someone has taken a young man, hung him in a tree. who would do something this hideous? michael donald was an innocent good samaritan, not a thug. the mobile police department just didn t want to believe that mobile would still have klan in it. but they did. that s why we kept marching and protesting, letting them know we were going to take this lion down. the admitted klansmen turned to action as the words, guilty of capital murder, sank in. it was the first time since at least the early 1900s that a white had been sentenced to death for a crime committed against a black person in the state of alabama. beulah mae donald is grieving, but also seeking justice for her child. this is a black woman who s just lost her son to lynching. finds the strength to move forward in a civil suit against the klan in alabama. the stakes could not be higher. the body of a black man has been found hanging from a tree in mobile, alabama. lynching is a tool to control and oppr
if you will, the keys to the klan kingdom. what it was about is that we hold accountable institutions and organizations that propagate hate. and we as a society are holding everybody accountable. the klan was hit with a $7 million wrongful death verdict in a case brought by donald s mother. the klan didn t have the money and wound up having to sign over its tuscaloosa building to her. she said, i just don t care about the money. i really don t. but the building sold really fast. that s why she was able to get the home that now stands where it is today. i wasn t expecting any, you know, deathbed confession from henry hayes. he had never done that. and he didn t admit to the crime, but he did admit to having made poor choices, having bad associations.
there had really been some justice done in this. i was doubtful, though, because had it been up to some people, it wouldn t have advanced far. it s not really about a jury award of $7 million. it s not really about getting, if you will, the keys to the klan kingdom. what it was about is that we hold accountable institutions and organizations that propagate hate. and we, as a society, are holding everybody accountable. the klan was hit with a $7 million wrongful death verdict in a case brought by donald s mother. the klan didn t have the money and wound up having to sign over its tuscaloosa building to her. i just said, i just don t care about the money. i really don t. but the building sold really fast. that s why she was able to get the home that now stands where