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Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era

Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era

by Jerry Mitchell

Simon Schuster ·2020 ·432 pages
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About This Book

On June 21, 1964, more than twenty Klansmen murdered three civil rights workers. The killings would become known as the "Mississippi Burning" case and even though the killers' identities, including the sheriff's deputy, were an open secret, no one was charged with murder in the months and years that followed. It took forty-one years before the mastermind was brought to trial and finally convicted for the three innocent lives he took. If there is one man who helped pave the way for justice, it is investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell. In Race Against Time, Mitchell takes readers on the twisting, pulse-racing road that led to the reopening of four of the most infamous killings from the days of the civil rights movement, decades after the fact. His work played a central role in bringing killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham and the Mississippi Burning case. His efforts have put four leading Klansmen behind bars, years after they thought they had gotten away with murder.


Reviews

"Mitchell is skilled at interviewing suspects and their accomplices, and the book includes chilling profiles of unrepentant Ku Klux Klan members."

Nicholas Graham· Library Journal Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Mitchell portrays these killers' racism unflinchingly ..."

Randall Kennedy· The New York Times Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Mitchell's remarkable career: How did he, time after time, get these former Klansmen to open up to him?"

Joseph Crespino· The Wall Street Journal Read review ↗ Near the Top

"A fine work of investigative journalism and an essential addition to the history of the civil rights movement."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Despite the many barriers he faced, Mitchell, who writes with the verve and immediacy befitting his newsman's craft, was determined and remarkably patient."

Barbara Bamberger Scott· Bookreporter Read review ↗ Near the Top

"indefatigable reporting ..."

David J. Garrow· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Near the Top

"While the cases themselves are drawn out over many years, the reading, especially the extensive courtroom scenes, is riveting ..."

Kathy Sexton· Booklist Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"As Mitchell points out in the epilogue, the fight for the truth continues with the recent rise of hate crimes in this country."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"As a narrative, the book is uneven and many of the officials could have been fleshed out better as characters."

Kevin O\'Kelly· The Christian Science Monitor Read review ↗ Near the Top

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