What do you think?
Rate this book
The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan – American History and the Civil Rights Case That Transformed Race Relations
The New York Times bestselling author of The Kennedy Women chronicles the powerful and spellbinding true story of a brutal race-based killing in 1981 and subsequent trials that undid one of the most pernicious organizations in American history—the Ku Klux Klan.
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.
The Lynching includes sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs.
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.
The Lynching includes sixteen pages of black-and-white photographs.
372 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2016
337 people are currently reading
4057 people want to read
About the author
Laurence Leamer
33 books265 followersLaurence Leamer is an award-winning journalist and historian who has written eighteen books including five New York Times bestsellers. He has worked in a factory in France, a coal mine in West Virginia and as a Peace Corps volunteer in a remote village in Nepal two days from a road. He has written two novels and an off Broadway play but is primarily known for his nonfiction. His most recent book, Capote's Women, is being made into an eight-part series starring Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Calista Flockhart, and Demi Moore.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
December 21, 2016
America's race wars seem to be on the rise again, as the general populace is asked to reaffirm that certain lives matter. While the imagery is horrible and the bloodshed excessive, it pales in comparison to some of the clashes that became weekly occurrences in the South for decades. The Civil War sought to rectify some of these issues, but only exacerbated them, allowing the rise of white supremacy in its many forms, the most prevalent and wide-spread being the Ku Klux Klan. Leamer seeks not only to explore Klan life in America, particularly throughout Alabama, but also a criminal case that might have snuffed out the power Klan politics had over the state and across America. In March 1981, members of Klavern 900 of the United Klans of America pondered how to lash out against a jury that refused to find a black bank robber guilty of shooting a white police officer. Hatred filled their speech and the only solution would be to commit an act so outrageous that everyone would take notice. Klansmen focussed on nineteen year-old Michael Donald, walking through Mobile late at night. What follows is an act so depraved and horrible that it does not bear detailing here. Needless to say, Donald was lynched and his dead body left dangling from a tree at the courthouse. After some investigating and witness statements, a member of the Klan was brought to justice and sentenced for the crime. Leamer then takes a significant amount of time in the middle of this book to explore the rise of racial hatred in Alabama, particularly under the watchful eye of George Wallace, its segregationist governor. In the 1960s. Wallace welcomed the help of the Klan in preserving order in the state and ensuring that he would not have to bend to the wave of integration, which he felt would sully his state. Civil rights leaders found much of their time spent in the state dedicated to marching and peacefully protesting, though they were met with clubs, bottles, and water cannons. Still, their resolve did not bend and Wallace's invectives were soon diluted, at times with the help of the Oval Office. Out of the fray came one black lawyer, Morris Dees, who worked with the SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center) and could not, in good conscience, let Alabama fall into such an abyss. His smooth writing style and ability to cut to the chase had him a sought after commodity by politicians throughout the South. However, Leamer depicts him as the man who would stop at nothing to bring down the Klan, after seeing all its actions throughout the 1960s and 70s. Returning th narrative to the mid-80s, Leamer discusses that Dees took the opportunity to approach Michael Donald's mother and agreed to take her case to civil court for wrongful death. This was Dees' opportunity to pull all the key figures in the Klan onto the carpet, in an Alabama courtroom, from the lowly men who committed the lynching to the Imperial Wizard of the Klan, Robert Shelton, and the entire United Klans of America. Fighting and taking no prisoners, Dees sought justice for a people as well as a nation, hoping to put the heinous past of segregation, black suppression, and white supremacist violence by the wayside. It was an epic fight, the true David versus Goliath, though its end result was anything but certain. Leamer does a fascinating job at pulling the heartstrings of the reader, even those who did not suffer through the era. His powerful story will resonate in the minds and hearts of anyone courageous enough to take the time and learn how Michael Donald became a lasting symbol of the fight for equality in Alabama.
Leamer does a masterful job of depicting the Klan, the state of racial unrest in Alabama, and the overall sentiment of the movement in a short time. While I have always been looking for an overarching book to explore the roots and depths of the Klan in America, Leamer has surely whet my appetite to learn a little more. I tend to turn towards things about which I know little, in hopes of learning more and being able to adequately represent myself in discussions. The two outer parts of the book flow so well that one might sometimes wonder if these are pieces of historical fiction. It is listed under non-fiction, which supports that the horrors and battles found therein are at least mostly true. The power of his writing and the depths of despair that the reader can find themselves, should they be open to learning, is amazing. The middle section, a true history of hate and the rise of George Wallace, proves even more telling, as Leamer sets the basis of Alabama as a cesspool of hatred, though surely the rhetoric of the times did not help. Does Leamer go too far? I would venture to say no, in that he is trying to illustrate just how poorly things got and how horrible the nightly walks could have been for blacks or those who sympathised with their cause. I was enthralled with the story, the narrative, and the overall rawness of what Leamer had to tell. One can only hope many others will take the time to learn about this before dismissing if any set of lives matter more than others.
Kudos, Mr. Leamer for pulling me in so effectively. I will be sure to find some more of your work in the near future.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Leamer does a masterful job of depicting the Klan, the state of racial unrest in Alabama, and the overall sentiment of the movement in a short time. While I have always been looking for an overarching book to explore the roots and depths of the Klan in America, Leamer has surely whet my appetite to learn a little more. I tend to turn towards things about which I know little, in hopes of learning more and being able to adequately represent myself in discussions. The two outer parts of the book flow so well that one might sometimes wonder if these are pieces of historical fiction. It is listed under non-fiction, which supports that the horrors and battles found therein are at least mostly true. The power of his writing and the depths of despair that the reader can find themselves, should they be open to learning, is amazing. The middle section, a true history of hate and the rise of George Wallace, proves even more telling, as Leamer sets the basis of Alabama as a cesspool of hatred, though surely the rhetoric of the times did not help. Does Leamer go too far? I would venture to say no, in that he is trying to illustrate just how poorly things got and how horrible the nightly walks could have been for blacks or those who sympathised with their cause. I was enthralled with the story, the narrative, and the overall rawness of what Leamer had to tell. One can only hope many others will take the time to learn about this before dismissing if any set of lives matter more than others.
Kudos, Mr. Leamer for pulling me in so effectively. I will be sure to find some more of your work in the near future.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
June 19, 2018
3.5 Stars
Using the lynching of Michael Donald in 1981, The Lynching provides an overview of racism in Alabama in the second half of the 20th century. It’s enraging, appalling, and sadly still relevant to how some issues are being handled today.
Using the lynching of Michael Donald in 1981, The Lynching provides an overview of racism in Alabama in the second half of the 20th century. It’s enraging, appalling, and sadly still relevant to how some issues are being handled today.
