Imperium in Imperio

The next day when Bernard arrives at Viola’s home, he and Mrs. Martin find Viola dead in her room. In both letters to her parents, Viola asks them to “take Bernard for your son and love him as you did me” (61). To Bernard, she explains that, two years before meeting Bernard, at the age of 18, she read a book called White Supremacy and Negro Subordination. The book explained that, as white and Black people intermarry and produce children, it “sap[s] the vitality of the Negro race and, in fact […] slowly but surely exterminat[es] the race” (62). The book explained that by the fourth generation of intermarrying, their offspring are unable to produce any more children or, if they do, these children never reach maturity. Viola made a vow to God to never to marry a white or mixed-raced man and spent the last two years fighting intermarrying and convincing other women of what she had read.

Viola asks Bernard to carry on her task of preventing the intermarriage of white and Black people to protect the “Negro race.” She writes that if he cannot do so through words, then a physical separation is necessary, and he should lead the Black race elsewhere. Bernard vows to fulfill her wish and follow through with this separation.

Shortly after Viola’s death, Bernard receives a telegram from Belton asking him to come to Waco, Texas. They travel out of Waco to Thomas Jefferson College, where Belton wanted to meet in secret.

Belton tells Bernard that he has learned of a conspiracy within the Black community that he intends to stop. His reasoning is that Black people already have a hard enough time surviving, and “traitors” and “conspirators” will only make the situation worse. He also believes that by exposing the plot, they “shall earn the gratitude of the government and [their] race will be treated with more consideration in the future” (65).

Belton explains that there is a flaw in the Constitution and the federal government regarding protecting its citizens. Although the federal government holds sovereignty and demands that Americans fight to defend it, it also holds no power over the daily ruling of these same citizens, as that power is left to the states. This issue brought about the Civil War and is faced by Black people every day. Each state is allowed to use groups like the Ku Klux Klan or White Cappers to terrorize Black citizens, and the federal government can do nothing to stop it. As Belton explains, “the Negro finds himself an unprotected foreigner in his own home” (66). In response to this, Belton discovered that a group of people have decided to form their own government, one that will protect Black people and defend them against injustice. Because this will lead to war, Belton plans to expose these people to the federal government as traitors and asks for Bernard’s help.

In response to Belton’s request, Bernard becomes enraged. He calls Belton an “infernal scoundrel,” and explains that the men Belton is trying to expose are patriots. He vows to kill Belton if he tries to stop them. Belton informs Bernard that he will be killed if he does now vow to stop the conspirators: First, he is shot by blank cartridges, and then he is dropped through the floor at a height he is told could kill him. Belton again tries to get Bernard to side with him, and each time, Bernard refuses.

When Belton is dropped from the floor, he enters a room with 145 people seated at desks around him. Bernard informs him that what he had just been through was a test. Belton is not against the underground government. Because Bernard held his ground in his defense of the conspiracy and refused to turn against them even in the face of death, he passed and was now allowed into their organization, Imperium in Imperio.

Belton informs Bernard that he is now part of a group of people numbered 7,250,000, which has operated for years within the US. It is another complete government with sovereignty. The organization started with a renowned Black man who published a book of science and gained fame for his intelligence shortly after the American Revolution. He founded a society with two objects: to “secure for the free negroes all the rights and privileges of men, according to the teachings of Thomas Jefferson” (69) and to free all enslaved people. Since then, the organization has continued working toward these two objectives.

The organization attempted this through education. They taught newly freed Black people that being freed from enslavement was only the first step, and that true freedom lies in equality. They had since put teachers in the Black education system throughout the South to further these teachings.

Despite their success with education, the organization realized that they were powerless because the federal government was powerless. Through fraudulent elections and local courts upholding racist laws and practices, states maintained control of the people and kept Black people from equality, all while the federal government repeated that there was nothing it could do. As a result, they created a shadow government with one representative per 50,000 members, as well as branches of government in each state, a judiciary system, and even an army. Through the initial investments of its founders, the government has $850,000,000 at its disposal, to be used by its members but also pledged to their government.

Bernard asks Belton why he was just finding out about everything now. Belton informs him that, because of his white ancestry, they were monitoring him for years but unsure whether to trust him, as his “loyalty to the race never having fully been tested” until now (71). Belton informs him that the Imperio in Imperium has never had a president because their Constitution states that he must be chosen unanimously to ensure unity. Bernard has been chosen as president.

Bernard assumes office as President of the Imperium. He does so successfully, being impartial yet strong and healing any issues he comes across. He also tracks the events of the US, but the narrator notes that “all the evils complained of by the Imperium continued unabated; in fact, they seemed to multiply and grow instead of diminishing” (72). He begins a newspaper to report on discrimination and oppression for the Imperium.

Two incidents occur simultaneously in the US. In the first, Mr. Felix Cook is appointed postmaster of a small village of 300 inhabitants by President McKinley. However, because of the color of his skin, his home is vandalized, and he is murdered. In the second, an American warship is blown up near Cuba, killing 266 Americans and sparking a war with Spain. These incidents cause Bernard to call a meeting of the Imperium Congress to decide how to move forward with both the foreign war and race relations within the country.

