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.