Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 43 (2022) Winner
Margaret A. Burnham
マーガレット・A・バーンハム
Margaret A. Burnham
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1944-12-28 （Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
Career
- Occupations
- lawyer, legal scholar, judge, university professor, activist
- Active Years
- 1970-
- Affiliations
- Northeastern University School of Law (faculty), Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (founder), Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive (co-founder), NAACP Legal Defense Fund (worked as an attorney), Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board (member)
- Influenced By
- Louis E. Burnham (father), John Abt (lawyer), Figures of the civil rights movement
- Influenced
- Younger civil-rights and legal historians, Activists and movements focused on cold cases and restorative justice
- Nominations
- Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction (2022)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tougaloo College | — | Department of History | BA | — | United States |
| University of Pennsylvania Law School | — | — | LLB | — | United States |
Tougaloo College
Department of History
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
Earned a Bachelor of Arts in history
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Degree:
LLB
Country:
United States
Earned a Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History | By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners | — | Los Angeles Times | 受賞 |
| 2023 | Hillman Prize for Book Journalism | By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners | — | Hillman Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2023 | Hurston/Wright Legacy Award | By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners | — | Hurston/Wright Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2022 | Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction (finalist) | By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners | ノンフィクション | Kirkus Reviews | ファイナリスト |
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History
2023
Work:
By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
受賞
Hillman Prize for Book Journalism
2023
Work:
By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners
Organization:
Hillman Foundation
Result:
受賞
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award
2023
Work:
By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners
Organization:
Hurston/Wright Foundation
Result:
受賞
Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction (finalist)
2022
Work:
By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners
Category:
ノンフィクション
Organization:
Kirkus Reviews
Result:
ファイナリスト
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners
2022 History / NonfictionA historical study examining racially motivated lethal violence during the Jim Crow era and the role of legal institutions and public authorities in enabling and concealing those crimes. Using documents and testimony, it uncovers how local law enforcement and judicial systems handled murders of Black people and argues for justice and accountability.
racial violencerole of legal institutionsmemory and justicecold case investigation
Bibliography
- By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow's Legal Executioners (2022) and numerous scholarly articles and essays
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- scholarly, legal-historicaldocumentary-style narrativeevidence-based exposition
- Recurring Motifs
- justice vs. injusticeinstitutional complicityrecovery of memory
Legacy
Through a long career in law and academia, Burnham has bridged scholarly work and legal practice to deepen understanding of civil-rights-era violence. Her book and projects have raised attention to unresolved Jim Crow cases and helped prompt further investigation and calls for accountability.
Archives
- Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive
In Popular Culture
- Major media coverage and reviews in outlets such as The New York Times and The New Yorker
Trivia
- Became the first African-American woman judge in Massachusetts in 1977.
- Worked on the defense of her childhood friend Angela Davis.
- Related to Forbes Burnham, former president of Guyana.
- Her book By Hands Now Known received multiple awards and appeared on several Best Books lists.
- Nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed to the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board (confirmation in 2022).