Bernard addresses Congress by asking them to consider if their army will work with the US army against Cuba. He reviews the history of relationships between Black people and white people in the country. He comments on the arrival of Europeans in North America, and how they unapologetically enslaved Black people and abused them for centuries. Then, with the Emancipation Proclamation, they are freed, but only to preserve the Union. Once freed, Black People were left without belongings, land, or education, and have since been abused, even after being freed. Black people are still used and abused for their labor, with white people refusing to partake in true labor. They are now given educations but no means to use them. Bernard decries the way in which Black people are tempted and given morsels, yet true equality is “wafted away by the winds of prejudice” (76). He touches on each area in which they are discriminated against—education, the judicial system, law, and politics—and explains how they are failing in helping achieve equality.

Ultimately, Bernard asks the Congress what is left for them to do. If the law will not help them, and, due to corruption, they cannot use politics to elect new leaders, he asks them to consider how they are supposed to gain true equality and freedom.

The first man to speak in response to Bernard’s query states that he believes the time for leaving the US has passed, and assimilation is their only option. However, he is booed by the Congress and returns to his seat. The next man proposes leaving the US for Africa, where they can take the Congo from Belgium by force or offer to purchase it. Further, this would be devastating for the South, who would lose its labor force, as well as a large portion of its population, and therefore representation in Congress. However, his idea is not greatly supported because it lacks specifics. A third man suggests war, which is met with cheers and a call for a vote on a resolution to do so. However, Belton objects, and puts forth his idea.

Belton begins by defending the South, which is met with harsh cries, but he continues anyway. He explains that, although Black people were enslaved for centuries, they were rewarded with knowledge, enlightenment, and civilization, and have in many ways been repaid for their labor by now having the privilege of being educated and living in the US.

Belton then addresses each of the same institutions that Bernard had addressed—labor and education, the judicial system, law, and politics—arguing that corruption can be overcome. For labor, he points out that white people rely solely on Black people for the physical labor, meaning that they have become dependent on them. He also points out that, as the education of the Black community improves, they will be able to create their own businesses and enterprises, which will allow them to hire other Black people to perform jobs that are of a higher order than menial labor. Regarding education, he points out that white people have largely paid for their new schools and universities, and Black people have received a free education. For the judicial system, Belton has no excuses or apologies, but simply points out that change is possible if they work toward the higher courts of the land, as changing the federal and Supreme Court will effectively force the lower courts to follow as well. Again, he makes no excuses for law enforcement in the country, other than to say that there are, in fact, some crimes that Black “brutes” commit—particularly those against women—which have enraged the white community and caused them to react harshly to all crimes. He also points out that, in the case of Mr. Cook’s murder, no one defended those acts, white or Black, and this progress shows that people are recognizing more and more the unfairness of law enforcement. Finally, speaking on politics, Belton points out that the ballot should be thoughtful and used for good, yet both white and Black people used the ballot for hate and revenge. He refers to the ballot as the “storm center” (87) and argues that the efforts of the Imperium should be placed on getting the ballot back and using it correctly.

Belton argues that the Imperium should leave revenge to God, and their first step should be to reveal themselves to the white community. He claims that they do not know that Black people have become educated and intelligent, or that they love their country and strive for freedom. He believes that revealing this fact will help them gain respect and equality.

If this revelation does not convince the white community that they are equals, he offers an alternative proposal. He believes that the Imperium should reveal themselves to the US government and spend four years convincing them that they are a “New Negro” (90), one that is intelligent and ready for equality. If that fails, they will leave the US and move to Texas, where they will have a voting majority to form their own nation.

At the end of his speech, there is a unanimous vote to uphold his resolution, and the Imperium agrees with his plan. However, Bernard pulls Belton aside and invites him to the college mansion that evening.

That night, Bernard shows Belton his plan. Like Belton’s plan, it would involve emigrating to Texas, but the Imperium would do so by secretly setting up an army and taking over the US Navy, as well as inviting foreign enemies of the US to aid them. When they sunk the Navy and won the battle with the US Government, they would demand their own nation in Texas, as well as giving Louisiana to the foreign countries that aided them.

Belton calls his plan “treason” and is highly opposed to his ideas. However, Bernard shows the plan to other members of the Imperium Congress, and they agree with it hastily, only regretting their support after they realize Belton disagreed. Bernard intended for it to be this way, coercing them into signing a petition in support of his plan despite their discomfort with it.

After Bernard’s plan passes with a nearly unanimous vote (all but Belton voting in favor), Belton resigns his position in the Imperium which, by Imperium law, means he must die. He is given 30 days to reconsider, during which time he returns to Virginia to visit Antoinette one last time.

The narrator explains that Antoinette raised her child while being exiled from all social circles and the church for her adultery. However, as the child grew, his skin drew darker, and his features began to match Belton’s, proving that the child was his. When Belton arrives, he sees his child and is distraught at the pain that he caused his wife, calling himself “unworthy” of her forgiveness (94). However, she forgives him, and he spends time with his family before returning to Waco.

Back in Waco, Belton faces his executioners and is given a last chance to speak. He proclaims his love for both “the race to which [he] belonged and the flag,” and had to stand up against the thought of the two in “mortal combat” (95).

The text closes as it opened—with a personal note from Berl Trout, the secretary of the Imperium in Imperio. He explains that with Belton’s death, Bernard’s influence went unchecked. He imagined the US as sitting on a cache of dynamite, waiting for someone to strike a match and for the nation to once again be thrust into war and death. Bernard encourages it.

He admits that his treason was revealing the existence of the Imperium so that it may be “broken up or watched” (96). He saw the Imperium as a threat to the US, all its people, and true equality. He still believes, as Belton did, that there is good in the country that can be used to overcome their differences and achieve liberty for all.