Summary of Gilbert King's Devil in the Grove

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The final trial was the Columbia Race Riot trials, in which 25 black men were accused of rioting and attempting to murder white police officers in Columbia, Tennessee. The verdicts were stunning, and the national press had defined the riots as the first major racial confrontation following World War II.

#2 The atmosphere around the Columbia courthouse was becoming more volatile. A political cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Courier had been poking around the courthouse, and he believed that the telephone wires were tapped, which he reported back to Walter White, the executive secretary of the NAACP.

#3 In 1946, Marshall returned to Columbia to try the case. He was surrounded by white hostility, and the trial was long and difficult.

#4 A mob began to gather around town and outside the jail, and by late afternoon the sheriff was hearing talk that a group of men was planning to spring the Stephenson niggers out of the jail and hang them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822546608

IRB Media

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Insights on Gilbert King's Devil in the Grove

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 18

Insights from Chapter 19

Insights from Chapter 20

Insights from Chapter 21

Insights from Chapter 22

Insights from Chapter 23

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The final trial was the Columbia Race Riot trials, in which 25 black men were accused of rioting and attempting to murder white police officers in Columbia, Tennessee. The verdicts were stunning, and the national press had defined the riots as the first major racial confrontation following World War II.

#2

The atmosphere around the Columbia courthouse was becoming more volatile. A political cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Courier had been poking around the courthouse, and he believed that the telephone wires were tapped, which he reported back to Walter White, the executive secretary of the NAACP.

#3

In 1946, Marshall returned to Columbia to try the case. He was surrounded by white hostility, and the trial was long and difficult.

#4

A mob began to gather around town and outside the jail, and by late afternoon the sheriff was hearing talk that a group of men was planning to spring the Stephenson niggers out of the jail and hang them.

#5

The white mob that had been terrorizing the black community all night finally moved into Mink Slide and began looting and shooting at will.

#6

In Columbia, Tennessee, the trial against Rooster Bill Pillow ended with a not-guilty verdict. The trial against Papa Kennedy ended with a guilty verdict, but he was released on bail.

#7

After the verdict, there were threats of violence against the NAACP lawyers. They went back to Mink Slide, where they had been celebrating before the verdict, and picked up some soft drinks and crackers. They then headed north to Nashville.

#8

The police stopped the lawyers, and after searching the lawyers, found no liquor, but still charged them with drunken driving.

#9

The police car drove down a dirt road, and as it approached the men waiting by the river, Marshall could see the grim faces of the Klansmen. The car stopped, and as soon as it turned left off the main road, Looby knew he was in trouble. He wasn’t going to leave Marshall to the devices of murderous law enforcement officers.

#10

Marshall was arrested for drunk driving, and when he went to the magistrate, he was quickly released. The streets were deserted because everyone was down at the lynch party waiting for the police to arrive.

#11

In 1946, Marshall was attacked by a mob while driving back to Nashville from Knoxville. He had called the attorney general, Tom Clark, to tell him what had happened. Drunken driving. Clark asked. Yes, Marshall said, but he had been sober for five minutes. Clark paused. Well, were you drunk.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

When Marshall returned to New York, he was terrified of being recognized. He walked around with a glass of bourbon in his hand, waiting for the porter to bring him a good cut of meat. He never felt safe until he was riding the rails again.

#2

Fats Waller, a famous pianist, would park himself on a piano bench in a Harlem flat and sing while the dancers brushed against him. The floors would shake and from the kitchen the sweet smell