Research Catalog

The three death sentences of Clarence Henderson : a battle for racial justice at the dawn of the Civil Rights Era

Title

The three death sentences of Clarence Henderson : a battle for racial justice at the dawn of the Civil Rights Era / Chris Joyner.

Author

Joyner, Chris

Publication

New York : Abrams Press, 2022.
©2022

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Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	Sc E 22-529	Schomburg Center - Research & Reference

Details

Description

xiii, 337 pages; 23 cm

Summary

The Three Death Sentences of Clarence Henderson is the story of Clarence Henderson, a wrongfully accused Black sharecropper who was sentenced to die three different times for a murder he didn't commit, and the prosecution desperate to pin the crime on him despite scant evidence. His first trial lasted only a day and featured a lackluster public defense. The book also tells the story of Homer Chase, a former World War II paratrooper and New England radical who was sent to the South by the Communist Party to recruit African Americans to the cause while offering them a chance at increased freedom. And it's the story of Thurgood Marshall's NAACP and their battle against not only entrenched racism but a Communist Party -- despite facing nearly as much prejudice as those they were trying to help -- intent on winning the hearts and minds of Black voters. The bitter battle between the two groups played out as the sides sparred over who would take the lead on Henderson's defense, a period in which he spent years in prison away from a daughter he had never seen. Through it all, The Three Death Sentences of Clarence Henderson is a portrait of a community, and a country, at a crossroads, trying to choose between the path it knows is right and the path of least resistance. The case pitted powerful forces -- often those steering legal and journalistic institutions -- attempting to use racism and Red-Scare tactics against a populace that by and large believed the case against Henderson was suspect at best. But ultimately, it's a hopeful story about how even when things look dark, some small measure of justice can be achieved against all the odds, and actual progress is possible. It's the rare book that is a timely read, yet still manages to shed an informative light on America's past and future, as well as its present.

Subject

Genre/Form

Biographies.
True crime stories.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 283-322) and index.

Contents

Preface -- Murder and chaos -- Carrollton -- A desperate manhunt -- "A very dark Negro" -- The first trial -- "Let me go home" -- Subversive elements -- The commies come to town -- "His fight is our fight" -- The NAACP takes charge -- A new trial ordered -- Dan Duke -- The second trial -- Ballistics, Nan, and a verdict -- New evidence, new trial -- The third trial -- Cornett v. Jones -- God and the NAACP.

Call Number

Sc E 22-529

ISBN

9781419756368
1419756362

LCCN

2021934987

OCLC

1274119123

Author

Joyner, Chris, author.

Title

The three death sentences of Clarence Henderson : a battle for racial justice at the dawn of the Civil Rights Era / Chris Joyner.

Publisher

New York : Abrams Press, 2022.

Copyright Date

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 283-322) and index.

Research Call Number

Sc E 22-529

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