Fire in a Canebrake: The Last Mass Lynching in America

Rating:
Summary: Disturbung to say the least
Review: I live 20 minutes away from where this tragic event occurred. I have lived in this area for over 30 years and just recently became aware that the lynching occurred. I decided to read the book when a friend of mine told me it was out - we had discussed the history of the event a few months earlier as he was raised in Walton County and knew of some of the people mentioned in the book. I have to say that the entire book was very disturbing to me. I cannot in any way imagine an entire community keeping quiet about what happened. I cannot imagine the hate that caused this tragedy. I cannot understand the fear instilled in the black population so that they did not even come forward with information. I am in a interracial marriage and it is amazing to me that a few decades ago this would've caused an uproar that may have lead to murder.
The book is a good one. It will keep you interested throughout. Of course I knew before starting how it would end up - no conclusions on who did it - I learned a great deal about what actually occurred and have drawn my own ideas about what happened and who may have been involved. Knowing the area added to the "enjoyment" for lack of a better word, of reading, but it is definitely not necessary.
I am glad I was disturbed while I read this book. I hope everyone who reads it is as well. Too bad we'll never know what really happened.

Rating:
Summary: Essential reading
Review: In the town of Walton County, Georgia a mass lynching took place on the eve of July 25, 1946. Four victims were found shot to death at Moore's Ford Bridge and for five decades the person or persons responsible for the mass lynching have remained a mystery. This book chronicles the shocking story of the events that took place on that tragic day and the aftermath, which continues to the present day.

The FBI was called in to conduct an investigation into the deaths of the four victims. Black people were shocked and feared for their own lives so when questioned by the agents, they did not tell what they knew. Whites on the other hand had alibis for the day in question and pretended not to know anything about the lynching. After four months of intense investigations the case was still unsolved. Can you imagine what affect this mass lynching had on the people of the United States? To this very day no one has been convicted.

Laura Wexler, a young writer, became interested in this in 1997; she did an excellent job in her presentation of this tragic story. After extensive research into FBI data she conducted over one hundred interviews with people in Walton County, Georgia related to the lynchings. Her descriptive writing gives us the full story of the events that occurred during that tragic time in history.

Reviewed by Dorothy Cooperwood
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Rating:
Summary: Moore's Ford Lynching: The Klan Connection
Review: Laura Wexler's "Fire in a Canebrake" is a highly important work. Carefully researched and masterfully written, it will undoubtedly remain the definitive work on the Moore's Ford lynching for years to come. Wexler's vivid account has all the elements of a great novel. But, alas, this is the true story of four African-American lynching victims, shot dead in the prime of life by a mob of mad men on the Walton County bank of the Apalachee River about nine miles from the town of Monroe, Georgia, during the afternoon of 25 July 1946. Wexler never allows her reader to forget them. After more than fifty years, a veil of lies yet covered the facts of the Moore's Ford lynching and it was yet stuck fast to the face of evil. Those who knew the truth about the lynching would never tell. Nevertheless, Wexler tenaciously picked away the rotting veil of lies. Beneath it, one can now see a mourning veil stained with tears. Wexler did not find a direct link between the Ku Klux Klan and the Moore's Ford lynching; however, FBI documents confirm that Loy Harrison and his lawyer, James Willie Arnold, were working together to impede the FBI's investigation of the Moore's Ford lynching. Both men, Loy Harrison and James Willie Arnold, were in fact active members of the Ku Klux Klan, Klavern No.5 of Athens and Bogart, Georgia, where James Willie Arnold held the high Klan office of Grand Titan. Arnold was a large land owner in Oconee County, as was Loy Harrison, and he lived quite near the Moore's Ford community. As to the important question of the Klan being active in Walton and Oconee counties at the time of the lynching, Stetson Kennedy, alas, not mentioned by Wexler, was present at a meeting of Klavern No.1, 198 1/2 Whitehall Street, Atlanta, Georgia, when the Imperial Wizard reminded those present that it was "the Klan's No.1 political job" to elect Eugene Talmadge Governor of Georgia. The Imperial Wizard then reported "that our goal of an active Klavern in each of Georgia's 159 counties, to ensure a Talmadge victory at the polls, has already been realized!" Hence, there were indeed active Klaverns in Walton and Oconee counties at the time of the Moore's Ford lynching. According to Klan protocol, it would appear highly unlikely that Loy Harrison, or any other member of the Klan, could have been present at the lynching without the approval of Dr. Samuel Green, Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. Wexler does not forsee any justice in the Moore's Ford lynching case; however, there are different forms and degrees of justice in such cases and, perhaps, the first step on the long road to final justice in this case is her own excellent work. Alas, the children of those who were present and took part in the Moore's Ford lynching must learn to live with the awful facts, just as Roger Malcolm's son, the Rev. Roger Malcolm Hayes, has had to do. And there is Divine Justice: the hateful men who murdered Roger and Dorothy Malcolm and George and Mae Dorsey in cold blood--indeed, all who hate--will never see The Beautiful City of God, which is indeed The Beautiful City of LOVE. Finally, Georgia and Walton County ought to consider the children of the Moore's Ford victims in the same light as the state of Florida did in the Rosewood lynching case. Laura Wexler's "Fire in a Canebrake" is a powerful work. This is not the last we shall hear of Laura Wexler, nor is this the last we shall hear of the Moore's Ford lynching.

