It, but they did. The fact that klansmen lived across the street from where this happened, it was something that Police Officers found more to be a coincidence. Michael donald was an innocent good samaritan, not a thug. The white suspects were identified, but we had the wrong people. We felt the cops and the klan were working hand in hand. Calling upon mobiles black community to be as cool as possible in response to this murder. Let there be no doubt the klan is behind this. But you got to prove it first. The body of a black man has been found hanging from a tree in mobile, alabama. Lynching is a tool to control and oppress black people. It is as old as the constitution. Klans are not running around with white sheets over their head, but its still happening. Today people are horrified of the police. It is the modern day lynching. What are we going to do about it . We move forward with people deciding im bold enough and im going to make a change. Beulah mae donald took on one of the most violent criminal organizations in the United States. This is an incredible story of courage. Here we are in 2020 without a federal antilynching statute. I believe were at a point of a reckoning. Lynching today is at the end of a rope, at the end of a gun, at the end of a baton, at the end of a taser. Its not merely about the white hood or the blue uniform. Its about us. Its about red, white and blue. We need to declare as a country these acts that were used to instill terror must never be treated as acceptable. Breonna taylors killing saw her through the eyes of a dad that would give up everything to keep his daughter safe. I dont want my daughters to have their door kicked in. Just the idea they took him and hung him. Just hung him up. They beat him unmercifully. I wondered, did he have time to know he was going to die . Did he have time to say, lord, have mercy on me . It took took courage. It took strength. Because you didnt know who to trust and who not to trust. The mobile Police Department, they sat on it, and they would just call us and say, we still working on the case. My mom would say, it really gets on my nerve. I dont want them to call me. Just call me and tell me they got the person that killed my son. We need somebody thats going to help us along the way. The opportunity to come back and to work with the criminal Justice System here in mobile is a good opportunity. Figures, the black Assistant Attorney was able to keep knocking on doors and make sure this case does not rest. My uncle felt keep in his heart and soul, just as my father did, that this is a racial motivated attack and the federal government should step in and be involved in the investigation. Jeff sessions was the u. S. Attorney for the Southern District of alabama. We worked with the fbi and the local people, too, to investigate it. And it was difficult to move forward. Just were not making much progress. Jim bodman was appointed by the fbi to get to the bottom of this case. January of 1983, the head of the fbi office came up to me and laid a paper file on my desk, and he said, jim, take this case. The justice department, they would like you to close the case. I asked him, sir, what do you think im going to do about it . He said, you take this case and you work it. And he used, i think, maybe a smaller terminology but i sure got the message. So okay. January of 83, i get the case. They suppose i kept saying it was a drug case gone bad. It was not a racial case. It was a drug case gone bad. That was not the issue. That case was being reassigned to me because i had experience and background specifically with the klan. As a daughter of the south who was raised in the heart of dixie, Beulah Mae Donald understood what it meant to take on the klan. She understood what it meant of the legacy of the racial terrorism by the klan. 1963, the church was targeted by klan members because it was an Organizing Ground for Civil Rights Activity. It was a place from which Martin Luther king organized. The worship hour was chosen to maximize terrorism. I was standing across from the girls over by the sink, and they was a few feet away from me. I reached my hand out. Thats when i heart this loud, boom and i said, jesus. Addie addie but she didnt answer. Everything went dark. I was the only survivor. And i lost my right eye. Those Beautiful Girls was killed for nothing, just for being black. The police knew who did it, but they werent going to bring them to the bar of justice. So they just kept it quiet. They even gave these men nicknames. They called cherry cherry bomb and they called chambers dynamite bob. They know who they were. The Police Department and the sheriffs office, their investigation of the bombing was aimed at this crazy, nutty theory that the blacks themselves had set the bomb, being that they wanted to bomb their own church so they could bring sympathy to their cause. In 1963 and in 1981, Black Scapegoats were killed. Victims were brutalized, and we as a country have to learn the l l lesson. There are no scapegoats. There is only justice. When i went down to mobile, i never went to the