By The National Press Club
Reporter Jerry Mitchell, who spent years investigating the most infamous murders of the civil rights movement, will speak at a National Press Club Headliners event on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 about his upcoming book, Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Right Era.
Race Against Time chronicles Mitchell’s quest to unearth the truth behind some of the most gruesome and harrowing unsolved murders of the civil rights era. Mitchell’s reporting is credited with helping to bring killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Church in Birmingham, and the murder of three civil rights workers commonly referred to as the Mississippi Burning case.
This event will take place in the Club’s Zenger Room at 8:30 a.m., and will feature a moderated discussion with the author, an audience question-and-answer session, and a book signing. Doors open at 8 a.m. with a light breakfast of coffee, tea, muffins and pastries.
Tickets cost $5 for members of the National Press Club and $10 for the general public. Please click here to purchase tickets.
Preordered books will be available for pickup and signing at the event. Attendees will also be able to purchase books at the door. Proceeds from the book sales will benefit the National Press Club Journalism Institute, the non-profit affiliate of the Club, so the Institute asks that you leave all outside books at home.
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From Wikipedia:
“Jerry W. Mitchell is an American investigative reporter for The Clarion-Ledger, a newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi. He convinced authorities to reopen seemingly cold murder cases from the Civil Rights Era, prompting one colleague to call him ‘the South’s Simon Wiesenthal.’ In 2009, he received a ‘genius grant’ from the MacArthur Foundation.
“Mitchell was a court reporter for the Clarion-Ledger in 1989 when the film Mississippi Burning inspired him to look into old civil rights cases that many thought had long since turned cold. His investigations have led to the arrest of several Klansmen and prompted authorities to reexamine numerous killings during the civil rights era.
“In 1996, he was portrayed by Jerry Levine in the Rob Reiner film Ghosts of Mississippi, about the murder of Medgar Evers and the belated effort to bring killer Byron De La Beckwith to justice.”
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Jerry Mitchell: Righting the Wrongs of the Past
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From the publisher:
“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.
“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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Comments welcome.
Posted on January 8, 2020