"I've received numerous calls since the Trayvon Martin incident, from civil rights reporters and others asking me questions that relate to the Emmett Till murder in 1955. Till's death was critical to the advancement of the civil rights movement back then, and it is a history that every person in this country should know--not just African Americans," Susan Klopfer said.
Klopfer said she is encouraged by the sudden interest in this historical topic, particularly in relationship to the Trayvon Martin murder.
"I was angered by the movie, The Help, because it white washed what really took place back in the 1950s and 60s. The times were far more brutal and Greenwood, Mississippi was the home of beatings and murder of numerous black Mississippians. The movie also asserts that black people were 'taken by the hand' by white people to initiate change. That is just not true; history is filled with countless stories of brave African Americans who risked their lives to overcome racism and discrimination, and to make change happen.
"It is unfortunate when real history is not told; people who saw The Help left the movie houses with an inaccurate portrayal of what racism was like and how it affected the entire community."
Klopfer said she hopes readers of history find her free link to Where Rebels Roost an opportunity to understand the context of Emmett Till's lynching. "There are many similarities and many differences between these two murders. Once a reader takes a look at this book, I am sure they will better understand what is going on now in Florida and with the Martin case."
Here is the online link to Klopfer's free book:
http://themiddleoftheinternet.com/OnlineBooks/Rebels/index.html
On her website, www.themiddleoftheinternet listing Klopfer's various books, a description of Where Rebels Roost states the following:
After 23 months of research and writing, while living in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, Where Rebels Roost features:
--A Nine-page Selected Bibliography/Citations: 73 Books; 3 Dissertations; 47 Articles; 32 Collections, Interviews, Oral Histories
--Twenty-pages/Lists of Dead/References 900+ names and information of African Americans lynched and murdered in Mississippi from 1870 to 1970 (references Southern Law & Poverty Center, NAACP, Tuskegee Institute, individual family and friends, personal research)
--Sixteen-page/160+ Names of Emmett Till Principles/Names and biographies of people close to this case, from lawyers, witnesses, judges and jurors to police, politicians, friends and families.
--And over one hundred specific Sovereignty Commission Documents, cited with references given (plus over 1,000 footnotes!)
But more important are the stories of some very unique, persevering and brave people – stories that deserve to be told. I hope you enjoy this read as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Who should read this book? Genealogists, historians, history buffs, teachers, students, civil rights activists and followers, anyone who loves a fascinating story.
- " ... an absorbing and substantial work that speaks in many provocative ways ..." Lois Brown, director of the Weissman Center for Leadership and Liberal Arts, Mount Holyoke College
- "Susan Klopfer is determined to tell the truth about Mississippi and about America ... Klopfer follows the money, showing how the lines of culpability lead into the offices of New York industrialist Wycliffe Draper, whose Pioneer Fund fueled Mississippi’s fight against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and provided millions of dollars for the private academies, established to keep white children out of integrated schools after Brown v. Board of Ed. (More recently, the Pioneer Fund financed the research for the controversial book, The Bell Curve, a best selling, racist tract published in 1994.)" Ben Greenberg, poet, essayist and activist and author of the blog Hungry Blues
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