local authorities. They never volunteered anything to me. Donald had been hung on a tree same block where this group of klan lived, and im thinking, gee whiz, what better place to start . So i started interviewing these people. And i approached them with the idea they were not the subject of that investigation, other than the fact that i want your information. I want to know what you know. And the more i asked questions, the more they talked. I had some photographs of some individuals standing beside a pickup truck looking at the individual when he was hanging in this tree. I identified a klansman. His name is teddy kizer, and i went and talked to him. And i told him, i said, all right, look, teddy, i know you live on herndon avenue. Tell me what you saw. Well, when the neighbor in apartment one was knocking on the door, i asked him what was the problem. He said there was a black man hanging from the tree out here. I said, youre kidding. He said no. So i went out on the front porch. Sure enough, it was. I stuck to the klansmen because i was on the right trail. Shampoos that care for your color as well as your hair . Everpure by loreal. Expert sulfatefree formulas. Validated by colorists. Nonstripping to keep any colored hair beautiful for weeks. Everpure from loreal paris. I love this rakuten app. Look at that. 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The truth is going to come out because we aint going to let it rest. We originally arrested the wrong people. It was my mistake. Eventually he realized. He said, look, were going to go back and were going to investigate the Michael Donald case from day one. Behind the scenes, there was a lot going on. There were two separate investigations. One track was the federal track. The other was the state track. We were both trying to get to the same place following different paths. On the state side, i went to Jeff Sessions and said, ive got this guy named bob. He was Chief Investigator for the d. A. Bob had investigated the klan successfully. Bob eddy saw the 16th Street Church bombing in birmingham. The klan felt that they were either protected or purely invincible. Their influence and sympathizers were embedded throughout government, throughout Law Enforcement in both the city and the state level. In spite of the fact that four innocent negro girls were murdered in a church in birmingham, alabama, not a single arrest has been made. Six years after the bombing, i was elected attorney general of alabama. That meant i had the real position where i could do something about it. So i got them to really investigate it. Bob eddy, one great witness he found was the niece. She testified that two or three days before the bomb went off robert was ranting and raving about the blacks and the demonstrations. And he said, you just wait until sunday. They will beg us to segregate. So i said, what do you mean . He said, youll find out. Youll find out. And, so, that was pretty powerful. That made an impact on the jury. So they put the pieces of a puzzle together that resulted in the conviction of robert chambliss. But the Community New there were still others out there that were involved. Truth and gods people are on the move. The 16th street baptist Church Bombing was carried out by members of the united klan of america, the same organization who killed Michael Donald. Again and again we have seen white racists take the lives of black people and do so with impunity, with the Le Mittization and permission of Law Enforcement. He said, chris, this is a klan killing. You not only had the noose but the typical Klan Diversionary tactic, burning a cross on the lawn of the county courthouse. Bob eddy, in the course of interviewing witnesses, learned that there had been a meeting on wednesday night preceding the friday abduction of Michael Donald. Three days before Michael Donald was murdered, we had a private meeting which we have every wednesday for just klan members. Bob eddy knew who was at that klan meeting, tiger knolls, frank cox, teddy kizer, henry hays and benny hays, the second highest ranking klansman in the state of alabama. Bennie hays is the third highest ranking official in the united klan. He was a hard nosed businessman. He could drop a dime and pull out a quarter. Bennie jack was a very detailed man. He was pure evil when he set his mind to it. Henry hays was a lifetime member. He was the secretary treasurer. He collected the dues and the minutes and things like that. He was a holdover from the late 60s. He loved to smoke dope. He could do any drugs he could get his hands on. Henry was a very lovable young man, but he made sure to please daddy. And if called on him, he would do it. His daddy would discipline him harsh. It would come down to beatings. He would have his adult life. Tyler knolls was an entrepreneur. He was very ambitious. He had his hands in everything. He could make a dollar in the back alley, he was doing everything. At 17, i was a regional officer in the klan for south alabama. But, yeah, i was the second in command. I aspired to be the grand dragon over the state. I thought that