Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

Although I knew and had long admired Thurgood Marshall, the first black Supreme Court justice, I was woefully ignorant of his early years. A towering moral, intellectual force for change, he risked his life in the backwater courts of Lake County Florida to face down authoritarian bigots armed with every entrenched advantage. Everyone in our country should understand the importance and circumstances of the civil rights victories he won. His raw courage, humor and intellect made converts out of some of his most strident opponents, among them prosecutor Jesse Hunter. It’s no small irony that almost 70 years later, as I finished this book, the streets of Ferguson,Missouri are engulfed in racial violence. Progress is torturously slow.

One of the most righteously enraging books I have ever read. The sheer injustice of the Jim Crow South and its manifold horrors and indignities are mind-boggling to comprehend. King’s book excellently narrates both the deep, abiding desecration of justice on the altar of white supremacy and brutality and the courage and skill by which great people like Thurgood Marshall helped bring Jim Crow to an end. We have a long road to walk, especially since the current President would no doubt be a huge fan of Sheriff McCall, the titular devil in the grove. But it’s also stunning to see what progress has been made.

A compelling, detailed history associated with extreme injustice and violence, offset by courage and carefully applied legal expertise. Crafted and as readable as an excellent novel, this disturbing factual story is both precise and motivating. It filled in my general sadness about conditions in “the South” before and after desegregation. And, it provided me with a real sense of what it was like to be a black attorney or a black defendant in an all white legal system back then. (And, I realize racism is still an ongoing problem.) I also learned, though, why we should all be proud that there are people like Thurgood Marshall, urging us to respect each other because it is the right thing to do. What an excellent book for anyone concerned about human dignity and fairness.

One of the best and most informative book I have ever read! It was heartbreaking but also wonderful, in that it made such an impact in our civil rights battle. I am so happy that Florida completely exonerated these men and are now going to erect a historical monument in their honor. It spooks me to travel through these counties that were so cruel to African Americans at that time in our history. I am so sad that this happened!

Tens of millions of Americans lived during the time during which the events in this wonderful book occurred. Most were aware only from a distance.It is inconceivable to the normal mind that these things took place . What might read as fiction to someone born in the last 75 years is in fact part of the recorded history of our country. The importance of memorializing such sordid events reduces the likelihood of reoccurrence and gives perspective to current events. The past is not yet completely in our rear view mirror and the reminders of these no so long ago times unfortunately say that the work of Justice Marshall, so vividly and carefully explained is not yet complete.

A remarkable story! Not so long ago in America law enforcement was effectively the militant arm of racial hate groups, most notably the KKK. Today with the recent killings of unarmed African Americans at the hands of professional law enforcement personell, this story is more important than ever. Thurgood Marshall will always be best known for “Brown vs Topeka” and being the first of two African Americans to serve on the Supreme Court. This book puts the spotlight on a particulary troubling incident in the Flordia orange groves where four African Americans collide with Southern social morays and the might of racist and muderous sheriff. Entertaining, thought provoking and certainly relevant for us today. This book should be required reading for all of those who want to better understand the dangerous social dynamic between white law enforcement and the minorities it swears to protect..

I’m an attorney and most would think all attorneys know everything about Supreme Court justices. I remember Thurgood Marshall, and I wasn’t too wild about him while he was on the Supreme Court toward the end of his term because I thought he was just another liberal. Really, all I knew about him was that he was a former civil rights attorney.I just read this book and man have my opinions on Thurgood Marshall have changed! He wasn’t just a civil rights attorney,he was a brave and courageous civil rights attorney who journeyed into the Jim Crow south to represent black defendants accused of crimes. It’s one thing to be a civil rights attorney and it’s another thing to walk the walk.His involvement in the Groveland Boys case and others shows what Thurgood Marshall was made of. I have to admit I am embarrassed I did not Marshall’s past.This book is well written and you will find some heroes here other than Thurgood Marshall, You will also learn about the worst of the worst of humanity, for example Sheriff Willis McCall of Lake County, Florida and Norma Padgett.Once you read this, you will have a much better appreciation for Justice Marshall and his colleagues. These guys were really courageous.

