to the Supreme Court and winning Belton’s freedom.

Meanwhile, Bernard has continued his relationship with Viola Martin. Viola soon dies by suicide, explaining in a letter that the “Black race” is being ruined by intermarriage. She writes that she loves him but cannot marry him because of his white ancestry. Bernard vows to separate white and Black people and stop intermarriage.

Belton summons Bernard to Waco, Texas. Belton informs Bernard of the Imperium in Imperio—an underground group of over seven million Black people with their own government. Bernard is elected president of the Imperium in Imperio.

Soon, the United States enters a war with Cuba and, therefore, Spain, and a man named Mr. Cook is suspiciously murdered.

Bernard asks the Imperium if they will defend a country that treats Black people hatefully. He outlines systemic racism and corruption, asking the Imperium what their solution is.

Belton then argues that these systems are corrupt but not irredeemable. He proposes spending four more years trying to convince white society that a “New Negro” has emerged. If those four years fail, he proposes overtaking Texas and using its voting power. The Imperium unanimously agrees with his plan.

That night, however, Bernard offers Belton a different plan: He believes that Belton’s plan is futile, and Black people need to separate and form their own nation to achieve equality. He proposes capturing the American Navy and forcibly taking the state of Texas with the help of foreign enemies. Belton disagrees and leaves, causing Bernard to secretly call the other Imperium leaders to him. He convinces the other leaders to sign a pledge of agreement.

The next day, Bernard’s plan and pledge of agreement are presented to the Imperium. The entire Imperium—except for Belton—votes to adapt the plan. Belton resigns, which means his death.

Belton returns to Richmond to see Antoinette one last time. He is shocked to discover that his child’s skin has grown darker over time, and his features match Belton—Antoinette had not committed adultery. He is forgiven by Antoinette but must return to Waco for his execution.

Belton is given one last chance to speak. He tells the Imperium that he has two loves—his race and his country. He stands against the idea of the two coming to war.