April 14, 2018
3.5 This book tells the true story of the 1981 lynching of Michael Donald in Mobile, Alabama and the subsequent pursuit of justice in the criminal and civil court system. The crime committed by two young UKA (United Klans of America) members was conceived by the Mobile Klavern as a response to the failure of a largely black jury to reach a verdict in the murder of a white man by a black man. The night of the verdict the two young men hunted down a random young black man, whose only offense was being at the wrong isolated place at the wrong time. The two Klavern members brutally beat Michael Donald and slit his throat; after killing him, they tied him to a tree using a 13-knot hangman's noose and then burned a cross not far away.
The first 15 chapters offer a gripping account of the murder, arrest, and criminal trial. However, the book subsequently loses its momentum when it takes a roughly 20-chapter historic detour of the KKK's history in the South and of the Civil Rights movement before returning to the civil trial. Certainly some background information would have been appropriate and provided context for the 1981 lynching and later trials, but it could have easily been accomplished in a single chapter, perhaps creating space for a more balanced narrative -- one in which the "white" story (white Southerners struggle to come to terms with changing race relations in their communities) and the "black" story (the victim, his family, and the black community) are given equal weight. Sadly, as it reads now the latter story tends to recede into the background, so that Michael's mother -- the woman who beat the clan, winning a 7 million dollar judgment against it -- hardly figures in this narrative.
The first 15 chapters offer a gripping account of the murder, arrest, and criminal trial. However, the book subsequently loses its momentum when it takes a roughly 20-chapter historic detour of the KKK's history in the South and of the Civil Rights movement before returning to the civil trial. Certainly some background information would have been appropriate and provided context for the 1981 lynching and later trials, but it could have easily been accomplished in a single chapter, perhaps creating space for a more balanced narrative -- one in which the "white" story (white Southerners struggle to come to terms with changing race relations in their communities) and the "black" story (the victim, his family, and the black community) are given equal weight. Sadly, as it reads now the latter story tends to recede into the background, so that Michael's mother -- the woman who beat the clan, winning a 7 million dollar judgment against it -- hardly figures in this narrative.
November 6, 2016
As the title claims, Laurence Leamer’s latest book is a worthwhile recounting of a landmark legal case against the United Klans of America (UKA). But Leamer casts an even wider net. In addition to recounting the events surrounding the murder of nineteen-year-old Michael Donald and the lawsuit that resulted from it, ‘The Lynching’ retells events from the darkest days of the Civil Rights Era. Previous accounts, such as Taylor Branch's magnificent Parting the Waters trilogy may do a better job of recounting these events, but ‘The Lynching’, by focusing on the Klan and its links to links four-term Alabama governor George Wallace, points an accusing finger at the perpetrators of the attacks on freedom riders and the marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Leamer also chronicled the founding of the Southern Poverty Law Center and its growth from a brainchild of its controversial founder to the powerhouse of civil rights litigation that it is today.
My only concern is that, in my opinion, the book focuses too much on SPLC founder Morris Dees, the attorney who decided to use Donald’s murder to sue the Klan. It is essentially a biography of Dees who, while an important part of this story, should not be treated as its subject.
My only concern is that, in my opinion, the book focuses too much on SPLC founder Morris Dees, the attorney who decided to use Donald’s murder to sue the Klan. It is essentially a biography of Dees who, while an important part of this story, should not be treated as its subject.
August 26, 2016
A Must read!
Engrossing, spellbinding, heartfelt are the words that came to mind when I finished this grippingly readable true crime narrative. This book is narrative non-fiction at its best in the same vein as Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America. This time the spotlight is shining on Alabama, specifically Mobile as it looks at two different trials; one trial of a revenge-based killing that lead to a crusade to legally challenge the UKA (United Klans of America – name of the KKK during the Civil Rights era). The lynching referred to in the title refers to the 1981 killing/lynching of a young black man randomly plucked off the streets by two klansmen to retaliate for an almost all-black jury not convicting a black man accused of murdering a white man. Despite the gains of the Civil Rights gains in the 1960s, Mobile was still firmly in the grips of the UKA. One of the strong points of this book is the author effectively writing of the everyday lives of this place in this time – the fear and oppression inflicted by the white supremacist environment leaps off the pages. The second trial is Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ferocious courtroom battles to destroy the UKA.
A very timely informative suspenseful read clocked full of history we need to be reminded of/be informed of to be more knowledgeable of the complex and often uniformed account of race in our past and affecting our current discord.
Engrossing, spellbinding, heartfelt are the words that came to mind when I finished this grippingly readable true crime narrative. This book is narrative non-fiction at its best in the same vein as Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America. This time the spotlight is shining on Alabama, specifically Mobile as it looks at two different trials; one trial of a revenge-based killing that lead to a crusade to legally challenge the UKA (United Klans of America – name of the KKK during the Civil Rights era). The lynching referred to in the title refers to the 1981 killing/lynching of a young black man randomly plucked off the streets by two klansmen to retaliate for an almost all-black jury not convicting a black man accused of murdering a white man. Despite the gains of the Civil Rights gains in the 1960s, Mobile was still firmly in the grips of the UKA. One of the strong points of this book is the author effectively writing of the everyday lives of this place in this time – the fear and oppression inflicted by the white supremacist environment leaps off the pages. The second trial is Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ferocious courtroom battles to destroy the UKA.
A very timely informative suspenseful read clocked full of history we need to be reminded of/be informed of to be more knowledgeable of the complex and often uniformed account of race in our past and affecting our current discord.
June 19, 2017
What a great book, if you want to understand a little bit more about the Civil Rights movement and the impact it had...you should read this book, in 1981 a young black man was lynched , an occurrence that had not happened in a long time and that many people had tough would not happen again, but under the influence of the Klan and its leader 2 young member had done the deed, this book is about the legal case that saw them all the way to federal court and the quest of a young tourney to use the case to destroy the United Klans of America financially, if he was successful it would send the message across the United State that a line had been crossed and that the attitude of some white people in the deep south that had previously been accepted no longer represented the majority of Southerners ...the case had a huge impact for the future of hate groups in America, the case was presented in good detail and the trail was very well introduced in the book. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about a time where racial integration was an issue with could decide wether you lived or die in America.
August 8, 2017
Needs to be required reading in school! You can also check out my review of this book here
October 11, 2018
I have shamed myself into actually coming back and cleaning this up but also, it's been more than a year so take this with that knowledge.
Here is what I remember about this book:
1) It is mis-titled and misleadingly marketed and it does nothing for the book. I came in expecting a book about "The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan" but what I got was a book about a lawyer who, admittedly did work on this case and found the Southern Poverty Law Center, but whose life and work was the real focus of the book.
ALSO, if the case brought down anything it was simply a sad administrative cover, while the hatred and dehumanizing forces of the Klan morphed, mutated, and spread in other directions and other ways. This trial did nothing to defeat the forces that fostered, sheltered, and made possible the presence of the Klan for so long. The scope of the book was too narrow and congratulatory for the realities of our era.