The book vividly tells the story of a determined and imperfect man willing to sacrifice in order to make a difference during times of Jim Crow. He changed the minds of those initially subscribed to ways of the South at the time and convinced them to become righteous before they met their maker. Unfortunately, the blood of negroes was shed in order to lead to these changes via justice at the Supreme Court level and the cries for social justice.Different style of a read with this book as it has other stories woven into the main story of the Groveland boys. Highly recommended — and should be a classroom assignment in American history.Not surprised Thurgood Marshall became a Supreme Court justice as I lived a majority of this story.

Beautifully written description of an era of atrocities that occurred only 60 years ago! Here we learn about an NAACP martyr whose murder preceded by years that of Medger Evers. We learn about Florida’s KKK that was as virulent and violent as any in other Southern states. We see the systematic criminal actions of state justice-system officials sanctioned by industry that ensured punitive restraints to Blacks in a manner analogous to apartheid. You like me before reading this book, may have a benign image of Florida’s racial history. Not as only have my eyes been opened. Now I have renewed, invigorated respect for the courage of Thurgood Marshall and countless other individuals who risked or lost their lives in the cause of equal justice for all.

This book made me sad, angry, proud and happy. I was saddened to read of the hatred these young men experienced for no other reason than that they happened to be born African-American and at such a tumultuous time in the history of this country. But had they not gone through this, we may not be as far along as a people or as a country. I was angered by those who knew the truth but would not speak up. Pride was inevitable, as Mr Marshall, the LDF, and others worked relentlessly to right the wrongs that they could. I realized, while reading this book, that there are some wrongs that only God can and will right. For that, I am happiest. I am also happy that the last living Groveland young man’s life was not wasted in prison. I would recommend this publication as mandatory high school reading. These young men were teenagers and many of today’s teens have no idea what life was like for that generation. Yet, they experience the same hatred. I think seeing these pictures, hearing their testimonies and observing the obvious racism will change the behavior of some.

I couldn’t put this book down – impeccably researched, riveting prose. I’m a history teacher and I learned a lot. I have two questions: First, why did Harry T. Moore not show up to his November 9th meeting with Thurgood Marshall? The author gives us the information that Moore uncharacteristically skipped the meeting with no notice and hints that something happened to him the night before, but never conclusively tells us. Second, where/how can I find the plaintiff’s brief that Marshall and his team filed for Brown v. Board of Ed? I can find the opinion easily, but not the plaintiff’s brief, which I would love to read.