would give me political contacts, and thats what i was looking for. Tiger was the most volatile of the bunch. I think he mentored under bennie. You could talk him off the ledge, but he got up on the ledge in a hurry. They were klansmen. They were at that meeting on wednesday night. Out of that mottly crew, more than one we strongly suspected had participated in that murder and that lynching. Uses unconventional thinking to help your business realize new possibilities. Only one 5g partner offers unmatched network, support, and valuewithout any trade offs. We know its going to take many forms of energy to meet the worlds needs while creating a Cleaner Future for all. At chevron, were lowering the Carbon Emissions intensity of our operations, investing in lowercarbon technologies, and exploring Renewable Fuels of the future. We work hard to care for the homes we love. But its only human. To protect the one we share. Its an important time to save. With priceline, you can get up to 60 off amazing hotels. And when you get a big deal. You feel like a big deal. Priceline. Every trip is a big deal. Shampoos that care for your color as well as your hair . Everpure by loreal. Expert sulfatefree formulas. Validated by colorists. Nonstripping to keep any colored hair beautiful for weeks. Everpure from loreal paris. Wanna help kids get their homework done . Beautiful for weeks. Well, an Internet Connections a good start. But kids also need computers. And sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. So why not Hook Community centers up with wifi . For kids like us, and all the Amazing Things were gonna learn. Over the next 10 years, comcast is committing 1 billion to reach 50 million lowincome americans with the tools and resources they need to be ready for anything. I hope youre ready. cause we are. The klan, they were still around because they were hanging nooses everywhere they could in mobile. And my mom would say to me, dont you go there because you know people are looking at you. And i would tell her, i dont care. And shed be like, yes, you do care. You got your children to raise. But i wasnt fearful of that. I felt like nothing man could do to me now would affect me as much as michaels death affected me. Im a strong believer. I dont know about man, but i know what god can do. There is a difference between what you know and what you can prove. The investigation was evolving. Bob eddy was on the case. He was interviewing people. He never took his foot off the gas. Agent bodman under the direction of thomas figures was out there interviewing klansmen. We knew who committed this crime. We, however, could not prove it without a break. I never once thought that i was not being looked at seriously as a suspect. Law enforcement started to zero in on us more and more. Alabama determined that i wasnt going to talk to nobody. They were building that narrative, and i just wasnt going to give anybody the satisfaction. Everybody thought i was hiding something. I felt like i was being harassed. My mom and dads phone has gotten tapped twice. My biggest concern was someone saying Something Like henry. Henry had a big mouth. Henry has never said it one way or the other. Of course, he denied it. Eddy kizer, when interviewed by bob eddy, implicated frank cox in the cross burning. The cross burning, yeah, teddy and i burned the cross on the Courthouse Lawn that night. Did we do it to promote a motion . No. Because jack said to go do it. I said, man, i made a break. I need a break. And teddy, he was it. I was told that it was a felony, and i could be getting ten years in a federal penitentiary for that cross burning. It was scary. I am zeroed in. Got my target. Teddy kizer was the least educated, least intelligent one of the group. The other members of the group made fun of him. They lashed him for doing something in violation of one of unit 900s bylaws. I was whipped with a leather strap that was five inches wide and about six foot long. It was bringing tears to my eyes. But the more i thought about it, the madder i got. And i got to where i couldnt feel it. I had always showed him respect, so i dont know if treating him as a person had any effect on his wanting to talk to me or confide in me. But he did. He did. Jim bodman, he said, if youre telling the truth, that you had no knowledge of it before or during, you have nothing to worry about, now do you . I said well, no, youre right. And thats when i started settling down and incorporating with people. The night that Michael Donald was murdered, we had a card game going there at henrys apartment, and we were drinking beer. And at 12 00, i looked up. Tiger had a blue jean type shirt, no sleeves, and he was soaked down in blood. I said i dont know what yall been doing, but, tiger, youre soaked down in blood. He looked down his shirt, saw the blood, so he just ripped it off of himself. I said, what yall been doing. He said they beat up a queer, so they laughed and i laughed with them. I said, well, the next time you do, i want in on it. He said, well, he had blood on him. Thats the first time that had come out to