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

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9781556527630
• ISBN10: 1556527632
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2009-07-01
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Summary

Recalling the state's shameful racist history of lynching, arson, denial of rights, false imprisonment, and other heinous crimes, this riveting narrative explores how Mississippi became a safe haven for the most violent and virulent racists, who were immune to prosecution for their crimes. This sanctuary of the then status quo emerged from the 1956 Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission's efforts to preserve segregation and "Mississippi Values" by declaring the state outside the jurisdiction of the federal government. Analysis of the major crimes, the institutional collusion, delayed and never-delivered justice, and the state's attempts at atonement are interspersed with the authors' recollections of what they saw, heard, and experienced as whites -- thus "insiders" -- during this troubled time. With commentary extending to the present day, this is both a well-researched history and an eyewitness record of living through an era of judicial, media, and economic terrorism directed against African Americans.

Author Biography

Alex A. Alston Jr. is a past president of the Mississippi Bar Association who has taught and written extensively on issues of trial advocacy. James L. Dickerson is a journalist, social worker and the author of Goin’ Back to Memphis and That’s Alright, Elvis. They both live in Jackson, Mississippi.

Table of Contents

Chronology	p. vii
In the Beginning
The Rose and the Thorn	p. 1
A Prelude to Terror	p. 17
Mississippi Crosses the Line	p. 27
The Lynching That Shocked the World	p. 47
The Loose Ends of Government	p. 57
The Integration of Ole Miss	p. 73
The Assassination of Medgar Evers	p. 93
Philadelphia Burning	p. 109
Charles Moore and Henry Dee	p. 129
Complete Breakdown
Mississippi's Legal Jungle	p. 147
Mississippi Gestapo	p. 169
Praise the Lord, but Don't Seat the Blacks	p. 193
All the News That's Fit to Print-for White Mississippians	p. 213
Inside the FBI: The Truth About Mississippi	p. 233
Justice Delayed
Ordeal by Trial and Error	p. 259
Edgar Ray Killen Raised from the Dead	p. 283
Time Runs Out for a Killer	p. 301
Picking Up the Pieces
Atonement in a Haunted Land	p. 319
Acknowledgments	p. 333
Notes	p. 335
Select Bibliography	p. 349
Index	p. 357
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