Devils walking : Klan murders along the Mississippi in the 1960s / Stanley Nelson ; foreword by Greg Iles ; afterword by Hank Klibanoff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nelson, Stanley, 1955-2025, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ku Klux Klan (1915- )--History--20th century.

Ku Klux Klan (1915- ).

Ku Klux Klan (1915- )--Interviews.

African Americans--Violence against--Mississippi--History--20th century.

African Americans.

Murder--Mississippi--History--20th century.

Murder.

Murder--Investigation--Mississippi--History--20th century.

Witnesses--Mississippi--Interviews.

Witnesses.

Interviews--Mississippi.

Interviews.

Racism--Mississippi--History--20th century.

Racism.

Corruption--Mississippi--History--20th century.

Corruption.

Race relations.

History.

Murder--Investigation.

African Americans--Violence against.

Mississippi--Race relations--History--20th century.

Mississippi.

Genre:

Interviews.

Physical Description:

xxii, 280 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2016]

Summary:

"After midnight on December 10, 1964, in Ferriday, Louisiana, African American Frank Morris awoke to the sound of breaking glass. Outside his home and shoe shop, standing behind the shattered window, Klansmen tossed a lit match inside the store, now doused in gasoline, and instantly set the building ablaze. A shotgun pointed to Morris's head blocked his escape from the flames. Four days later Morris died, though he managed in his last hours to describe his attackers to the FBI. Frank Morris's death was one of several Klan murders that terrorized residents of northeast Louisiana and Mississippi, as the perpetrators continued to elude prosecution during this brutal era in American history. In Devils Walking : Klan Murders along the Mississippi in the 1960s, Pulitzer Prize finalist and journalist Stanley Nelson details his investigation--alongside renewed FBI attention--into these cold cases, as he uncovers the names of the Klan's key members as well as systemized corruption and coordinated deception by those charged with protecting all citizens. Devil's-a-Walkin' recounts the little-known facts and haunting stories that came to light from Nelson's hundreds of interviews with both witnesses and suspects. His research points to the development of a particularly virulent local faction of the Klan who used terror and violence to stop integration and end the advancement of civil rights. Secretly led by the savage and cunning factory worker Red Glover, these Klansmen--a handpicked group that included local police officers and sheriff's deputies--discarded Klan robes for civilian clothes and formed the underground Silver Dollar Group, carrying a silver dollar as a sign of unity. Their eight known victims, mostly African American men, ranged in age from nineteen to sixty-seven and included one Klansman seeking redemption for his past actions. Following the 2007 FBI reopening of unsolved civil rights-era cases, Nelson's articles in the Concordia Sentinel prompted the first grand jury hearing for these crimes. By unmasking those responsible for these atrocities and giving a voice to the victims' families, Devils Walking demonstrates the importance of confronting and addressing the traumatic legacy of racism"--From publisher's website.

Contents:

1. Why Frank?

2. The Kingpin, Big Frank DeLaw, and the Klan

1964

3. Abductions, Whippings, and Murder

4. Superior by Blood

5. A Great Storm Gathering

6. A Declaration of War

7. "The Colored People of Concordia Parish"

1965

8. Why Do They Hate Us So?"

9. "Crippled Johnny" and the Alcoholic Mechanic

10. Utlaw Country

1966

11. "Oh, Lord, What Have I Done to Deserve This?"

1967

12. Code Name: Wharbom

Epilogue: New Investigations

Appendix: Biographies.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780807164075

0807164070

OCLC:

945231890