Rating:
Summary: No Justice, No Peace.....
Review: The term, "Fire in a Canebrake", is a phrase that Walton County, Georgia residents used to describe the sounds of the fatal gunshots that commenced the last mass lynching in America; it is also the title of Laura Wexler's historical account of the Moore's Ford lynching where four blacks were murdered in late July 1946. The novel painstakingly details the "who, what, when, where and why" of the horrific crime and is supported by interviews, FBI reports, and other detailed documentation.

Wexler takes us back to the beginning when a black man, Roger Malcolm, stabs a white man, Barnett Hester, for allegedly having an affair with his common law wife, Dorothy. As Barnett lingers near death, Roger sits in jail counting his days left on earth. Eleven days later when Barnett recovers, Roger is then set free when his bail is posted by Loy Harrison, a wealthy landowner and landlord to George Dorsey (Dorothy's older brother) and his common law wife, Mae Murray. It is returning home from the jail that Roger, Dorothy, George, and Mae are dragged from Loy's car by an angry mob of white men and are murdered in cold blood. Loy claims he did not and could not recognize any of the attackers which was why his life was spared on that fateful day....and so the lying begins and never seems to end.

For years, the NAACP, FBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), and local law enforcement conduct their investigations, interrogations, and examinations only to arrive at no convictions. It is only in 1991, when an "eyewitness" steps forward to tell his story that there appears to be a slither of hope for justice. However, hope fades as holes and contradictions run rampant in his testimony as well; and unfortunately by the early 1990's all of the suspected perpetrators and potential corroborating witnesses are deceased. It appears that the leads had literally died out and one wonders if justice will ever be served.

The author does an excellent job of "peeling back the layers" to set the stage for the story and expertly blends in the national and state political agendas that influenced the course of events surrounding the lynching. By doing so, the reader understands the history of the rural Georgian townships where the story plays out, the role of the key witnesses including their family and criminal backgrounds, public displays of bigotry and drunkenness. She also shares the political tactics of the day used to deny blacks of their Civil Rights and protection under Federal law, numerous contradictions in the witness's statements/alibis/affidavits, and lack of follow-up and missed opportunities by law officials. The handling of the case by the investigators from beginning to end is totally unbelievable by today's standards, but what is moreso shocking is the blatant racism, hatred, and wantonness of the townsfolk toward an atrocity such as this.

This reader ran a myriad of emotions while reading the novel -- first, frustration in that no perpetrators were ever brought to justice and nor was anyone ever held accountable for these heinous crimes -- a fact that is unfortunately recurrent in so many lynching cases. Secondly, anger and sadness when reading about the intimidation and threats against local blacks as well as the breakdown and separation of the victim's families in the aftermath of the lynching. The murders only exacerbated their wretched existence as poor, undereducated sharecroppers. The author's skill in conveying their daily living conditions and lifestyle using census statistics and first hand accounts was outstanding and heartbreaking.

This book is a page-turner! Although Oprah, Dateline, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution have covered this story, Wexler adds a twist: her words breathe life into the pages and add color to the black and white photos in the book; she presents the evidence in such a way to allow readers to draw their own conclusions. Hats off to Ms. Wexler for her perseverance and dedication to finding truth. Well done!

Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, The Nubian Circle Book Club

Rating:
Summary: Disturbung to say the least
Review: This book is an accurate and detailed historical account of The Morre's Ford Bridge Lynching that took place in Walton County, GA in 1946. For those of you doing the math that's only 57 years ago. Though certainly not the last recorded lynching, it was significant in that it eventually affected the political landscape of the country. The book combines the best of history, politics, race relations, slavery, and good old fashion detective work.

Laura Wexler is an author and researcher extraordinaire. Her talents are unmatched by anything I have read in recent times and certainly on par with American Literary Giants. Ms. Wexler's (a white woman) only shortcoming is that she fails to capture the anger a person of color could have brought to such events. Without saying anything more, yesterday afternoon I gave the book to my wife, by 11:00pm she had read 168 pages.

As you read be mindful of the following. Focus on the dates of those events, how relatively few years have passed between 1946 and 2003. For that matter think about the climate of America back in 1966. Only twenty years removed from the Morre's Ford Bridge lynching and unilaterally all whites would agree times were still overtly oppressive for blacks. With that, think about Affirmative Action and how 1966 represents one generation of blacks, still not fully removed from out right racist attitudes. I also want my friends to consider the prevailing attitude of whites in 1946 and how to this day, or at least 1997-1999 how those attitudes stood the test of time. Consider not just the rural, simplistic, racist cotton farmers, but the complex, covert, economic, and political powers of those white racists in place at the time. What do you think the power elite taught their children? If they taught their children their core values and belief system (which all good parents do), do you think those children (today's white leaders) would act upon their beliefs overtly or covertly? What struggles do you think Blacks might still face today?

