Called a “relevant nightmare of a book” upon its publication in 1963, If We Must Die tells the story of Black Korean War veteran Will Harris and what happens when he tries to breach the color line by attempting to register to vote in the segregated South. Harris’s act of courage ignites a nightmare of racial hatred, injustice, and violent retribution. His story exposes the cost of standing up to racism and fighting for dignity. Mocked and denied his right to vote by white bigots, Harris is later fired from his factory job for “voter fraud.” The last third of the book provides a sobering reminder of the systemic racial terrorism that was, and still is, rampant in America.
