Murder on Shades Mountain

One August night in 1931, on a secluded mountain ridge overlooking Birmingham, Alabama, three young white women were brutally attacked. The sole survivor, Nell Williams, 18, said a black man had held the women captive for four hours before shooting them and disappearing into the woods. That same night, a reign of terror was unleashed on Birmingham's black community: black businesses were set ablaze, posses of armed white men roamed the streets, and dozens of black men were arrested in the largest manhunt in Jefferson County history. Weeks later, Nell identified Willie Peterson as the attacker who killed her sister Augusta and their friend Jenny Wood. With the exception of being black, Peterson bore little resemblance to the description Nell gave the police. An all-white jury convicted Peterson of murder and sentenced him to death.

Most students of southern history are familiar with the Scottsboro Boys, but few are familiar with Willie Peterson, the murder of Shades mountain, and the trials.  The involvement of the Communist party in Jim Crow South was very involved.  I was not aware of this until reading this book.  This book on the history of the murders on Shades mountain is eye-opening and engaging.  It is both enjoying and disturbing to read.  I read this book every time I had a moment.  I knew the ending but was still hopeful for Peterson.