There are books that just knock you back. The stories are captivating, the writing is excellent, and the author never takes too long a walk to make a short point. In the nonfiction side, some of the more recent examples I’ve been delighted to discover are David Blight’s biography of Frederick Douglass, “Prophet of Freedom,” Richard Rothstein’s analysis of American housing policy, “The Color of Law,” and Rick Atkinson’s WWII trilogy, starting with “An Army at Dawn.”Add Gilbert King’s “Devil in the Grove” to that list.When I lived in the South, I often heard women sniff at another in their social circle, “She has a past.” The details were never discussed, but it was clear from the tone that the “past” involved something unpleasant, immoral, and that could never be washed away.Florida “has a past.” While Florida would love for Americans to think of their state as personified by the House of Mouse in Orlando, or the Caribbean melting pot that is Miami, or Papa Hemingway in Key West, Florida in many respects is the Deep South. And while there are many fine things to be said about the Deep South, the stubborn fact remains that Jim Crow, as practiced in the South, was so ugly as to border upon evil. Florida, for all its charms, has one of the worst lynching records of any state.Gilbert King’s “Devil in the Grove” tells one of the most horrific tales of the Jim Crow South with the story of the Groveland Boys. Four young Black men were accused of raping a young White woman in Groveland, Florida in 1949. Groveland was citrus country, and the growers used Jim Crow to leverage Black labor for maximum profits . . . it was just *this* close to slavery without crossing the bright line for all too many in the area.Sheriff Willis V. McCall ran Lake County, which included Groveland. Essentially “the Law” in Groveland, McCall may embody the stereotype of the KKK lawman more perfectly than any other figure. Under his brand of Southern justice, he condemned the four Black men to death – regardless of the lack of evidence – and was not all that interested in waiting for a jury verdict to execute the defendants. Indeed, not all of the defendants lived to hear their official verdicts rendered (sorry to be coy, I’m trying to avoid spoilers).Enter Thurgood Marshall, the leading civil rights advocate in the country. Working for the NAACP legal defense fund, Marshall had mighty burdens on his shoulders but decided to defend the Groveland boys. Marshall is the Atticus Finch of this story, but the Atticus Finch who also had to fear for his life on more than one occasion.I’ll leave the plot summary now, but in the hands of Gilbert King this story is a true pot-boiler. At several points, the details are so vividly rendered, so cinematic, that I found myself confirming that the book was history, not historical fiction. It’s just too compelling. King is not a flowery writer, but knows how to build a scene.And what a scene this is. This book should be required reading for all Americans. We must confront this ugly side of American history if we are to move forward. I grew up in Western Washington state, and the history of the Deep South was not a priority. This world is not the America I grew up studying, but it is an America that I – and all Americans – need to know.Highest recommendation.

Florida is changing. The citrus industry is proving prosperous while tourists are starting to take advantage of commercial air fare. On the coast, sun & surf have cemented the view of Florida as a top travel destination while the carefully crafted image of the state is being protected vigorously. The Sunshine State has often been absolved of it’s southern sins because it’s “south of the south.”Unlike it’s neighbors Alabama & Georgia, Florida rich racist history is often overlooked. Gilbert King decided enough is enough. Devil In The Grove brings you inside the stifling and suffocating central Florida court rooms & jail cells where four innocent blacks were paraded in front of KKK loyalists and racist law men after a bogus rape charge send the community of Bay Lake & Groveland into a frenzy. Facts be damned, the town was out for blood and this was the perfect opportunity to “put those uppity n**gers back in their place.”The book moves at a breathless pace and leaves no stone unturned. What makes Devil In The Grove a 5 Star read is the desire to expose the real motives behind each crooked character. You have a community of poor white farmers upset at the influx of confident, post WW2 blacks who want their piece of the American Dream. To think, black men were being lynched while wearing their Army uniforms…shocking. All of this sets the stage for Thurgood Marshall & the NAACP to take a stand against Sheriff McCall and his band of loyalists.If you want a happy ending, don’t read this book. There is no silver lining. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a must read because the events ARE recent and there is no explanation for the barbaric cruelty on display for nearly 400 pages. Marshall was a brave and righteous man who worked in an inhumane environment. Yet he & his team accomplished so much by focusing on the law & the American constitution. Those little “facts” were often overlooked by the police but the Supreme Court isn’t Central Florida & it’s why Marshall was always appealing the all white jury’s verdict.Must read.

I found this book very well researched and well written. It’s hard to take years of facts and data and build a story around them without getting dull and tedious. This book brought the characters to life and held my interest. It had a wealth of information that made me appreciate the struggles black people had in the South during the 1950s. I had an Uncle and Aunt who lived in Louisiana during this time and they joined the KKK, looked down on the negro population and seemed oblivious to the harm being suffered by them. My Aunt had a girl come and clean twice a week. They had a car but wouldn’t go pick her up or take her home, instead she had to pay a taxi to get to work. She worked six hours a day twice a week for $10.00 a week. Even then that wasn’t enough to feed her and her child. This book brought all their struggles to life and made me appreciate Thurgood Marshall and his tireless work on the behalf of his people. Without dedicated individuals fighting endlessly for their rights we would still be a bigoted racially divided nation. We’re not home free yet, but we’ve come a long way toward ending racism and it’s just a matter or never going back but inching forward until America is fair and just to all it’s citizens.