2) It is very unfortunately timed and my reading of it even more so. This book is congratulatory over the "defeat" of racism by modern sensibilities even as racism and nationalism appear to be on the rise in America. Nothing could illustrate this more than the "Where are they now" portion of the book that notes Jeff Sessions was a congressman who seemed to have suffered no long term ill effects form his involvement in the case juxtaposed by his now being elevated to Attorney General of the United States. I'm sure if I had read it this summer when news of the effect of Sessions' policies to separate parents and children seeking asylum it would have smarted even more.
3) It was only o.k. in how it was written. This is really a symptom of the sheer amount of high quality non-fiction I read, but in this golden era of true crime and courtroom dramas (whether they be a podcast, longform journalism, or book) this was passable, but not extraordinary.
I would recommend skipping this book. Listen to In The Dark season 2 instead, the podcast is more interesting, better constructed, and more accurate in its evaluation of the state of our court system anyway.
*Original review preserved below*
I WILL COME BACK AND CLEAN THIS UP
This is where my reading a lot of non-fiction makes me picky. This title and the focus of the book are off. The book wants you to think it's focused on this trial, but it's really more about the lawyer who went after the Klan in a civil case and the founding of the SPLC.
Anyway, more thoughts later.
Here is what I remember about this book:
1) It is mis-titled and misleadingly marketed and it does nothing for the book. I came in expecting a book about "The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan" but what I got was a book about a lawyer who, admittedly did work on this case and found the Southern Poverty Law Center, but whose life and work was the real focus of the book.
ALSO, if the case brought down anything it was simply a sad administrative cover, while the hatred and dehumanizing forces of the Klan morphed, mutated, and spread in other directions and other ways. This trial did nothing to defeat the forces that fostered, sheltered, and made possible the presence of the Klan for so long. The scope of the book was too narrow and congratulatory for the realities of our era.
2) It is very unfortunately timed and my reading of it even more so. This book is congratulatory over the "defeat" of racism by modern sensibilities even as racism and nationalism appear to be on the rise in America. Nothing could illustrate this more than the "Where are they now" portion of the book that notes Jeff Sessions was a congressman who seemed to have suffered no long term ill effects form his involvement in the case juxtaposed by his now being elevated to Attorney General of the United States. I'm sure if I had read it this summer when news of the effect of Sessions' policies to separate parents and children seeking asylum it would have smarted even more.
3) It was only o.k. in how it was written. This is really a symptom of the sheer amount of high quality non-fiction I read, but in this golden era of true crime and courtroom dramas (whether they be a podcast, longform journalism, or book) this was passable, but not extraordinary.
I would recommend skipping this book. Listen to In The Dark season 2 instead, the podcast is more interesting, better constructed, and more accurate in its evaluation of the state of our court system anyway.
*Original review preserved below*
I WILL COME BACK AND CLEAN THIS UP
This is where my reading a lot of non-fiction makes me picky. This title and the focus of the book are off. The book wants you to think it's focused on this trial, but it's really more about the lawyer who went after the Klan in a civil case and the founding of the SPLC.
Anyway, more thoughts later.
April 18, 2020
Lynching is, without doubt, a hate crime - always. The fury of the mob is brought to bear down on an individual: but at some point of time, he ceases to be a human being, but just a symbol for all that the lynchers hate. Which is why it is almost always the crime of choice for religious and racist bigots.
I decided to read this book for two reasons. One: I am interested in the white supremacist philosophy which seems to be on the rise again in the West, especially in the USA. Two: Lynchings have increased tremendously in India; and almost always, Muslims have been at the receiving end and the perpetrators, Hindu extremists. By understanding history, even if one is unable to stop from repeating itself, one can at least discern some patterns and be prepared.
The book is the story of the lynching of nineteen-year-old Michael Donald by the Klansmen Henry Hays and James "Tiger" Knowles, in the town of Mobile in racist Alabama. The lynching was done as a symbolic act of protest against the release of a black man, facing trial for shooting a policeman. For the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama, this was a war cry - and retaliation was required to put the "niggers" back in their place. Donald had the misfortune to become that scapegoat.
Even though these two young men had carried out the crime, the real driving force behind it was Henry's father, Bennie, a hate-filled man typical of the Klan. He was the Great Titan, the highest-ranking officer of the UKA (United Klans of America) in the southern half of Alabama. Young Henry had always been terrified of his father, and this killing was one way he was trying to get his approbation. The murder, therefore, was the responsibility of the whole of the Klan: and they celebrated it by installing a "burning cross", the Klan's trademark calling card, on the lawns of the Mobile courthouse.
As was usual in Alabama in those days, with almost all the policemen siding with the Klan, the killers got away scot-free initially. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas H. Figures and his younger brother, Michael Figures pushed the case up to Federal level; and as luck would have it, it landed in the lap of Civil Rights Division's attorney Barry Kowalski, a just and upright man, who could immediately see that the Klan was guilty. He along with FBI special agent James Bodman, succeeded in getting Knowles to betray Hays by twisting the screws on him on another case. Henry Hays got the death penalty, and Knowles got off with a lighter sentence.
The story might have ended there had not Morris Seligman Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) had not come for the hearing. Dees was on a crusade against the Klan, and he sensed the perfect opportunity here to put the organisation in the dock. He got Michael Donald's mother to file a civil case against various members of the Klan including the top guy, the Imperial Wizard of the UKA, Robert Shelton and Bennie Hays. Against all odds and predictions, Dees went on to win the case, impose huge damages on the Klan, which the author says effectively killed the organisation.
***
The story is exciting - but the structure of the book is a mess. It is in three parts. The first part talks about the murder trial; the last part talks about the civil trial against the Klan. But the middle portion, the biggest one is a long digression into the development of Morris Dees as an unlikely champion of civil rights, and the bloody history of the civil rights movement in America: especially the racist Alabama. Interesting by itself, this part drags the pace of the book down, however.
But as a guide to how sectarian hate can simmer within a society so that all arms of the government - the legislative, the executive and even the judiciary - can conspire to dehumanise a people and deny even the bare minimum of justice to them, this section was a real eye-opener. When Martin Luther King began his movement, it was he and a group of like-minded people against the might of the state. Civil rights was only there on paper. Justice for African-Americans - even in the imperfect form we have it today - was won through the effort a determined group of right-minded individuals. And it was a long and bloody fight.
And it goes on.
***
Coming to India, I can see frightening parallels. Muslims here are seen by many Hindus as one-time oppressors: their latent Islamophobia is fed by fictitious tales of Muslim atrocities by Hindu right-wingers (the same way the canards about black men raping white women were percolated in American society). Lynching has become quite common in the northern states of India - where Muslims are seen as cow-smugglers, taking these sacred animals to slaughter. Most lynchings go unpunished, as police are hand-in-glove with the perpetrators, the same way the American police used to turn a blind eye to the clan atrocities. And frighteningly, unlike the USA where things have improved steadily, India seems to be on the downhill path.
Lynchings are not confined to inter-religious disputes. Among Hindus themselves, caste is also an impetus. The lowest on India's caste hierarchy, the Dalits, are still considered untouchable by other Hindus and ostracised - even though untouchability is outlawed. Regular lynchings take place when they "forget their place in society" and try to live with dignity. Dalits have been murdered for riding horses and growing moustaches!