my knowledge in the investigation. I found another klansman. So i just ask him. Where did the blood come from that was on tiger that night. He said, oh, he had a nosebleed. And im thinking, sure he did. I didnt know there was anybody murdered until the next morning. I never did leave the porch to go to look at the body. But my attitude back then, i thought it was funny. I laughed. Everpure by loreal. Expert sulfatefree formulas. Validated by colorists. Nonstripping to keep any colored hair beautiful for weeks. Everpure from loreal paris. Im searching for info on options trading, and look, it feels like im just wasting time. Thats why Td Ameritrade designed a firstofitskind, personalized education center. Oh. Their awardwinning content is tailored to fit your investing goals and interests. And it learns with you, so as you become smarter, so do its recommendations. So its like my streaming service. Well except now youre binge learning. See how you can become a smarter investor with a personalized education from Td Ameritrade. Visit tdameritrade. Com learn kinder bueno . Woooooow. Its crispy. Its creamy. Its not your average chocolate bar. Smooth milk chocolate, crispy wafer and creamy hazelnut filling. Its kinder bueno. Beulah mae donald sought justice for her son. In 1963 and in 1981, justice means that we hold organizations like the klan, individuals like those murderers accountable. Black citizens and other minorities have absolutely no protection, no representation in government. They have been left to the mercy of local officials. All the time the investigation was going on, we was really trying to dedicate ourselves to keep that from ever happening again in mobile, alabama. The only way we could do that is try to bring about some change, someone to represent the interests of all the people in the city because before that we didnt have that at all. We get talked at. We get talked about. We are stats. We are stereotypes. We are made a mockery of. We are dismissed. Nobody ever asked us. Nobody ever listens to us. How we rectify generations of gross, gross injustice and how do we do that knowing that if we right those wrongs, its going to be better for everyone. In 1963, the 16th street baptist church, Four Little Girls were killed. Sara collins was maimed and continues to suffer to this very day. I never received any restitution. I didnt receive any counseling going back to school. I was angry for a long time. Why would they kill those innocent girls . They didnt even get a chance to live their life. But these men, they did. They live a good life. It was just wrong. The men who took the lives of Four Little Girls had decades to escape accountability. The investigation was reopened. We indicted them in may of 2000. This verdict today sends a message that the people that bomb and kill our innocent citizens and children, we will never give up. Justice delayed does not have to be justice denied. Those decades cannot be taken back. They cannot be given to those Four Little Girls. So when we think about Michael Donald, we have to ask ourselves how long will it take for his family to get justice . Thomas figures believed that the klan was responsible for this and that we should pursue it. So the idea lies that we would call up a grand jury. We would haul every witness that was relevant in any way, put them under oath and question them aggressively. The reason we needed a federal grand jury is because a State Grand Jury convenes for a single session. The Life Span Of A Federal Grand Jury can run months. So federal grand jury convenes in may of 1983. Now that we think we know who did it, we will bring them in. They will lie. You bring them back. Theyll lie again. But sooner or later, if you keep hauling them in, somebody is going to break. I had to go before the grand jury. I didnt have no money for a lawyer, and i knew a public defender wouldnt do all that much. They did not get attorneys who advised them to take the fifth amendment. And, so, they testified before the grand jury. When youre interviewed about a murder before a federal grand jury, youre going to be uncomfortable. Thomas figures was a grinder. In this case, simply tenacious. Thomas figures was really wanting to have me locked up. They kept pushing that point, pushing that point. It makes the pot boil. I was saying the same thing over and over and over again. They often contradicted one other and they would back off and they would acknowledge things they hadnt acknowledged before. The klansmen lied. We knew they lied, so we brought them back a second time. And then you go back to somebody else that said, well, this man just told us this. You better tell us the truth now. And then theyd tell you more. And then some of them lied a second time, and we brought them back a third time. It was a game at that point between the accused and the powers that were trying to convict me or henry or tiger, teddy, bennie or jack. You could see the evidence developing, the kind of evidence you need to have a successful prosecution. Thomas was a prosecutor. He was dedicated to that, very dedicated to