Books by Christopher B. Strain

In the 1990s, churches across the southeastern United States were targeted and set ablaze. Using oral histories, newspaper accounts, and governmental reports, this book gives an account of the series of church fires. It considers the various forces at work in providing an analysis of the events and their fallout.

Pure Fire is a history of self-defense as it was debated and practiced during the civil rights era of the 1950s and 1960s. Moving beyond the realm of organized protests and demonstrations, Christopher B. Strain reframes self-defense as a daily concern for many African Americans as they faced the continual menace of white aggression.