Charles W. Chesnutt was a prominent African-American writer, lawyer, and political activist. Chesnutt was a prolific author and his books were notable for exploring the racial and social issues in the American South after the Civil War.

The Marrow of Tradition, published in 1901, is a historical novel that is set during the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898. The book is notable for its fictionalized portrayal of the rise of the white supremacist movement.