This is a story that goes back to the pre-civil rights era of the early 1950’s. Thurgood Marshall was a young lawyer working for the NAACP. While he lived in New England, most of his cases were in the deep south, and particularly Florida. It recalls all the horrible things that black people endured post civil war until civil rights were established and enforced. You are drawn through all the horror of lynching, race baiting, and discrimination at its worst. You are reminded of a time when blacks could not check into a motel, use a drinking fountain or a restroom unless is was specifically designated for blacks only. Those were horrible times and as a northern white woman I did no know those things existed until my mother and I traveled to the deep south about 1953. We were shocked to see signs that said whites only, or blacks only. We did not know about those things and TV news was in its infancy and the media was not telling us about it. This book will walk you through the heroic efforts of the NAACP and others like Thurgood Marshall in bringing equality to the black population. While it’s often shocking, it is a good read and a walk through some of our more shameful history.

If the black community commits half of the violent crime, why would you look for someone else? If the black community is at odds with the police, how do you solve crimes? The story is disturbing. Are we just using the black community for empty political purposes, or are we really trying to solve the problem? (While I am writing this, on TV, a black man is at gunpoint with a Miami Police Officer. He is denying having thrown a man off a bridge, a 30 foot drop. The officer witnessed it. The followup news story is the sentencing of Bill Crosby.)

Having moved to Central Florida over 30 years ago, I had heard about past Klan activities but until reading this book had no idea of the hatred and evil perpetrated on black citizens. The theme of institutional racism permeates the book and reminds us to be vigilant of government and other leaders. I know many of the Central Florida communities where these events occurred and will always be mindful of these tragedies and the mindset that allowed injustice to rule. Living in mostly white suburbia can lead to the impression that racism is a thing of the past. But the culture in Central Florida in the late 1940s and early 1950 that permitted these events to occur and go unpunished is not quickly or easily washed away.Great book for Central Floridians of all ages.

A truly exceptional book! It is one of those books that is so hard to put down until you’ve read it in its entirety. It is one of the best books I’ve read. I would also highly recommend the Silver Gavel Award winning nonfiction book titled “Contempt of Court: The Turn-of-the-Century Lynching That Launched A Hundred Years of Federalism” by Mark Curriden and Leroy Phillips. It is certainly a book that provides “…evidence of horrible things that have occurred in our country’s history…” we must never forget.

This is an account of Thurgood Marshall’s defense of three African American young men charged with raping a white woman in her late teens in Florida in 1949 (a fourth man alleged to have taken part in the rape was shot and killed by law enforcement before reaching trial). It spans the period from the time of the rape to the middle of the 1950’s when Marshall successfully argued on behalf of school desegregation before the U.S. Supreme Court. Marshall’s work in defense of the young men in fact occured more or less simultaneously with his work (along with colleagues of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund) in the Brown vs. Board of Ed cases. It is thus a remarkable story about a remarkable man who helped change the course of American history in the latter half of the last century.It is also obviously a story of the segregated U.S. South, complete with corrupt law enforcement officials, roving bands of White mobs and the KKK who endeavored not only to keep the races separate in accomodations, but also greatly resisted any advance made by African Americans in the region. Fortunately, Devil in the Grove reveals a few cases of redemption involving White southerners whose minds are changed about the Black defendants through Marshall’s advocacy.Besides Marshall, Devil in the Grove highlights a number of other key individuals such as Franklin Williams and Marshall’s mentor, Charles Houston, all active in the NAACP. Another NAACP leader in Florida, Harry T. Moore and his wife were killed in a bombing of their house during the events relating to the Groveland Boys’ case and their murder has never been officially solved.The narrative itself gets off to a bit of a rough start, at least it seemed to me. The first quarter or third of the book jumps around a lot. The early pages frequently shift years, locations and personalities involved. However, by the book’s second half, the narrative is up and roaring along, telling a story difficult to put down. Overall a great read of an important man and mostly forgotten story that fully warranted the retelling provided here.