As we STRUGGLE to understand and move past our differences, it is imperative that we recognize the RECENT history of overt racial oppression and the healing power of Affirmative Action. Growing up, Black men used the phrase "my brother" as a greeting. In that greeting we recognized not our biological sibling, nor our color, but more deeply our common struggle. To remove it from the vernacular and express it for what we were really trying to say, "my partner in struggle."

Your Brother,
habworks

Rating:
Summary: An instant American classic
Review: This book is an accurate and detailed historical account of The Morre's Ford Bridge Lynching that took place in Walton County, GA in 1946. For those of you doing the math that's only 57 years ago. Though certainly not the last recorded lynching, it was significant in that it eventually affected the political landscape of the country. The book combines the best of history, politics, race relations, slavery, and good old fashion detective work.

Laura Wexler is an author and researcher extraordinaire. Her talents are unmatched by anything I have read in recent times and certainly on par with American Literary Giants. Ms. Wexler's (a white woman) only shortcoming is that she fails to capture the anger a person of color could have brought to such events. Without saying anything more, yesterday afternoon I gave the book to my wife, by 11:00pm she had read 168 pages.

As you read be mindful of the following. Focus on the dates of those events, how relatively few years have passed between 1946 and 2003. For that matter think about the climate of America back in 1966. Only twenty years removed from the Morre's Ford Bridge lynching and unilaterally all whites would agree times were still overtly oppressive for blacks. With that, think about Affirmative Action and how 1966 represents one generation of blacks, still not fully removed from out right racist attitudes. I also want my friends to consider the prevailing attitude of whites in 1946 and how to this day, or at least 1997-1999 how those attitudes stood the test of time. Consider not just the rural, simplistic, racist cotton farmers, but the complex, covert, economic, and political powers of those white racists in place at the time. What do you think the power elite taught their children? If they taught their children their core values and belief system (which all good parents do), do you think those children (today's white leaders) would act upon their beliefs overtly or covertly? What struggles do you think Blacks might still face today?

As we STRUGGLE to understand and move past our differences, it is imperative that we recognize the RECENT history of overt racial oppression and the healing power of Affirmative Action. Growing up, Black men used the phrase "my brother" as a greeting. In that greeting we recognized not our biological sibling, nor our color, but more deeply our common struggle. To remove it from the vernacular and express it for what we were really trying to say, "my partner in struggle."

Your Brother,
habworks

Rating:
Summary: So much for Southern heritage
Review: This is a book about a horrendous assassination of four black residents of a neighboring county of Atlanta in 1946, but it is also a book on Southern culture, as it had existed since the time of the Civil War. The author depicts a close-knit, rural society dominated by white landowners who basically controlled their communities' affairs including the dispensing of justice as they saw fit. Keeping the blacks of the area under a watchful eye and in a subordinate economic position was a huge part of that control. Any deviation from their prescribed roles and permitted behaviors, generally resulted in some form of physical violence being perpetrated upon blacks. Of course, law enforcement personnel, if not assisting in this extra-legal violence, looked the other way.

The assassination of these four individuals screamed across the nation's headlines in the summer of 1946 to the surprise of the local residents. This dispensing of justice, while more egregious than was usually the case, was from the same timeworn mold. The local thought was, Why the clamor? The FBI, the NAACP, and any number of reporters descended on Walton County, Georgia that summer. But all of those parties met with silence, fear, dissembling, conflicting stories, and a decided lack of evidence. Five months of investigation, including the convening of a federal grand jury, yielded only some potential suspects, but the evidence was slight and inconclusive.

The author seemed to have a vague notion that she would be able to sift through the evidence and solve the case, aided by further digging. That thought was fueled by the fact that an alleged first-hand witness to the murders had come forward with his story in the early 1990s. It becomes evident in the course of the book that the new revelation was largely a fabrication, though the motivation remains unclear.

The author's project began in 1997, fifty-one years after the crime. Virtually all of the suspects and witnesses had died by that time. Most of the recapitulation of the days leading to the killings was derived from the extensive interviews conducted by the FBI in 1946. Other sources were newspaper accounts and files from the NAACP. In the beginning, the author attempts to piece together the steps and actions of the principals in the days leading to the murders. Most of the book is devoted to bouncing around the conflicting evidence as it was gathered. Some conclusions can be drawn, but mostly the truth remains obscure.

Of course, anyone reading this book would realize that the crime has not been solved, so that is not a good reason to read the book. And it is a slight criticism of the book that after that much effort, the author does not in the end offer much in the way of speculation as to the perpetrators. The importance of this book is that it lays bare the notion that Southern society treated blacks, though perhaps differently, benignly. Life for blacks in the olden South was nothing short of brutal. One wonders just what it is from the past that Southerners want to defend in the various flag controversies now raging throughout Southern states. This book makes quite clear that atonement for the past should be on the minds of rural Southerners, not preservation.