It will require a huge effort by civil society to bring India out of this morass, if the example of the US is anything to go by!
I decided to read this book for two reasons. One: I am interested in the white supremacist philosophy which seems to be on the rise again in the West, especially in the USA. Two: Lynchings have increased tremendously in India; and almost always, Muslims have been at the receiving end and the perpetrators, Hindu extremists. By understanding history, even if one is unable to stop from repeating itself, one can at least discern some patterns and be prepared.
The book is the story of the lynching of nineteen-year-old Michael Donald by the Klansmen Henry Hays and James "Tiger" Knowles, in the town of Mobile in racist Alabama. The lynching was done as a symbolic act of protest against the release of a black man, facing trial for shooting a policeman. For the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama, this was a war cry - and retaliation was required to put the "niggers" back in their place. Donald had the misfortune to become that scapegoat.
Even though these two young men had carried out the crime, the real driving force behind it was Henry's father, Bennie, a hate-filled man typical of the Klan. He was the Great Titan, the highest-ranking officer of the UKA (United Klans of America) in the southern half of Alabama. Young Henry had always been terrified of his father, and this killing was one way he was trying to get his approbation. The murder, therefore, was the responsibility of the whole of the Klan: and they celebrated it by installing a "burning cross", the Klan's trademark calling card, on the lawns of the Mobile courthouse.
As was usual in Alabama in those days, with almost all the policemen siding with the Klan, the killers got away scot-free initially. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas H. Figures and his younger brother, Michael Figures pushed the case up to Federal level; and as luck would have it, it landed in the lap of Civil Rights Division's attorney Barry Kowalski, a just and upright man, who could immediately see that the Klan was guilty. He along with FBI special agent James Bodman, succeeded in getting Knowles to betray Hays by twisting the screws on him on another case. Henry Hays got the death penalty, and Knowles got off with a lighter sentence.
The story might have ended there had not Morris Seligman Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) had not come for the hearing. Dees was on a crusade against the Klan, and he sensed the perfect opportunity here to put the organisation in the dock. He got Michael Donald's mother to file a civil case against various members of the Klan including the top guy, the Imperial Wizard of the UKA, Robert Shelton and Bennie Hays. Against all odds and predictions, Dees went on to win the case, impose huge damages on the Klan, which the author says effectively killed the organisation.
***
The story is exciting - but the structure of the book is a mess. It is in three parts. The first part talks about the murder trial; the last part talks about the civil trial against the Klan. But the middle portion, the biggest one is a long digression into the development of Morris Dees as an unlikely champion of civil rights, and the bloody history of the civil rights movement in America: especially the racist Alabama. Interesting by itself, this part drags the pace of the book down, however.
But as a guide to how sectarian hate can simmer within a society so that all arms of the government - the legislative, the executive and even the judiciary - can conspire to dehumanise a people and deny even the bare minimum of justice to them, this section was a real eye-opener. When Martin Luther King began his movement, it was he and a group of like-minded people against the might of the state. Civil rights was only there on paper. Justice for African-Americans - even in the imperfect form we have it today - was won through the effort a determined group of right-minded individuals. And it was a long and bloody fight.
And it goes on.
***
Coming to India, I can see frightening parallels. Muslims here are seen by many Hindus as one-time oppressors: their latent Islamophobia is fed by fictitious tales of Muslim atrocities by Hindu right-wingers (the same way the canards about black men raping white women were percolated in American society). Lynching has become quite common in the northern states of India - where Muslims are seen as cow-smugglers, taking these sacred animals to slaughter. Most lynchings go unpunished, as police are hand-in-glove with the perpetrators, the same way the American police used to turn a blind eye to the clan atrocities. And frighteningly, unlike the USA where things have improved steadily, India seems to be on the downhill path.
Lynchings are not confined to inter-religious disputes. Among Hindus themselves, caste is also an impetus. The lowest on India's caste hierarchy, the Dalits, are still considered untouchable by other Hindus and ostracised - even though untouchability is outlawed. Regular lynchings take place when they "forget their place in society" and try to live with dignity. Dalits have been murdered for riding horses and growing moustaches!
It will require a huge effort by civil society to bring India out of this morass, if the example of the US is anything to go by!
January 25, 2022
This was a really good read. While at times I felt that not enough information was presented regarding Michael as a person, I do understand that this book was meant to focus mainly on the crime and the long process that was required to get some kind of justice.
What it did present was the criminals, the environment that contributed to allowing the Klan and it’s ideals to thrive, and the somewhat unlikely lawyer that went after the Klan.
One slight problem I felt was that this book could have almost double as a memoir for Morris Dees, the founder of the SPLC. It’s recounted decent parts of his life, his actions in and out of the courtroom and the role he played within the civil rights movement. While some of the information was about Dees was necessary to move along the story, I feel most of it was a bit much.
Another part I did like was the extended information provided about the Klan, the members, and the reasoning each had to so easily and willfully commit murder.
Overall, really good read and I’m sure those who don’t delve into these types of books will learn something new.
What it did present was the criminals, the environment that contributed to allowing the Klan and it’s ideals to thrive, and the somewhat unlikely lawyer that went after the Klan.
One slight problem I felt was that this book could have almost double as a memoir for Morris Dees, the founder of the SPLC. It’s recounted decent parts of his life, his actions in and out of the courtroom and the role he played within the civil rights movement. While some of the information was about Dees was necessary to move along the story, I feel most of it was a bit much.
Another part I did like was the extended information provided about the Klan, the members, and the reasoning each had to so easily and willfully commit murder.
Overall, really good read and I’m sure those who don’t delve into these types of books will learn something new.
June 10, 2016
The Lynching was not what I expected, which was a longer and possibly sensational court trial. Instead, it is a very readable history of the civil rights movement in Alabama. Yes, it reports the murder of an African-American teen in Mobile in the 1980's and how justice was finally accomplished and how that led to the demise of the Klan. It does so much more than that because it recounts the fear the white supremacists caused and the struggles of the movement in the 1960's, thus putting the murder in context. The reader can learn about George Wallace, Morris Dees, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the UKA, and more. Parts of this book reminded me of today's political environment. It may shed some light on the appeal of a certain kind of political machinations.
I would hope that those whose knowledge of this part of U.S. history is vague would turn to this book as a good way to become better informed. As racial tension still is with us, we owe it to our country and to each other to be well-informed about what has gone before us. This book is a rather painless way to learn for the book holds the reader's attention. The audio version is well narrated. I recommend it.
I would hope that those whose knowledge of this part of U.S. history is vague would turn to this book as a good way to become better informed. As racial tension still is with us, we owe it to our country and to each other to be well-informed about what has gone before us. This book is a rather painless way to learn for the book holds the reader's attention. The audio version is well narrated. I recommend it.