I passed my original copy to another reader. It was a book that I wanted on hand. Received in good condition.

Everyone should read this book. We tend to sweep history under the rug when it does not appeal to us. Thurgood Marshall could have taken the easy way out. He had a Law Degree he was as they say he was High Yellow, a good looking man, had a wonderful wife and buy all accounts could hav stayed up North and made a good living. Instead he fought for Civil Liberties. Knowing along some white folks we trying to kill him, he never gave up the fight. He walked into those Southern Court Room knowing full well his clients was never going to receive fair trial. That did not deter him. He continued to fight for Justice. What a wonderful story. I plan to buy another book about The Great Thurgood Marshall.How lucky American and the Justice system was when he was appointment a Supreme Court Justice. Keep a box of tissures handy because the truth can break your heart and tears appear out of nowhere as a result of the horrible injustice that black people had to indure.I highly recommend this book.

This was an enlightening read about a very brave and great American civil rights leader who became the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. A very well written page turner that illustrates how brave the early civil rights leaders were in America who risked and often lost their lives in their struggle to overcome the ugly legacy of slavery and racial bigotry in America. An excellent companion book would be “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson (see my review) which illustrates how the poor and people of color to this day seldom receive equal justice under the law in the United States. The struggle for racial equality in America continues. The struggle continues, but “Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,We shall overcome someday.” Do yourself a favor. Read this book.

Reminded me of the shear heroism of Thurgood Marshall and others during the early to mid 1900s. Reads like a novel, but a great history lesson

How powerless must African Americans have felt in the Jim Crow 1940s and 50s? How racist and corrupt was the era and the place (Florida farm country)? Who was willing and able to help, and by helping the downtrodden people of that state, help us all? This factual account is both terrible and remarkable; terrible in the way that society conspired to keep blacks in “their place” and remarkable that Thurgood Marshall and many others were able to fight the necessary fight to bring change. As a white northerner, a male, I learned a lot that my education hadn’t taught me.

This is a Pulitizer Prize winning book about 4 innocent black youths wrongly accused of having raped a white, married 18 year old girl. It highlights the work of Thurgood Marshall, later to be a renowned Justice of the United States Supreme Court, in his fight for the “Groveland Boys” and some of his other desegregation legal work. Quite worth your time, money, and education.

In the first chapter I thought, “This isn’t that well written and particulars of the case are pretty bland and this is going to just be a tribute to Thurgood Marshall.” But with each succeeding chapter I was more spellbound than with a Stephen King novel. Each event just gets more and more convoluted and disgusting. And the worst part of this is that it is all true. I always thought that caricatures of good ol’ boy sheriffs from the South were funny and potentially a bit unfair. But reading the actual events described in this book make me understand that who we were as America at that time was every bit as bad as what the rest of the world said about us. By the way, before anyone writes a review saying that this never happened – I challenge them to actually read the book first.

An absolute necessary read in an unfortunately still flawed country. Stunning story that still obviously resonates garnering a well deserved Pulitzer.

While the author soft-pedaled Marshall’s womanizing, he noted it and generally took a balanced approach. I learned a lot about Marshall and an aspect of the civil rights movement of which I was not aware. As a relatively new Floridian, this also illuminates some not so proud FL history.

Though the book reads like a well written novel, the message is anything but fictitious. King lays bare the barbarous, repulsive political and social regime of Lake County, Florida in the postwar, pre-civil rights era as exemplified in the Groveland rape case that callously, if methodically, claimed the lives of two innocent young black men. The author vividly and meticulously details the hatred, domination and exploitation of blacks by whites in this “south of the South” rural Florida county in the late 1940’s and 50’s. The events surrounding the rape case were so egregious to those outside of Florida that it became nationally known and catalyzed the nascent civil rights movement. The book is a salient reminder of just how deep racial bigotry runs in our society. In fact, the recent Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case is eerily reminiscent of the Groveland case, not in terms of specifics, but in that it serves as a reminder to all of us to be on constant guard lest our unconscious predilections for like-group identity influence our behavior at the expense of unlike individuals or groups.

