Based on previously unreleased FBI and Justice Department documents; extensive interviews with many of the surviving principals involved in the case; and a variety of newspaper accounts; Smead meticulously reconstructs the full story of one of the last lynchings in America; detailing a grim; dramatic; but nearly forgotten episode from the Civil Rights era. In 1959; a white mob in Poplarville; Mississippi abducted a young black man named Mack Charles Parker--recently charged with the rape of a white woman--from his jail cell; beat him; carried him across state lines; finally shot him; and left his body in the Pearl River. A massive FBI investigation ensued; and two grand juries met to investigate the lynching; yet no arrests were ever made. Smead presents a vivid picture of a small Southern town gripped by racism and distrust of federal authority; and describes the travesty of justice that followed in the wake of the lynching. Ultimately revealing more than an account of a single lynching; he offers what he calls "a glimpse at the tidal forces at work in the South on the eve of the civil rights revolution."
#1824179 in Books 1980-02-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 5.30 x .90 x 7.90l; #File Name: 0195027051400 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy 123ty3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. a niche in African American religionBy Yasmeen St. ClairI recommend this to anyone wanting to know more; historically and contemporarily; about African American religion. It is befitting for students in high school to graduate school. I thought about selling my books after using them; but this one I will definitely hold on to.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy WKDMHgreat
