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Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era Audiobook
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An award-winning investigative reporter shares the real-life detective story of how Klansmen came to justice in notorious unsolved civil rights cold cases—decades after they had gotten away with murder.
On June 21, 1964, more than twenty Klansmen murdered three civil rights workers. The killings, in what would become known as the “Mississippi Burning” case, were among the most brazen acts of violence during the Civil Rights Movement. 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 Sixteenth Street Church bombing in Birmingham and the Mississippi Burning case. Mitchell reveals how he unearthed secret documents, found long-lost suspects and witnesses, building up evidence strong enough to take on the Klan. He takes us into every harrowing scene along the way, as when Mitchell goes into the lion’s den, meeting one-on-one with the very murderers he is seeking to catch. His efforts have put four leading Klansmen behind bars, years after they thought they had gotten away with murder.
Race Against Time is an astonishing, courageous story capturing a historic race for justice, as the past is uncovered, clue by clue, and long-ignored evils are brought into the light. This is a landmark book and essential reading for all Americans.
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“It’s one thing to have a great story to tell. But it’s another thing to have it told by a great storyteller. Jerry Mitchell has written this book with power, talent, and conscience.”
— Rick Bragg, New York Times bestselling author
Quotes
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“Thanks to [Mitchell], and to courageous prosecutors, witnesses, and FBI agents, justice finally prevailed.”
— John Grisham, #1 New York Times bestselling author -
“Taut and riveting.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“His journalistic coups revealed an uncanny ability to wheedle incriminating remarks from defensive suspects and damning observations from unfriendly witnesses.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“The strength of Race Against Time is Mitchell’s ability to weave a compelling narrative, much like a police procedural, outlining how reluctant prosecutors are convinced to fight for justice.”
— Washington Independent Review of Books -
“Superb..[A] thrilling true crime account.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Awards
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A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice of the Week
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An Amazon Editor’s Top Pick
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About Jerry Mitchell
Jerry Mitchell, a reporter in Mississippi since 1986, is the winner of more than thirty national awards. He is the founder of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting. The nonprofit is continuing his work of exposing injustices and raising up a new generation of investigative reporters.