it. But he was also the kind of person that did not bite his tongue. If he thought something was wrong, he was going to say it was wrong. Sometimes he ran into some friction. Thomas could be very abrupt, and he was riding this departmental attorney big time. I mean big time riding him. And finally this attorney looked up at thomas and he said, you know, i could always use a good boot black. Thomas blew up. Thomas figures is a black prosecutor in a federal office in the 1980s. Hes Fighting Discrimination from without and discrimination from within. And he has to listen to his colleagues speak to him in condescending ways, including his boss, Jeff Sessions, who says to him, you need to watch the way you speak to white people. And he has to secure the trust of Law Enforcement. And, so, thomas figures has to walk a tight rope. He wasnt going to ever give up. They may have thought he was. But he wasnt going to ever give up on them. I think the culprits became sensitive to the possibility that among them someone would start pointing fingers. I continued to testify more and more. It was such a blur. Not just from me but from everyone all around. They felt i was way in over my head. I guess it was a combination of grand juries, other klansmen talking. And it was in june of 1983 that tiger knolls cracked. Pd knew she wasnt done. She brought a several suit against the klan. They took him back to mobile and lynched him. This is black lives matter in 1983. The people v. The klan next sunday at 9 00. Hi guys check out this side right here. Whatd you do . Tell me know you did it. Yeah. Get a little closer. Thats insane. Thats a different car. Thats the same car. No yeah, thats before, thats after. Oh, thats awesome. Make it nu with nu finish. Shampoos that care for your color as well as your hair . Everpure by loreal. Expert sulfatefree formulas. Validated by colorists. Nonstripping to keep any colored hair beautiful for weeks. Everpure from loreal paris. If sweat is your bodys natural way of cooling itself down. Then condensation is a beers natural way of saying drink me. Michelob ultra now with a new look. In june of 83, tiger knolls appeared before the federal grand jury and knolls confessed. I actually had an attorney, and i told him what happened. You would have thought that the devil just passed before his eyes. He completely changed. Next thing you know, hes contacted something with the mobile Police Department, has me come in and tell the whole story to them. He admitted that he had participated, but was light years away from telling the whole truth and sought a deal. Tiger would assume a demeanor that you dont normally see in a 17yearold murderer. You might as well have been sitting in this restaurant having a coke with him and hearing what he recently did. There was no remorse. There was no contrition. There was no emotion. I thought he was a sociopath. So i said, im not giving him a deal. My attorney, you know, instead of trying to help me figure out how to get this over and done with and try to make amends as much as he could, he pretty much sold me out. I think tiger knowles, he thought it was a good thing to do until he did it. Mr. Hays probably told him, oh, we could do this and nothing will be done to us. I think he convinced him, if you do this, oh, theyll never find out that you done it. So then he went across town to the federal side, was interviewed by agent jim bodman. June the 10th, 1983, i get a call about midnight. And its from tiger. He wanted to meet me that night. He was going to put me straight. He was tired of me leaning on him. I said, okay. With some concern. And we agreed to meet in mobile. I go early than our agreed time, ride through the shadows and looking at all the cars trying to see if i or we were being set up. I didnt know what would happen. They had already killed one person. So i parked back in the shadows where they couldnt necessarily see me. There was a white man with tiger. I looked at him, and he was his attorney. And i know him. Im thinking, what is he doing here . So we start talking, and tiger starts saying, ive had enough of this. Get off my back. I said, tiger, wait a minute. Dont Start Feeding me that same old crap. If thats the best you can do, im going to go home. Im going to go to bed. I said, ill tell you what. I know what happened. Picked up this young man, you took him out to an area. He was scared to death. He was afraid for his life. He started fighting both of you. You couldnt handle him. And you proceeded to beat him to the ground, and you killed him. You killed him. Tiger, i dont think you meant to do it. And so help me, his response was, honest, mr. Bodman, we didnt mean to do it. And i thought, gotcha. Okay. Where did you take him . Mr. Bodman, you know. I said, you got to tell me. He answered that question. I said, how do you get him up in the tree . You couldnt get him up there by yourself. And he named henry. Henry hays. Got em, man. Got em. And i said, ill tell you what, i want you to go home. Dont run off. Dont hide. Dont flee. I did because you confessed to me i can save your life because