Author Description

On August 7, 1930, three black teenagers were dragged from their jail cells in Marion, Indiana, by a howling mob. Two were hanged, the third escaped. A photo taken that night shows the bodies hanging from the tree but focuses on the faces in the crowd. It is only one event in the history of race relations in Marion, a history considered by many to be best forgotten. But 63 years later, journalist Carr met the man who'd survived, which led her to examine how the town she loved could harbor such dark secrets. Spurred by the realization that millions of white Americans are intimately connected to this hidden history, she began to investigate the event, racism in Marion, the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, and her own grandfather's involvement. She uncovered a pattern of white guilt and indifference, of black anger and fear that mark race relations across the country.--From publisher description.