Sutton E. (Sutton Elbert) Griggs
Imperium in Imperio: A Study of the Negro Race Problem. A Novel
"Imperium in Imperio: A Study of the Negro Race Problem. A Novel" by Sutton E. Griggs is a historical fiction novel published in 1899. It follows Belton Piedmont, an educated Black man navigating Jim Crow Virginia, and his complex friendship with Bernard Belgrave. Their paths converge in Waco, Texas, where a secret shadow government of Black men operates with revolutionary aims. As tensions mount between integration and militant separatism, Belton faces an impossible choice between his convictions and his community, leading to a dramatic confrontation about loyalty, justice, and the future.