in the federal system the maximum for death resulting was life. And guess what it is in Alabama State law . They put your put in the electric chair. So he saw the light. Monday we will get together and we will do everything necessary to take care of you. Tiger walks off into the night. If im lucky enough i get to heaven i want to ask, lord, thank you. I solved the case. Its solved. Im glad its all come to light. Michael did no wrong. We knew that my brother had died. The klan had killed him. You know, people have come to me and said, they never found out who killed my sibling, my father, my mother. My brother died and they never found out. Yall are blessed. Yall are truly blessed. And i tell god right then, thank you, god. Because we could be like them, wondering. Expert sulfatefree formulas. Validated by colorists. Nonstripping to keep any colored hair beautiful for weeks. Everpure from loreal paris. Hi, im a new customer beautiful for weeks. And i want your best new smartphone deal. Well im an existing customer and id like your best new smartphone deal. Oh do ya . Actually its for both new and existing customers. I feel silly. But i do want nationwide 5g. I want nationwide 5g. Are we actually doing this again . Its not complicated. Only at t gives new existing customers the same great deals. Like the Samsung Galaxy s21 5g for free when you trade in. Sweetarts a candy thats just one thing . When i have sweetarts ropes bites . That are sweet and tart . . Why wouldnt i want both . . . Shhhhhhhweeetarts. Sweetarts. Be both. Priceline works with top hotels, to save you up to 60 . These are all great. And when you get a big deal. You feel like a big deal. Priceline. Every trip is a big deal. 19yearold Michael Donalds body was found on march 21st of 1981. Today fbi officials announced the death of james tiger knowles. The fbi agent jim bodman reported the information up their Chain Of Command to the u. S. Attorneys office. When he was told that he had to cooperate fully to save his life, thomas figures and myself met in one of the courtrooms with tiger. He showed up at that point in time. I said, okay, tiger. Tell again exactly what you told me. He starts telling him. I dont know all the negotiations that were involved. I trusted the lawyer. And i ended up getting a plea deal. I was the one that said, no, were not going to give this guy a deal. He had confessed. And it was a free, knowing and intelligent incriminating statement. Then the question is what to do about henry hays who is 26 years old. I thought it was a Death Penalty case. This will not be tolerated. We cannot allow that kind of violent, brutal murder and a hateful group. We decided a decision was reached that it would be tried by the state District Attorney in alabama had a Death Penalty at that time. I wanted the Africanamerican Community to know the United States Attorneys Office in mobile, alabama was not going to back away from tough, civil rights cases. I know Jeff Sessions. I think i know him pretty well. If i had to say the amount of effort he put into this, i would say by position his name came up. He was the u. S. Attorney. Period at the end of that. When Jeff Sessions was nominated to be a federal judge back in the 1980s, the Michael Donald case was used as a kind of racial shield. I am not a racist. I am not insensitive to blacks. I have supported Civil Rights Activity in my state. Thomas figures testified against his boss in congress under oath that Jeff Sessions initially tried to dissuade him from bringing the case. I think thomas said it best in his own words. While it is literally true that Jeff Sessions did not i believe he said obstruct the investigation, he certainly did not promote this investigation. If the only thing you can point to is that you were the u. S. Attorney when Michael Donalds case was solved, then you dont have much to offer as it relates to working to make sure that all people are treated equal. What we do have is more prosecutions in the First District on Crack Cocaine Convictions and people getting life without parole i think than they have in los angeles. Thats where the time was spent. Im real thankful that thomas figures was there. I try to do the right thing all the time, every day, every decision i made. Ive been unfairly accused involving the Michael Donald case, unfairly accused of not supporting this case. Which is not true. I mean, we advanced it well. And, so, i just would say i tell the truth and somebody else can write the history. We would try henry in state court for capital murder. But bennie hays, the number two man would attempt to protect his than. Bennie hays came to my house looking for me. The only reason he would come looking for me is to shut my mouth, to keep me from talking. Bridging the divide, President Biden set to meet with Senate Democrats and republicans as they argue over the president s bill and what exactly infrastructure is. Infrastructure is the foundation that makes it possible for people to live and work well. But will that message work for both parties . 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