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elmerjfudd

For you readers, here's a great book

Elmer J Fudd
9 years ago

Devil in the Grove, by Gilbert King. It's one of the most moving books I've ever read. It won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.

The story is a true account of incidents following an alleged crime committed in a rural Central Florida town in the late 1940s. Several of the defendants were WWII veterans. The lawless violence and prejudice against blacks that were typical of the area at that time take center stage. Also featured in the story were the few brave lawyers (including future US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall) who risked their own personal safety to work on the defense team, trying to have a fair trial.

In addition to conducting personal interviews, the author was the first person to be granted access to full and un-redacted FBI files and legal archives concerning the case.

The Jim Crow (segregationist) laws that existed in the South, from Texas to the Carolinas and in even a few states that weren't in the Confederacy, are the 800 pound gorilla at the back of the room. The black lawyers on the defense team couldn't eat in the town's restaurants or stay in local hotels while the trial was being held. The Jim Crow justice system typically treated blacks charged with crimes as being guilty until proven innocent. Innocence was a rare outcome in alleged crimes against white victims.

The attitudes, actions and statements of the whites (including members of law enforcement agencies) who had roles in these incidents are shocking and unbeliveable. But true.

The book isn't one to "enjoy", per se, but i think you'll be very glad you read it. I've no intent to step on the toes of stacey_mb for book of the week, I just thought I would mention this as a one-off thing.

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