An example of mans inhumanity to other human beingsbased on historical information and presented as a best selling work of fiction might be presented. The. Acceptance of the Deep South justice system that prevailed in central Florida is rather unbelievable but examples of the bias that permitted it to exist can still be found throughout the country today.It’s exposure of a little of Thurgood MARSHALL’s life is probably in itself worth the read but the book itself is exploring only the tip of the ice berg as to what life was like for the colors and poor whites in the South long after the Civil War. It certainly makes one think and hope that although we are now living in a time where greed has developed a caste System here in the United States sheriffs such as sheriff McCall are now just a part of history and not still making history.

I don’t often use the phrase “tour de force”, but if it isn’t applicable to this book, I don’t know when it would be. Gilbert King has delivered a solid, in depth, thoroughly researched tome on not only one of the most brutal (although, sadly, little known) civil rights cases in American history, but also a thorough survey on the state of race relations in the American South in the late 1940s and early 1950s. For anyone who has ever wondered exactly what the “Southern Way of Life” is, you need look no further than this hate-fueled tale of widespread murder and mayhem.In a surprisingly slim, albeit dense, 360 pages (of text, plus notes, etc.), King manages to paint a rich, detailed, sickening and enraging picture of Southern “justice” in the Sunshine State. The unsupported word of a white woman (girl, really, whom few really believe) and that of her drunken on-again, off-again husband launch a series of events that leave two young black men dead – one hunted like a dog, the other shot in cold blood – along with two more wrongfully jailed, one on death row. Along the way we witness the racial intimidation and violence of the KKK, the death by firebombing of civil rights leader Harry T. Moore, and the slow turning of the wheels of justice in the nation’s highest court. Also along the way we meet the prosecutor, Jesse Hunter, who comes to believe in the innocence of the “Groveland Boys”, yet who prosecutes them anyway; the born and bred Southern journalist Mabel Norris Reese whose slow change of heart gets her labeled a “pinko”; and the Southern sheriff in charge of it all, Willis McCall.But most of all we meet the men who stood up and dared to fight back, sacrificing family, health and safety to do so – Charles Hamilton Houston, Franklin Williams, and main character future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Gilbert does not shy away from these men’s faults; they had their fair share of internal squabbles and personality conflicts, and Marshall at least was a hard-drinker who wasn’t exactly faithful in marriage. Nevertheless, despite not being saints, these men put it all on the line and they, among many other civil rights crusaders, deserve the lion’s share of the credit for the advances in justice and equality. As head of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, Marshall was involved in many facets of civil rights law, from criminal cases involving wrongfully accused blacks to segregation cases at schools and universities, to his most famous case (or, really, collection of cases), Brown v. the Board of Education. But the Groveland case, little know though it is, ,was probably Marshall’s most formative case, and the one he took most personally.If you like epic tales of good vs. evil, this is your book. If you like edge of your seat thrillers, this is your book. If you like stories with genuine, three-dimensional characters, this is your book. (Note: I would say “believable characters”, but Sheriff McCall, his henchmen and supporters are so wildly extreme that, were they characters in a fiction book, they would be deemed unbelievable.) You will bite your fingernails to the nub worrying for the Groveland Boys and cheering for Marshall, his team of lawyers and other sympathizers as they risk their lives in the hostile territory south of the South. You’ll witness false accusations, evidence tampering, forced confessions, threats of and actual violence, jury stacking, witness tampering, and nearly every form of legal malpractice in the single-minded goal of protecting the “Flower of Southern Womanhood” and securing “justice” against the “perpetrators”. But be warned, if you like nice, tidy, happily-ever-after good-defeats-evil stories, this is not your book. This is a tale of senseless violence and oppression. The story of the deaths of three innocent black youths in the prime of their otherwise promising lives. It’s the story of the deaths of a civil rights leader and his wife, and the violence and intimidation against countless others. It’s the story of the Teflon sheriff who ruled Lake County for another twenty years, despite countless other accusations of misconduct and corruption.But this isn’t even just the story of the “Groveland Boys” case. It is the story of the world’s emerging superpower, the beacon of justice and democracy to the world, and how that superpower turned a blind eye to the injustices routinely inflicted on black citizens throughout the Jim Crow South. In addition the Groveland case, Gilbert King recounts dozens of similar and related cases from all over the South. From race riots to lynchings to rape to discrimination of all types, King puts the lie to the oft-repeated protest of the South that it was Northern/NAACP/communist/etc. agitators who stirred up otherwise peaceful Southern race relations. And no, things weren’t always rosy in the North either, but Marshall and his colleagues didn’t fear for their lives, and when black butler Joseph Spell was accused of raping his white employer, he received a fair trial and was acquitted in Connecticut, something that could not and did not happen below the Mason-Dixon line.If you need a silver lining to an otherwise very dark cloud, it comes from the fact that the very barbarity of this and similar cases paved the way for justice to slowly trickle in. There is, perhaps, a limit to the inhumanity that human nature will bear, and as publicity of these kinds of cases grew, so too did public outrage. Like Mabel Norris Reese, Americans North and South began rethinking their deeply held beliefs regarding race and race relations. At the same time, the diligent and careful legal work of people like Houston and Marshall began setting enough precedents that by 1954 cases like Brown v. the Board of Education could overturn the legal framework supporting Jim Crow. These changes came too late to save Ernest Thomas, Samuel Shepherd and Walter Irvin (and to save co-defendant Charles Greenlee from an undeserved stint at hard labor), but they came in time to see Thurgood Marshall promoted to the highest court in the land, where he presided over an unparalleled period of civil rights growth in the nation’s history.This book should be required reading for high school and college students, as well as adults. Now that we have our first black president, there are those who would whitewash the struggles it took to get here and deny that there is much left to improve. Power of the kind wielded by Sheriff Willis McCall and supported by like-minded people as well as decent but unthinking people doesn’t cede easily and, when forced out, it looks for ways to turn public opinion back to itself and restore itself to its “rightful” place. It is important that all Americans know the truth about where the struggle began and how much it has cost to right the wrongs of the past I order that we not fall prey to the same mindset that caused such oppressive division in the first place. Gilbert King has done us a great service by providing this rich and detailed history of one of the darkest chapters in our history so that this “post-racial” world can learn from history and not repeat it.

