...This chapter discusses the trial of Clyde Kennard in a segregated courtroom inside the Forrest County Courthouse. It details how Attorney Jess Brown represented his client and was skeptical of the jury. Brown addressed the court, declaring that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against...

...This chapter provides a further overview of the trial of Clyde Kennard. It elaborates on the testimonies of trial witnesses. The final defense witness was Kennard himself, who testified on his behalf. While there is always a risk to putting the defendant on the stand, it is possible...

...This chapter looks into the efforts to free Clyde Kennard. It elaborates on the establishment of the Clyde Kennard Fund. Similarly, students at Tougaloo College, a historically Black school just north of Jackson, began doing their part to free Clyde Kennard and sent a message directly to President...

...This chapter tackles the work on Clyde Kennard's behalf in Chicago as a joint effort between the Center on Wrongful Convictions and Stevenson High School's National History Day Club. According to Center on Wrongful Conviction's Steve Drizin, the University of Southern Mississippi vested interest...

...In the years following Brown v. Board of Education, countless Black citizens endured violent resistance and even death while fighting for their constitutional rights. One of those citizens, Clyde Kennard (1927–1963), a Korean War veteran and civil rights leader from Hattiesburg, Mississippi...

...This chapter acknowledges the horrific violence against some Black people in Hattiesburg where Clyde Kennard grew up. It highlights the tragedy of dying at the hands of southern lynch mobs. The backlash to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and Black voter activism led...

...This chapter elaborates on the attempts to maintain segregation in Mississippi. It cites that the Sovereignty Commission was already investigating Clyde Kennard for two and a half years even before Governor J.P. Coleman's instruction. The commission of FBI agent Zack Van Landingham involved...

...This chapter discusses Clyde Kennard becoming the first Black student of the Mississippi Southern College. Kennard took advantage of the postwar boom in college enrollment in the United States due to the passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. After the Jim Crow laws in Mississippi...

...This chapter focuses on FBI agent Zack Van Landingham's investigation of Clyde Kennard. The chapter details Van Landingham's work with James H. White, William D. McCain, Black school principals Nathaniel Burger and Clarence Roy to prevent Kennard from attending Mississippi Southern College. Kennard...

...This chapter looks into the series of arrests Clyde Kennard faced. It elaborates on FBI agent Zack Van Landingham's suspicion that Kennard was framed for reckless driving and illegal possession of alcohol. Even before the year ended, Kennard was arrested shortly after allegations of being...

...This chapter notes the aftermath of the Evers trial, which involved Johnny Lee Roberts and Clyde Kennard. Despite his health and his mother's needs, Judge Stanton Hall refused bail so Kennard stayed at the county jail to await the decision to either release him or hasten his departure to the state...

...This chapter focuses on the legacy that Clyde Kennard left. Tougaloo College hosted a concert celebrating the American Festival of Negro Arts and featured acclaimed pianist Robert S. Pritchard, who played his composition about Clyde Kennard. Even though Mississippi moved on from Kennard's death...

...This chapter explores further revelations into how and why Clyde Kennard was targeted. Johnny Lee Roberts, who took full responsibility for what happened at the co-op incident, admitted that Kennard was targeted for applying to University of Southern Mississippi instead of just the aforementioned...

...This chapter details how the University of Southern Mississippi memorializes Clyde Kennard. It cites that the school acknowledged that change to inclusivity and diversity were needed. According to University of Southern Mississippi president Rodney D. Bennett, Mississippi was committed...