The lynching : the epic courtroom battle that brought down the Klan / Laurence Leamer.
On a Friday night in March 1981 Henry Hays and James Knowles scoured the streets of Mobile in their car, hunting for a black man. The young men were members of Klavern 900 of the United Klans of America. They were seeking to retaliate after a largely black jury could not reach a verdict in a trial involving a black man accused of the murder of a white man. The two Klansmen found nineteen-year-old Michael Donald walking home alone. Hays and Knowles abducted him, beat him, cut his throat, and left his body hanging from a tree branch in a racially mixed residential neighborhood. Arrested, charged, and convicted, Hays was sentenced to death-the first time in more than half a century that the state of Alabama sentenced a white man to death for killing a black man. On behalf of Michael's grieving mother, Morris Dees, the legendary civil rights lawyer and cofounder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, filed a civil suit against the members of the local Klan unit involved and the UKA, the largest Klan organization. Charging them with conspiracy, Dees put the Klan on trial, resulting in a verdict that would level a deadly blow to its organization. Based on numerous interviews and extensive archival research, "The Lynching" brings to life two dramatic trials, during which the Alabama Klan's motives and philosophy were exposed for the evil they represent. In addition to telling a gripping and consequential story, Laurence Leamer chronicles the KKK and its activities in the second half the twentieth century, and illuminates its lingering effect on race relations in America today.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780062458346
- ISBN: 0062458345
- Physical Description: x, 372 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, photographs ; 24 cm
- Edition: First edition
- Publisher: New York, NY : William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2016.
- Copyright: ©2016.
Content descriptions
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 355-358) and index.
- Formatted Contents Note:
- Part 1 Night of the Burning Cross -- Klan Business 5 -- A Public Display 12 -- Thirteen Knots 15 -- "Good Job, Tiger" 20 -- A Precious Enclave 23 -- Klan's Signature 30 -- Value of Things 34 -- Bloody Nails 37 -- An Open Casket 42 -- A Major Injustice 47 -- Missionary Work 54 -- Prayers in the Night 56 -- A Lesser Crime 62 -- Black Sheep 68 -- A Capital Offense 71 -- Second-Most-Hated Man 77 -- A Matter of Justice 79 -- "The Forces of Evil" 84 -- "Sizzling of the Flesh" 88 -- A Verdict 94 -- Part 2 A Time of Judgment -- "Where in the Hell..." 101 -- Sunday School 105 -- Turning Back the Tide 111 -- "Who Is Shelton?" 114 -- Day of Reckoning 119 -- Freedom Rides 125 -- A Personal Brawl 129 -- Riding Again 134 -- Eternal Vigilance 141 -- Schoolhouse Door 143 -- Good Working People 150 -- "Seeds of Hate" 156 -- A Race Thing 161 -- Scrawny Pine 169 -- A Follower of Christ 177 -- A Pain in the Stomach 184 -- A Political Prisoner 188 -- Never 191 -- Censored 195 -- Lowering the Boom 201 -- Private Matters 204 -- Fighting the Fight 213 -- A Wannabe 217 -- Part 3 Roll Call of Justice -- "Novel, but Unlikely" 225 -- An Eye for an Eye 228 -- A Clear and Powerful Message 231 -- Natural Consequences 234 -- A Book of Prophecy 237 -- "As You Lie, You Forget" 241 -- Intruders in the Night 246 -- "Blood Will Flow" 248 -- Shots in the Night 253 -- End of an Era 262 -- Sending a Signal 265 -- Curveballs 271 -- "Nice Job, Daddy" 276 -- Purity of the Race 282 -- A Jury of One's Peers 288 -- Trading Places 290 -- "That's My Mom" 294 -- Remembrance 301 -- A Question of Justice 306 -- Death Has No Hold 312.
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- 24 of 25 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
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| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion Library | 364.134 LEA (Text) | 37810435297360 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
