Devil's Sanctuary: An Eyewitness History of Mississippi Hate Crimes

by James L. Dickerson, Alex A. Alston Jr.

Lynchings, beatings, arson, denial of rights, false imprisonment--the civil rights era brought attention to these heinous offenses that were the status quo for African Americans in many areas of the country. And no state was more notorious as a sanctuary for the murderers and perpetrators of hate crimes than Mississippi. In 1956 state lawmakers installed the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission to preserve segregation and “Mississippi Values” by declaring the state outside the jurisdiction of the federal government. Under the auspices of the governor and lieutenant governor, the commission joined forces with groups such as the White Citizens’ Councils, which would stop at nothing in their quest for white supremacy.   In Devil’s Sanctuary , Alex A. Alston Jr. and James L. Dickerson, both of whom grew up in small-town Mississippi, recount the state’s shameful racist history and explore how Mississippi was able to get away with its role as a safe haven for the most virulent and violent racists, allowing them immunity from prosecution. The breakdown of institutions, with everyone from judges and elected officials to clergy and the media looking the other way, not only permitted but even encouraged acts so horrendous that many citizens cannot believe they happened--and still could happen--in the United States.   Analysis of the major crimes, the institutional collusion, delayed and never-delivered justice, and the state’s attempts at atonement is interspersed with the authors’ accounts of what they saw, heard, and experienced as whites--thus “insiders”--from that troubled time to the present day. Devil’s Sanctuary is part shocking history and part moving memoir, an eyewitness account of judicial, media, and economic terrorism directed against African Americans.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Social Justice

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Corry Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written and fascinating... in that watching a train crash kind of way. The personal anecdotes from the authors (who lived in Mississippi during that time) were especially gripping.

[Susie James · Rating 4 out of 5]

To rate this book as to the "liking it" level is not quite right -- it is quite compelling to read, for sure. I have a few questions I am trying to get answered before committing a review, actually...

[Diann Blakely]

James Dickerson is no stranger to Nashville readers and music lovers, having thoroughly impressed both audiences with *Goin' Back to Memphis: A Century of Blues, Rock ’n’ Roll, and Glorious Soul*, particularly with its account of Chips Moman and Ardent Studios. Now he has moved further south, co-authoring *Devil's Sanctuary: An Eyewitness History of Mississippi Hate Crimes* with Alex A. Alston Jr., former president of the state’s bar association. Included in the book’s chapters are the Emmett Till case; the violence resulting from the integration of Ole Miss; the assassination of the NAACP’s first field secretary in the state, Medgar Evers; and perhaps most recently pertinent, the Klan murders of the young civil rights workers James Cheney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. These young men made America aware that there wasn’t only one Philadelphia in the country; on the Fourth of July, the 53-year-old African-American minister James Young was sworn in—with multiracial support in a town that remains 55% white—as the Mississippi town’s new mayor. “We’ve been on the map,” Young said exuberantly. “Now we’re ON the map.” And yet Alston and Dickerson’s book serves, as well as the ghastly desecration of Emmett Till's grave last week, as reminder of the truth of the state’s most famous literary son, William Faulkner, "the past is never gone. It has not even past."

[Kathryn Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two thumbs up from this Mississippi resident! Avoidance of painful truth only opens the door for our dangerous history to be repeated. As difficult as our dark history in Mississippi is, it needs to be told so that we can carve out a brighter future for future generations to know far more love than hate. So, I am grateful that this author is brave enough to tell this story and to have written it so well. I hope we never repeat our painful past.

[Naim]

Very good! We have some brave people in our race. This book inspires us to continue to fight for everything we deserve and accept nothing less. Although it is pretty tragic at times, it is important to realize people like this still exist. We can forgive these atrocities against us but we can never forget.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An account of the history of racial violence in Mississippi beginning in the early 1900's. The author clearly lays out how the Mississippi government maintained white supremacy in the state through violence. The lack of justice for hate crimes is appalling and heartbreaking. Well written, well researched book.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book with detailed accounts of the racial tensions and struggles from with-in the south(specifically Mississippi).