As the right win presses law to limit what is taught, the truth cannot be hidden…this book shows how a movement of people lead the NAACP to help fight the indignities of racism and discrimination. No we dont want to read about it becuase it is quite ugly, but we cannot ignore our history we must know it to avoid repeating it..??

Wonderful writing, impeccable research, about a repugnant real-life Florida sheriff who, in lockstep with the KKK, waged a decades-long war on the Black residents of his citrus growing county with near total impugnity. Thurgood Marshall (who went on to be our first Black Supreme Court justice) risked his life among murderous racists in Lake County and surrounding areas, and with his dedicated colleagues, crafted a strategy for the defense. He wears the real white hat in this excellent accounting of the personalities and events of one horrifying incident among uncountable others, the repercussions of it, and the national legislative tableau unfolding at the time. Gilbert King elaborates the brilliant strategic work by the young lawyer Marshall and his colleagues in the NAACP, in laying a progressive trail of legislative precedents, leading to hard-won civil rights, integration of schools and daily life, helping lift the country out of the morass of Jim Crow era repression of America’s Black citizens. King weaves a seamless story of ugly Southern racial politics and prejudice, and steadfast, courageous determination, helping us see how far we have come and much farther we have to go.

Studying anti racism in church and community.a lot of unknowns were revealed.