October 20, 2025
Very interesting historical account. The lead prosecutor Dees became a founding member of the Southern Poverty Law Center. mtc
4+ Stars
Listened to the audiobook. Malcolm Hillgartner was excellent!
4+ Stars
Listened to the audiobook. Malcolm Hillgartner was excellent!
June 3, 2016
Clever Legal Strategy - but Will it Work?
THE LYNCHING is a fascinating story of a determined lawyer bankrupting the Klan. This book is not actually about the criminal trial; rather, it's how attorney Morris Dees used a novel legal approach in a CIVIL trial to completely destroy the organization: "Dees hoped the amount would be so large that it would dramatically announce that the Klan could no longer commit violent acts against black people." As a side benefit of the civil trial, further criminal charges were later filed.
The terrible story begins in 1981, with the beating/strangulation, then lynching of an innocent young black man, Michael Donald. Klan members Henry Hays and James Knowles were looking for someone black--almost anyone--to use as an example. After the two young ne'er do wells committed the dead, they publicly displayed the body as a horrific example: They "knew the body had to hang high up so everyone could see it."
The two men were convicted, but Dees wanted to go beyond just convicting these two--he wanted to topple the entire Clan organization that had encouraged the violence: "Dees was convinced that the UKA could be sued directly for its role in the murder." In this case, the Klan was officially the "United Klans of America."
The ensuing civil trial, which set a powerful legal precedent, is officially known as, "Beulah Mae Donald, as Executor of the Estate of Michael Donald, Deceased v. United Klans of America." The trial tested an important concept: Can an organization be held accountable for criminal acts of its members? To succeed at court, Dees would have to cross several legal hurdles. For one thing, "Dees would have to show a pattern of violence involving the United Klans of America. In other words, he had to show a PATTERN of violence "instigated by prominent officials in the hierarchy."
So that's what Dees argued in the trial. He persuaded the jury that the Clan didn't merely dislike black people--it was a lot more than that: “We have a piece of evidence, I think, that’s going to convince you that this national organization did more than just espouse a racial philosophy; they actually encouraged their members to kill and lynch black people.”
Dees' opponents in the trial argued persuasively that one couldn't hold an organization responsible for just THINKING certain things. That's not the way the system is supposed to work, they told the jury: "In this country we don’t punish organizations. We don’t punish thought. It would be bad if we did.” With these two different theories of the law, it was not obvious how the trail would end.
In an astonishing turn, one of the defendants--one of the original two murderers--appealed to the jury during final arguments. A repentant Knowles pleaded for the jury to find against himself! And also make the Klan responsible: "Whatever judgment you decide, I do hope you decide a judgment against me and everyone else involved. Because you people need to understand this can’t happen. I do hope that you find a judgment against me and everyone involved. Because we are guilty.”
Knowles also publicly apologized to the mother of the slain man: "If could trade places with him, I would." Amazingly, Mrs. Donald graciously accepted Knowles plea: “I forgive you. From the day I found out who you all was, I asked God to take care of y’all, and He has.”
The trial came to a close on Thursday, February 12, 1987. The jury awarded plaintiff’s damages of seven million dollars. Of course, this award financially wiped out the organization--the Klan had nowhere near that sum. More than that, however, this trial set a precedent for legal strategy against other hate groups. This same strategy was "used by SPLC lawyers to cripple and destroy a dozen racist organizations, from the White Aryan Resistance in 1990 to the Imperial Klans of America in 2008."
All in all, I found THE LYNCHING to be an insightful look back into a dark era in American history. The events described here are a sad, but important part of our history. The outcome of this trial figured prominently in future cases against hate groups. I was not aware of the legal strategy used against the Klan by Mr. Dees.
Advance Review Copy courtesy of Edelweiss Book Distributors
THE LYNCHING is a fascinating story of a determined lawyer bankrupting the Klan. This book is not actually about the criminal trial; rather, it's how attorney Morris Dees used a novel legal approach in a CIVIL trial to completely destroy the organization: "Dees hoped the amount would be so large that it would dramatically announce that the Klan could no longer commit violent acts against black people." As a side benefit of the civil trial, further criminal charges were later filed.
The terrible story begins in 1981, with the beating/strangulation, then lynching of an innocent young black man, Michael Donald. Klan members Henry Hays and James Knowles were looking for someone black--almost anyone--to use as an example. After the two young ne'er do wells committed the dead, they publicly displayed the body as a horrific example: They "knew the body had to hang high up so everyone could see it."
The two men were convicted, but Dees wanted to go beyond just convicting these two--he wanted to topple the entire Clan organization that had encouraged the violence: "Dees was convinced that the UKA could be sued directly for its role in the murder." In this case, the Klan was officially the "United Klans of America."
The ensuing civil trial, which set a powerful legal precedent, is officially known as, "Beulah Mae Donald, as Executor of the Estate of Michael Donald, Deceased v. United Klans of America." The trial tested an important concept: Can an organization be held accountable for criminal acts of its members? To succeed at court, Dees would have to cross several legal hurdles. For one thing, "Dees would have to show a pattern of violence involving the United Klans of America. In other words, he had to show a PATTERN of violence "instigated by prominent officials in the hierarchy."
So that's what Dees argued in the trial. He persuaded the jury that the Clan didn't merely dislike black people--it was a lot more than that: “We have a piece of evidence, I think, that’s going to convince you that this national organization did more than just espouse a racial philosophy; they actually encouraged their members to kill and lynch black people.”
Dees' opponents in the trial argued persuasively that one couldn't hold an organization responsible for just THINKING certain things. That's not the way the system is supposed to work, they told the jury: "In this country we don’t punish organizations. We don’t punish thought. It would be bad if we did.” With these two different theories of the law, it was not obvious how the trail would end.
In an astonishing turn, one of the defendants--one of the original two murderers--appealed to the jury during final arguments. A repentant Knowles pleaded for the jury to find against himself! And also make the Klan responsible: "Whatever judgment you decide, I do hope you decide a judgment against me and everyone else involved. Because you people need to understand this can’t happen. I do hope that you find a judgment against me and everyone involved. Because we are guilty.”
Knowles also publicly apologized to the mother of the slain man: "If could trade places with him, I would." Amazingly, Mrs. Donald graciously accepted Knowles plea: “I forgive you. From the day I found out who you all was, I asked God to take care of y’all, and He has.”
The trial came to a close on Thursday, February 12, 1987. The jury awarded plaintiff’s damages of seven million dollars. Of course, this award financially wiped out the organization--the Klan had nowhere near that sum. More than that, however, this trial set a precedent for legal strategy against other hate groups. This same strategy was "used by SPLC lawyers to cripple and destroy a dozen racist organizations, from the White Aryan Resistance in 1990 to the Imperial Klans of America in 2008."
All in all, I found THE LYNCHING to be an insightful look back into a dark era in American history. The events described here are a sad, but important part of our history. The outcome of this trial figured prominently in future cases against hate groups. I was not aware of the legal strategy used against the Klan by Mr. Dees.
