Flames after Midnight : Murder, Vengeance, and the Desolation of a Texas Community

by Monte Akers

• ISBN13: 9780292704862
• ISBN10: 0292704860
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr

Summary

What happened in Kirven, Texas, in May 1922, has been forgotten by the outside world. It was a co-worker' whispered words, "Kirven is where they burned the [Negroes]," that set Monte Akers to work at discovering the true story behind a young white woman' brutal murder and the burning alive of three black men who were almost certainly innocent of it. This was followed by a month-long reign of terror as white men killed blacks while local authorities concealed the real identity of the white probable murderers and allowed them to go free. Writing nonfiction with the skill of a novelist, Akers paints a vivid portrait of a community desolated by race hatred and its own refusal to face hard truths. He sets this tragedy within the story of a region prospering from an oil boom but plagued by lawlessness, and traces the lynching' repercussions down the decades to the present day. What can the uncovering of yet another travesty do to improve race relations in light of the recent lynching in Jasper, Texas? In the opinion of Akers, "This story is now complete, but its messages can never be. The insanity of racial hatred, or hatred of any kind, the necessity of equal protection and due process of law, the danger of mob mentality, and the unforeseen consequences of deception and cover-up all hang from this tale like fruit ripe for the picking.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
PART ONE	1	(86)
Prologue to Part One	3	(6)
CHAPTER 1 Eula	9	(6)
CHAPTER 2 Kirven, the County, the Country, and the Kings	15	(18)
CHAPTER 3 The Instant when Music Shatters Glass	33	(6)
CHAPTER 4 Sheriff Mayo	39	(10)
CHAPTER 5 Manhunt	49	(8)
CHAPTER 6 A "Good Job" in the Early Hours of the Morning	57	(12)
CHAPTER 7 This Cold World of Care	69	(7)
CHAPTER 8 Terror	76	(11)
PART TWO	87	(92)
Prologue to Part Two	91	(11)
CHAPTER 9 A Visitor from Waco	102	(12)
CHAPTER 10 Confirmation	114	(9)
CHAPTER 11 Doll Rags	123	(11)
CHAPTER 12 Greater Irony	134	(15)
CHAPTER 13 A Place in Blackest History	149	(9)
CHAPTER 14 Burning Questions	158	(11)
CHAPTER 15 Epilogue: A Notoriety Deeply to be Regretted	169	(10)
Notes	179	(34)
Index	213