This is a richly researched, yet a page-turner of a book that documents the rampant, violent racism in the state of Florida in mid 20th century. The degree to which law enforcement, economic interests and the KKK combined to intimidate and all but enslave the black population was shocking, especially since we don’t usually think of Florida when we think of the violent responses to the Civil Rights Movement. Since the book centers on the many, well-drawn characters surrounding a particular case in a particular town we are engrossed in a crime and courtroom drama.The reader is also introduced to the brave and brilliant Thurgood Marshall and the other leaders of the early civil rights legal team. The more you know about Marshall the more impressed you are!

Thurgood Marshall. This lawyer of the NAACP who fought for justice for blacks when blacks were persecuted for the color of their skin. This is the tragic story of 4 blacks accused of raping a white woman and the tragic true happenings of the aftermath.Did the Groveland four do this act, were they wrongly accused and confessed under duress.This book shows the brutality and hatred in the South in Texas when the KKK still roamed and they prevailed.I recommend this book and could not put it down.

This book reads more like a Southern Gothic novel than the meticulously researched history of a tragedy that it is. The author brings the post-war South to life in a way that is engrossing, suspenseful, horrifying, and inspiring. He deftly moves from dark roads in secluded forests to bright streets in New York, from sweltering Southern courthouses to the powerful chamber of the Supreme Court, from evil backrooms to inspirational rallies. The powerful storytelling belies the reality of the events that are carefully noted and documented bringing greater impact to a small town event that shook the world.I was in high school when first learned about Thurgood Marshall. By this time, he was a portly, elderly Justice of the Supreme Court. Despite later learning about his work on Brown, I have always had a hard time shaking my first impression of him as an unhealthy looking man who I first saw only as a token. Thanks to this book, that image is forever gone. In its place is the striking figure of a young, dynamic, intelligent, and attractive firebrand who worked tirelessly to change the world and make it better for all of us. Many civic rights leaders have greater recognition today than Marshall, but I now shudder to think of what the world might have been like without him.One of the great values of this book is the way it makes a horrifying, almost unbelievable event American history readable and accessible. The author manages to be fair to the people of that time and place without demonizing them, yet he refuses to allow the reader to overlook the evil and terror of that dark period that, in many ways, still exists today. He also elevates that power of the heroes who took part in that history and implies that change in the world will only come from us as individuals, much as it did from them. This is not just a great book because it brings to light a terrible piece of our history, but it does so in such a way that inspires us to continuing wanting to make a difference.

Gripping, shocking account of racism, and a powerful depiction of young Thurgood Marshall as a civil rights attorney. My book club chose this book as one of our reads during Black History Month but it’s a must-read for all Americans, at any time of the year.

Chilling but real. I now live very near to the area in Florida where much of this took place and just thinking about it makes me sick. This is an excellent book but altogether too many of us tend to see this as way in the past. We white people do not want to take responsibility for what we have done in the not too distant past. No wonder black athletes are taking a knee at NFL games! Face up to it, white folks. This is your daddy and your granddaddy, and your great-granddaddy, and so on.

I have always worked and taught about discrimination and have watch changes in our society and how long the struggle has taken and continues. What was enlightening about the book was all the detail about the efforts that were not as commonly heard about during the early civil rights movement. It is amazing what people can do to one another with a smug justification that they are bigger and better-not at all true–just the opposite. Our “leaders” today need to take a big lesson from Justice Marshall and the NAACP lawyers who believed in this important cause so much that they risked their lives to fight for the equality that is so necessary. I am saddened that we don’t have these kinds of risk takers and activists today to take on the many causes that our country needs. Efforts today are thwarted by big super pacs who prefer that we lose the gains we have made.

This is a must-read book on 20th century American history and the rise of the civil rights movement. It’s also a testament to how far there is to go to reach equality in this country. This book serves as a great eye-opener for those of us who did not live through segregation. The book is written so that it transports in frightening detail the horrors of black life in the Deep South. I think it should be required reading for all younger generations so they don’t forget why legislation for equality is paramount to our success as an entire nation.