Advance Review Copy courtesy of Edelweiss Book Distributors
April 20, 2021
In 1981, 19 year old Michael Donald was lynched by 2 members of the local Klan in Mobile, AL. The 2 men who did it were tried and convicted, one sentenced to death (later executed) and the other who testified to 25 to life in a federal prison. After those convictions, Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a civil suit on behalf of Michael Donald's mother against the UKA (United Klans of America) in an attempt to prove criminal conspiracy leading to bankrupting the organization as a whole. Dees and the SPLC won the case with a huge verdict and set precedent that has been used to bankrupt several other hate groups around the US.
I'm giving this 5 stars for the meticulous research. The details Laurence Leamer manages to include in this story are astounding. That doesn't mean I don't see some of the problems. Told in 3 parts: We get the details on the lynching and convictions in part 1, a broad history of racism and the KKK during the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama focusing primarily on the white participants from George Wallace to Morris Dees in part 2, and then part 3 details the civil case. While horrific, Michael Donald, his mother, and the rest of his family are more of an opening scene, then an afterthought to the bigger focus of this book which is Dees, the SPLC, and the civil case. I understand the focus of the book, but felt it would have been strengthened with a greater inclusion of black voices and experiences.
I'm giving this 5 stars for the meticulous research. The details Laurence Leamer manages to include in this story are astounding. That doesn't mean I don't see some of the problems. Told in 3 parts: We get the details on the lynching and convictions in part 1, a broad history of racism and the KKK during the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama focusing primarily on the white participants from George Wallace to Morris Dees in part 2, and then part 3 details the civil case. While horrific, Michael Donald, his mother, and the rest of his family are more of an opening scene, then an afterthought to the bigger focus of this book which is Dees, the SPLC, and the civil case. I understand the focus of the book, but felt it would have been strengthened with a greater inclusion of black voices and experiences.
August 31, 2016
This is a powerful book about a lynching in Mobile, Alabama that took place in 1981 and the trial that linked this crime to the United Klans of America. It is also the story of Morris Dees who evolved from being a supporter of George Wallace to founding the Southern Poverty Law Center and who successfully prosecuted the case as a civil suit.
The beginning of the book that covers the actual crime is especially powerful. On the one hand, the Klan, the peope who are members and it's "secret rituals" with Imperial Wizards, Klaverns, Klegals, Grand Cyclopse and Klokans are laughable because they are so ignorant, but on the other, their amoral violence that was tolerated by the ruling elites of Southern society (even as those elites looked down on Klan members as "white trash.") as a way to enforce Southern apartheid is especially disturbing.
One has to admire Morris Dees who, after an epiphany and turned his back on racial politics and the society they supported, did not care about being ostracized in Mobile, shunned by his family, or receiving death threats from right wing groups across the country.
In a year when political campaigns are exploiting people's worst racial fears, this is an important book to read.
The beginning of the book that covers the actual crime is especially powerful. On the one hand, the Klan, the peope who are members and it's "secret rituals" with Imperial Wizards, Klaverns, Klegals, Grand Cyclopse and Klokans are laughable because they are so ignorant, but on the other, their amoral violence that was tolerated by the ruling elites of Southern society (even as those elites looked down on Klan members as "white trash.") as a way to enforce Southern apartheid is especially disturbing.
One has to admire Morris Dees who, after an epiphany and turned his back on racial politics and the society they supported, did not care about being ostracized in Mobile, shunned by his family, or receiving death threats from right wing groups across the country.
In a year when political campaigns are exploiting people's worst racial fears, this is an important book to read.
July 5, 2016
Such an awful crime and the fact that it happened so 'relatively recently' was very hard for me when I first learned about it while living in Mobile, AL. A faculty member at my prior institution is quoted and had worked on the Nightline discussion of the case and some of the commemorative activities depicted in 2006 photographs were things I followed. That didn't save the fact that this book is just terribly written and edited: clearly the author wasn't sure whose story he really wanted to tell, so he settled for Morris Dees. And one could really not care any less about who he was sleeping with during the SPLC's takedown of the Klan. He doesn't understand the criminal justice system OR the civil justice system very well and he's abysmal at details. Michael Donald and Buelah Donald deserved far better. May they rest in peace. And, photo alert, you really don't need to see the first one used mid book.
October 24, 2017
The Lynching is a prime example of how not to write a book. Leamer tells you everything, but fails to show you anything: Show me, don’t tell me!
good luck
good luck
October 9, 2017
On March 21, 1981 two members of the KKK took to the streets of Mobile, Alabama in search of a Black man to kill in retaliation for an all black jury acquiting a black man accused of killing a white police officer. They found 19 year old Michael Donald who had briefly left the home of his sister to get her a pack of cigarettes. After abducting him at gunpoint, he was taking to the woods, murdered, and crudely attached to a tree in the centre of town in what would be the last documented lynching in the United States.
That is the backdrop for Laurence Leamer’s “The Lynching” but this horrible event is really just the backdrop for the subsequent trial in which the KKK and decades of racial violence is on trial. Leamer provides an excellent look back at the civil rights movement in Alabama, George Wallace, and the systemic and organised brutality of the KKK under its leader Robert Shelton. The book also goes in to detail about the founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Morris Dees. Dees was and remains a flamboyant and controversial figure to many but there is little doubt that he showed incredible intellect and skill, as well as courage in going after the KKK and substantially weakening it. There is even a brief cameo by Jeff Sessions as the US assistant general for Southern Alabama in which he calls one of his African American attorneys “boy”. Seeing Sessions appear suddenly like that I have to admit really surprised me even though I had known he was an attorney in Alabama.
It made me think that just as a lynching in 1981 seemed inconceivable to people then, and racial violence seems shocking to us today in 2017, the past is never really ever the past. Often the people who perpetrated the deeds from the past or their direct descendants continue breathe the same air as us. More importantly, as this book illustrates, their ideas live on, making vigilance on the side of tolerance and justice critical. Without vigilance we are forever just lamenting tragedies like the murder of James Donald without ever addressing the root causes of what makes them possible.
That is the backdrop for Laurence Leamer’s “The Lynching” but this horrible event is really just the backdrop for the subsequent trial in which the KKK and decades of racial violence is on trial. Leamer provides an excellent look back at the civil rights movement in Alabama, George Wallace, and the systemic and organised brutality of the KKK under its leader Robert Shelton. The book also goes in to detail about the founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Morris Dees. Dees was and remains a flamboyant and controversial figure to many but there is little doubt that he showed incredible intellect and skill, as well as courage in going after the KKK and substantially weakening it. There is even a brief cameo by Jeff Sessions as the US assistant general for Southern Alabama in which he calls one of his African American attorneys “boy”. Seeing Sessions appear suddenly like that I have to admit really surprised me even though I had known he was an attorney in Alabama.
