Why do false beliefs cause people to turn on one another?
Who benefits from promoting them?
For over a hundred years, generations of southerners passed along lies taught to them about the Civil War and race; and now it was labor unions and newspapers. By 1934, the lies galvanized into the common beliefs of whole communities.
On Mildred's first day at the cotton mill, her supervisor asked if she was married. She said, "No, I'm a widow." He pulled out his pocketknife and began clicking it open and shut and stared at her bosom. She got uncomfortable and crossed her arms. He grinned at the gesture and never looked up, "So, you ain't been with a man for four months?" ...click...click
Opel, Sallie Parker's youngest, silently tallied along with the grocer. When he totaled the bill, she tugged on her mother's dress, "That ain't right momma. His answer is wrong. He's cheatin' you."
Hiram Rangle was convinced the mill was making money, even if there was a Great Depression. He tied his girls to a column on his millhouse, then stepped off the porch and swung the club. "Get back Sheriff, you gonna get hurt!" he yelled - then the gun went off.
An all-male jury believed Dalton Threate's "I was seduced" defense and acquits him of raping the young girl. Despite the acquittal, the mill fired Threate for sex with an employee. He blames Mildred Turnage and vows to get even.
"...it explains how powerful people...manipulated state politicians, banks, the sheriff etc. to maintain power and racially divide the workers...A really well researched masterpiece..." - NetGalley (Starred Review)
"...what happens when people cling to misguided beliefs regarding race and the working class. Its treatments of such subjects are provocative..." - Foreword Reviews (Starred Review)
"...The characters, both likable and vile leap off the pages...I recommend it highly." - Goodreads (Starred Review)
"This is a great read!" - Amazon (Starred Review)
