9780061993565_

A gripping saga of race and retribution in the Deep South and a story whose haunting details echo the themes of To Kill a Mockingbird

In 1945, Willie McGee, a young African-American man from Laurel, Mississippi, was sentenced to death for allegedly raping Willette Hawkins, a white housewife. At first, McGees case was barely noticed, covered only in hostile Mississippi newspapers and far-left publications such as the Daily Worker. Then Bella Abzug, a young New York labor lawyer, was hired by the Civil Rights Congressan aggressive civil rights organization with ties to the Communist Party of the United Statesto oversee McGees defense. Together with William Patterson, the son of a slave and a devout believer in the need for revolutionary change, Abzug and a group of white Mississippi lawyers risked their lives to plead McGees case. After years of court battles, McGees supporters flooded President Harry S. Truman and the U.S. Supreme Court with clemency pleas, and famous Americansincluding William Faulkner, Albert Einstein, Jessica Mitford, Paul Robeson, Norman Mailer, and Josephine Bakerspoke out on McGees behalf.

By the time the case ended in 1951 with McGees public execution in Mississippis infamous traveling electric chair, "Free Willie McGee" had become a rallying cry among civil rights activists, progressives, leftists, and Communist Party members. Their movement had succeeded in convincing millions of people worldwide that McGee had been framed and that the real story involved a consensual love affair between him and Mrs. Hawkinsone that she had instigated and controlled. As Heard discovered, this controversial theory is a doorway to a tangle of secrets that spawned a legacy of confusion, misinformation, and pain that still resonates today. The mysteries surrounding McGees case live on in this provocative tale of justice in the Deep South.

Based on exhaustive documentary researchcourt transcripts, newspaper reports, archived papers, letters, FBI documents, and the recollections of family members on both sidesMississippi native Alex Heard tells a moving and unforgettable story that evokes the bitter conflicts between black and white, North and South, in America.

...(*_*)9780061993565_

A gripping saga of race and retribution in the Deep South. Like a real-life To Kill a Mockingbird, but with even more subtlety and complexity. Walter Isaacson, New York Times-bestselling author

In 1945, Willie McGee, a young African-American man from Laurel, Mississippi, was sentenced to death for allegedly raping Willette Hawkins, a white housewife. At first, McGees case was barely noticed, until Bella Abzug, a young New York labor lawyer, was hired to oversee McGees defense. Together with William Patterson, the son of a slave and a devout believer in the need for revolutionary change, Abzug and a group of white Mississippi lawyers risked their lives to plead McGees case. After years of court battles, McGees supporters flooded President Harry S. Truman and the U.S. Supreme Court with clemency pleas, and famous Americansincluding William Faulkner, Albert Einstein, Jessica Mitford, Paul Robeson, Norman Mailer, and Josephine Bakerspoke out on McGees behalf.

By the time the case ended in 1951 with McGees public execution in Mississippis infamous traveling electric chair, their movement had succeeded in convincing millions of people worldwide that McGee had been framed and that the real story involved a consensual love affair between him and Mrs. Hawkinsone that she had instigated and controlled. As Heard discovered, this controversial theory is a doorway to a tangle of secrets that spawned a legacy of confusion, misinformation, and pain that still resonates today.

...(*_*)9780061993565_

A gripping saga of race and retribution in the Deep South. "Like a real-life To Kill a Mockingbird, but with even more subtlety and complexity." Walter Isaacson, New York Times-bestselling author
In 1945, Willie McGee, a young African-American man from Laurel, Mississippi, was sentenced to death for allegedly raping Willette Hawkins, a white housewife. At first, McGees case was barely noticed, until Bella Abzug, a young New York labor lawyer, was hired to oversee McGees defense. Together with William Patterson, the son of a slave and a devout believer in the need for revolutionary change, Abzug and a group of white Mississippi lawyers risked their lives to plead McGees case. After years of court battles, McGees supporters flooded President Harry S. Truman and the U.S. Supreme Court with clemency pleas, and famous Americansincluding William Faulkner, Albert Einstein, Jessica Mitford, Paul Robeson, Norman Mailer, and Josephine Bakerspoke out on McGees behalf.
By the time the case ended in 1951 with McGees public execution in Mississippis infamous traveling electric chair, their movement had succeeded in convincing millions of people worldwide that McGee had been framed and that the real story involved a consensual love affair between him and Mrs. Hawkinsone that she had instigated and controlled. As Heard discovered, this controversial theory is a doorway to a tangle of secrets that spawned a legacy of confusion, misinformation, and pain that still resonates today.
Based on exhaustive documentary researchcourt transcripts, newspaper reports, archived papers, letters, FBI documents, and the recollections of family members on both sidesMississippi native Alex Heard tells a moving and unforgettable story that evokes the bitter conflicts between black and white, North and South, in America.

...(*_*)9780061993565_

A gripping saga of race and retribution in the Deep South. "Like a real-life To Kill a Mockingbird, but with even more subtlety and complexity." —Walter Isaacson, New York Times-bestselling author
nIn 1945, Willie McGee, a young African-American man from Laurel, Mississippi, was sentenced to death for allegedly raping Willette Hawkins, a white housewife. At first, McGee's case was barely noticed, until Bella Abzug, a young New York labor lawyer, was hired to oversee McGee's defense. Together with William Patterson, the son of a slave and a devout believer in the need for revolutionary change, Abzug and a group of white Mississippi lawyers risked their lives to plead McGee's case. After years of court battles, McGee's supporters flooded President Harry S. Truman and the U.S. Supreme Court with clemency pleas, and famous Americans—including William Faulkner, Albert Einstein, Jessica Mitford, Paul Robeson, Norman Mailer, and Josephine Baker—spoke out on McGee's behalf.
nBy the time the case ended in 1951 with McGee's public execution in Mississippi's infamous traveling electric chair, their movement had succeeded in convincing millions of people worldwide that McGee had been framed and that the real story involved a consensual love affair between him and Mrs. Hawkins—one that she had instigated and controlled. As Heard discovered, this controversial theory is a doorway to a tangle of secrets that spawned a legacy of confusion, misinformation, and pain that still resonates today.
nBased on exhaustive documentary research—court transcripts, newspaper reports, archived papers, letters, FBI documents, and the recollections of family members on both sides—Mississippi native Alex Heard tells a moving and unforgettable story that evokes the bitter conflicts between black and white, North and South, in America.

The Eyes of Willie McGee

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