It made me think that just as a lynching in 1981 seemed inconceivable to people then, and racial violence seems shocking to us today in 2017, the past is never really ever the past. Often the people who perpetrated the deeds from the past or their direct descendants continue breathe the same air as us. More importantly, as this book illustrates, their ideas live on, making vigilance on the side of tolerance and justice critical. Without vigilance we are forever just lamenting tragedies like the murder of James Donald without ever addressing the root causes of what makes them possible.
April 14, 2017
Incredibly detailed and meticulously researched book that contextualized the "last lynching" of Michael Donald in 1981 In Mobile, Alabama. This book was thoughtful and engaging all the way through.
October 13, 2021
This is the kind of book that helps you fill in the empty spaces of the ignorance you didn't know you had. If the description of George Wallace doesn't remind you of anyone in recent history, you may not find much to discuss with anyone.
April 24, 2018
WOW! This book blew me away! I was constantly wanting to go back to the great writing and the absolute rightness that this story be told!
March 23, 2022
3.5 stars. Unfortunately this one didn’t really focus on what I was hoping it would. At its heart, this is more of a biography of the lead prosecutor, which wasn’t really what I was looking for.
March 15, 2017
I went to law school so the words "Epic Courtroom Battle" were sure to catch my eye. And since I went to law school I am aware that there is such a thing as the Southern Poverty Law Center. And I live in America and am aware that lynching was a terrible crime against people of color, mostly in the American South, during the civil rights movement and before. So the most shocking thing in reading this book, was the fact that the lynching in question, the lynching that launched the epic courtroom battle mentioned, happened in Mobile, Alabama in 1981.
Yep, 1981. I was actually alive that year and while I don't remember it at all, it's shocking and heartbreaking and maddening that a lynching happened in America in my lifetime. Michael Donald was 19 years old when he had the misfortune of walking down the street in Alabama by himself at night, where he was approached by Tiger Knowles and Henry Hayes. He was beaten, choked, and had his throat slashed before he was thrown in the trunk of a car, driven to Mobile, and hung from a tree.
That Knowles and Hayes were KKK members shouldn't be surprising. And that Mobile authorities did little to investigate and solve the crime shouldn't be surprising either. Leamer's tale takes us up through the end of Knowles and Hayes' criminal trials. Trials which would not have happened without Michael Figures and other members of the federal Department of Justice. Then Morris Dees, chief trial attorney of the Southern Poverty Law Center, gets wind of the case and knows he is going to use the lynching to bring down the United Klans of America (UKA) and its leader Robert Shelton.
Dees, it seems, knows racists from experience. Growing up in Alabama, Dees attended U of A and worked on George Wallace's gubernatorial campaign in college. Although Dees would graduate from law school, he focused his work on a mail order publishing business he started with a partner in college. After both finding they were unfulfilled with the business world, Dees and Fuller sell off their company and go their separate ways. Dees goes on to found the SPLC and Fuller begins Habitat for Humanity.
Dees evolution into a crusader against the UKA was a gradual process and by the time the civil trial starts, he's been trying and winning civil rights cases for some time. He definitely marches to his own drummer and does things his own way, but Dees had a singular purpose in this case, and that was to bring down the UKA in such a way that could be used in the future against other violent hate groups.
The best parts of the book, to me, were the background information regarding the civil rights movement and the campaigns of George Wallace. The courtroom battle fell a little short of "epic" to me, but Leamer is not an attorney himself and since most of the defendants were representing themselves, I doubt they produced many quotable arguments.
I picked up this book as my non-fiction selection for Black History Month. I may not have finished it in February, but I'm glad I read it.
Yep, 1981. I was actually alive that year and while I don't remember it at all, it's shocking and heartbreaking and maddening that a lynching happened in America in my lifetime. Michael Donald was 19 years old when he had the misfortune of walking down the street in Alabama by himself at night, where he was approached by Tiger Knowles and Henry Hayes. He was beaten, choked, and had his throat slashed before he was thrown in the trunk of a car, driven to Mobile, and hung from a tree.
That Knowles and Hayes were KKK members shouldn't be surprising. And that Mobile authorities did little to investigate and solve the crime shouldn't be surprising either. Leamer's tale takes us up through the end of Knowles and Hayes' criminal trials. Trials which would not have happened without Michael Figures and other members of the federal Department of Justice. Then Morris Dees, chief trial attorney of the Southern Poverty Law Center, gets wind of the case and knows he is going to use the lynching to bring down the United Klans of America (UKA) and its leader Robert Shelton.
Dees, it seems, knows racists from experience. Growing up in Alabama, Dees attended U of A and worked on George Wallace's gubernatorial campaign in college. Although Dees would graduate from law school, he focused his work on a mail order publishing business he started with a partner in college. After both finding they were unfulfilled with the business world, Dees and Fuller sell off their company and go their separate ways. Dees goes on to found the SPLC and Fuller begins Habitat for Humanity.
Dees evolution into a crusader against the UKA was a gradual process and by the time the civil trial starts, he's been trying and winning civil rights cases for some time. He definitely marches to his own drummer and does things his own way, but Dees had a singular purpose in this case, and that was to bring down the UKA in such a way that could be used in the future against other violent hate groups.
The best parts of the book, to me, were the background information regarding the civil rights movement and the campaigns of George Wallace. The courtroom battle fell a little short of "epic" to me, but Leamer is not an attorney himself and since most of the defendants were representing themselves, I doubt they produced many quotable arguments.
I picked up this book as my non-fiction selection for Black History Month. I may not have finished it in February, but I'm glad I read it.
September 28, 2016
I love this book. I learned so very much!
April 19, 2021
I'm updating so this shows up on my feed. Documentary film streaming Sunday nights and on demand on CNN called The People v. the Klan is based on Mobile, AL trial of KKK members and civil suit of Klan for 1981 lynching of Michael Donald, a young black man who just went for a pack of cigarettes.
I've read other reviews of this book. Maybe I was a bit harsh. I did recommend book should be read by all.
The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan by Laurence Leamer. Right there in the title-Epic. It's not. I was looking forward to a tight, crisp, and suspense filled story. It was not told that way by Leamer. He's written a lot of books so, I'd need to see if he's just getting sloppy. The story of the murder, the investigation, and subsequent trials, just didn't pull me in. He doesn't do the story justice, IMO. I was interested, and kept reading nonetheless. Morris Dees, the attorney in the civil suit against the Klan is a colorful character, almost fearless, and, he started up The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has done much to fight for rights of poor and victims of discrimination. He has come under a lot of criticism from his enemies, but, as stated many times, Dees doesn't care what anybody thinks of him. There is a lot of mud slung his way and harsh scrutiny of how he runs his Center. As a matter of fact, Google him, and you'll find only negative other than his own website.
Very interesting story on history of Klan in Alabama from post WWII up to 1981 trial that "brought down the Klan." Very interesting history of SPLC and Mr. Dees. Could have been much better. That's all I'm sayin'.
Recommend everyone and anyone read this book.
