Emory acquires rare anti-slavery book once owned by Du Bois

In this March 18, 2016, photo, Pellom McDaniels III, a faculty curator of the African American Collections at Emory, looks at Du Bois’ 1903 classic, “The Souls of Black Folk,” at Emory University in Atlanta. On the fly page of the book, W.E.B. Du Bois, the noted civil rights activist, historian, writer and Atlanta University professor, signed his name. (Ernie Suggs/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

By Associated Press March 26, 2016 7 min read

ATLANTA (AP) – Randall Burkett still remembers the phone call.

A book dealer in New Jersey called him on behalf of a private owner of a copy of David Walker’s “Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World.”

“He called and said, ‘We got this and would you be interested?” said Burkett, the founding curator of Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library’s African American collection.

Up until about three months ago, there were only six known original copies of Walker’s “Appeal,” which was originally written in 1829 by a free black man as a scathing and controversial rebuke of slavery.

It is thought to be the first book written and published by an African American, and while Walker has been lost to everyone aside from scholars, his writings have been considered the bedrock of black nationalism.