I've read other reviews of this book. Maybe I was a bit harsh. I did recommend book should be read by all.
The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan by Laurence Leamer. Right there in the title-Epic. It's not. I was looking forward to a tight, crisp, and suspense filled story. It was not told that way by Leamer. He's written a lot of books so, I'd need to see if he's just getting sloppy. The story of the murder, the investigation, and subsequent trials, just didn't pull me in. He doesn't do the story justice, IMO. I was interested, and kept reading nonetheless. Morris Dees, the attorney in the civil suit against the Klan is a colorful character, almost fearless, and, he started up The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has done much to fight for rights of poor and victims of discrimination. He has come under a lot of criticism from his enemies, but, as stated many times, Dees doesn't care what anybody thinks of him. There is a lot of mud slung his way and harsh scrutiny of how he runs his Center. As a matter of fact, Google him, and you'll find only negative other than his own website.
Very interesting story on history of Klan in Alabama from post WWII up to 1981 trial that "brought down the Klan." Very interesting history of SPLC and Mr. Dees. Could have been much better. That's all I'm sayin'.
Recommend everyone and anyone read this book.
September 3, 2017
The Lynching:The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down The Klan by Laurence Leamer jumped out at me when I picked out audio book. Why didn't I remember this event? I thought back I was working plenty of overtime during the trial. Being so tired, I did not listen to the news, I just went right to bed. This subject is topical because of the resurgence of the Neo-Nazis and the Klan.
Michael Donald, a nineteen year old black man was killed by two Klansman in Mobile, Alabama. He was unarmed, had nothing to defend himself. He did nothing to provoke them. They picked him out to kill totally at random. The Klansman were trying to get recognition with the local Klan. This senseless killing. They beat him until he could not move, slit his throat and then hung him up so it killing looked like a lynching.
The story focuses on the two men who did the killing, the attorneys and George Wallace. I recalled interviews with him in the past, all his failed runs for president and his terms as governor. There were details that I did not know like George Wallace insisted that she run for governor of Alabama when he could not. He and her doctor kept the diagnosis of cancer from her and later it came back and she died in office. There are lots of details about George Wallace that I was not aware of.
More importantly was the tremendous amount of research that the author covered in the re-telling of the events and the trial. There were some places that could have been edited more but overall it is a dramatic retelling of an important trial. The judgment and publicity deal a giant blow to the Klan. However, it is not over, there have been changes but the organization still persists.
Michael Donald, a nineteen year old black man was killed by two Klansman in Mobile, Alabama. He was unarmed, had nothing to defend himself. He did nothing to provoke them. They picked him out to kill totally at random. The Klansman were trying to get recognition with the local Klan. This senseless killing. They beat him until he could not move, slit his throat and then hung him up so it killing looked like a lynching.
The story focuses on the two men who did the killing, the attorneys and George Wallace. I recalled interviews with him in the past, all his failed runs for president and his terms as governor. There were details that I did not know like George Wallace insisted that she run for governor of Alabama when he could not. He and her doctor kept the diagnosis of cancer from her and later it came back and she died in office. There are lots of details about George Wallace that I was not aware of.
More importantly was the tremendous amount of research that the author covered in the re-telling of the events and the trial. There were some places that could have been edited more but overall it is a dramatic retelling of an important trial. The judgment and publicity deal a giant blow to the Klan. However, it is not over, there have been changes but the organization still persists.
September 30, 2017
In this easy read, Leamer draws some pretty unsettling connections between 1960s-80s actors and some of today's most infamous figures. For the most part, it's compelling. His Governor Wallace in particular seems to embody a certain too-familiar modern day demagogue. Morris Dees is a charming maverick from humble beginnings who gives up a lucrative business career to pursue justice for the disenfranchised.
The characterization of Dees left me feeling a bit icky. I know this book is supposed to be about the trial, but Leamer portrays the SPLC founder as some sort of reluctant hero-bad boy Han Solo character while Michael Donald only features as a catalyst. He literally gets less than one page's worth of development in a 317 page book that uses his name four times in its dust jacket blurb. It's what some might deem "problematic". Also, Leamer seems to have a soft spot for Jeff Sessions, which...whatever.
Everything else aside, though, I did learn a bit about the UKA in Alabama and the founding of the SPLC.
The characterization of Dees left me feeling a bit icky. I know this book is supposed to be about the trial, but Leamer portrays the SPLC founder as some sort of reluctant hero-bad boy Han Solo character while Michael Donald only features as a catalyst. He literally gets less than one page's worth of development in a 317 page book that uses his name four times in its dust jacket blurb. It's what some might deem "problematic". Also, Leamer seems to have a soft spot for Jeff Sessions, which...whatever.
Everything else aside, though, I did learn a bit about the UKA in Alabama and the founding of the SPLC.
August 15, 2016
A chilling look at racial segregation in the early 1980s, beginning with the Klan’s lynching of nineteen-year-old Michael Dodds in Mobile, Alabama. Not for the feint of heart, whether for the cruel, horrific violence or the disgusted, repulsive feeling of reading about the actions of Governor George Wallace, the Klu Klux Klan, the complicity of state and local police, and the apathy of white citizens and how they handled federally-mandated integration. It’s a well-written story about Lawyer Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and their years-long fight to seek justice, holding responsible those who murdered young Michael Dodds and bringing an end to the Klu Klux Klan.
December 17, 2020
It took me awhile to read this. Not for any fault of the book. Simply because I wanted to be able to give it the attention I felt it deserved. I wanted to give it 5 stars. However, the extensive background history of the lawyer, Morris Dees, as well as that of Robert Shelton, took a bit away from what was the main story: The horrible lynching of Michael Donald. Instead of half the book being devoted to the aforementioned history, I would have liked more to be focused on the crime and the trials themselves. Otherwise, this was a great book about a tragedy that should not have happened. Unfortunately, with current times, it does not appear society has learned much.
March 5, 2021
**3.5 Stars**
I am torn about this book. While it is an important story that needs to be told, I didn't like the way the book was laid out. Part 1 starts with the heinous crime against Michael Donald. Then in Part 2, the book turns into a history of racism in Alabama. While I admire the time & research put into this section, alas Michael Donald's story comes to a grinding halt. By the time you get to Part 3, you have forgotten who's who & the story becomes diluted & disjointed . If I had to do it all over again, I would skip Part 2 & read Parts 1 & 3 to get the full story of Michael Donald & his brave mother Beulah Mae.
I am torn about this book. While it is an important story that needs to be told, I didn't like the way the book was laid out. Part 1 starts with the heinous crime against Michael Donald. Then in Part 2, the book turns into a history of racism in Alabama. While I admire the time & research put into this section, alas Michael Donald's story comes to a grinding halt. By the time you get to Part 3, you have forgotten who's who & the story becomes diluted & disjointed . If I had to do it all over again, I would skip Part 2 & read Parts 1 & 3 to get the full story of Michael Donald & his brave mother Beulah Mae.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews