Jerry Mitchell: Beneath the Sheets

Summary

Summary of "Jerry Mitchell: Beneath the Sheets" from The Moth Podcast

Introduction

In the episode titled "Jerry Mitchell: Beneath the Sheets," Jerry Mitchell, an acclaimed investigative reporter, shares his deeply personal and courageous journey uncovering the truth behind unsolved Civil Rights era murders perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in Mississippi. Recorded live at The Moth Mainstage in 2008, this story explores themes of justice, persistence, and redemption.

Motivation and Early Experiences

Jerry Mitchell's dedication to exposing racial injustices was ignited after watching the film Mississippi Burning, which depicted the investigation of the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi. This film left a lasting impression on him, fueling his determination to ensure that no one would "get away with a crime, especially murder."

Jerry Mitchell [03:20]: "The thing that's just always stuck in my craw is for someone to get away with a crime, especially murder."

Confrontation with Byron D. Lebeckwith

Mitchell recounts his harrowing encounter with Byron D. Lebeckwith, a notorious Klansman implicated in violent acts, including the attempted bombing of a Jewish leader's home. Despite personal risks, including threats to his safety and his family's well-being, Mitchell felt compelled to confront Lebeckwith to advance his investigative work.

Jerry Mitchell [02:10]: "I wasn't going to be intimidated by Byron de Lebeckwith, so I persisted."

During their meeting, Lebeckwith issued ominous warnings to Mitchell about the consequences of his reporting, emphasizing the danger he faced.

Byron D. Lebeckwith [02:50]: "If you write positive things about white Caucasian Christians, God will bless you. If you write negative things about white Caucasian Christians, God will punish you."

Despite these threats, Mitchell's resolve only strengthened, leading to Lebeckwith's eventual arrest and conviction.

Unveiling the Case of Vernon Dahmer

One of the pivotal moments in Mitchell's investigation was the case of Vernon Dahmer, an African American farmer who was brutally murdered on January 10, 1966, for his unwavering fight for voting rights. Dahmer's story epitomized the systemic racism and violence of the KKK during that era.

Jerry Mitchell [06:40]: "He spent his whole life fighting for the rights of all Americans to vote, but had never been able to cast a ballot himself."

Mitchell's commitment led him to confront Sam Bowers, the head of the White Knights of the KKK in Mississippi, responsible for multiple murders, including Dahmer's. Bowers maintained a facade of respectability, which Mitchell critically examined and dismantled through his reporting.

Facing Intimidation and Personal Risk

As Mitchell delved deeper, the threats against him intensified. He received direct death threats, particularly targeting his family, which heightened the personal stakes of his investigative work.

Jerry Mitchell [09:15]: "He was threatening my family. My wife became extremely upset about it."

Despite promising his wife to cease his dangerous pursuits, Mitchell felt an unwavering duty to continue seeking justice for the victims and their families.

Breakthrough and Legal Triumphs

Mitchell's relentless efforts culminated in the tracking down of Billy Roy Pitts, a key witness who had previously evaded justice. Through ingenuity and determination, Mitchell connected with Pitts via the internet, leading to crucial testimonies that dismantled the impunity previously enjoyed by Klansmen like Sam Bowers.

Jerry Mitchell [13:30]: "It's on the Internet. I got an enlisted telephone number... So as a result of my story, Mississippi authorities issued a warrant for his arrest."

The subsequent trial of Sam Bowers in August 1998 was a landmark moment. Bowers was convicted and sentenced to prison, symbolizing a significant victory against the entrenched racism of the KKK.

Jerry Mitchell [14:45]: "When the word guilty rang out... I realized what had seemed so impossible really was possible."

Redemption and Emotional Closure

The culmination of Mitchell's work brought emotional closure not only to the families of the victims but also to himself. A poignant moment occurred when Billy Roy Pitts confronted Mrs. Vernon Dahmer, seeking forgiveness for his past actions, leading to an emotional reconciliation that underscored the power of redemption.

Jerry Mitchell [15:30]: "He began to cry. I began to cry. And isn't that what redemption's all about?"

Conclusion

Jerry Mitchell's story is a testament to the profound impact one individual can have in the pursuit of justice. His unwavering commitment to uncovering the truth, despite personal risks, led to significant legal victories against the KKK and provided healing for the families affected by racial violence. "Beneath the Sheets" serves as an inspiring narrative of courage, resilience, and the enduring quest for equality.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Jerry Mitchell [02:10]: "I wasn't going to be intimidated by Byron de Lebeckwith, so I persisted."

• Byron D. Lebeckwith [02:50]: "If you write positive things about white Caucasian Christians, God will bless you. If you write negative things about white Caucasian Christians, God will punish you."

• Jerry Mitchell [03:20]: "The thing that's just always stuck in my craw is for someone to get away with a crime, especially murder."

• Jerry Mitchell [06:40]: "He spent his whole life fighting for the rights of all Americans to vote, but had never been able to cast a ballot himself."

• Jerry Mitchell [09:15]: "He was threatening my family. My wife became extremely upset about it."

• Jerry Mitchell [13:30]: "It's on the Internet. I got an enlisted telephone number... So as a result of my story, Mississippi authorities issued a warrant for his arrest."

• Jerry Mitchell [14:45]: "When the word guilty rang out... I realized what had seemed so impossible really was possible."

• Jerry Mitchell [15:30]: "He began to cry. I began to cry. And isn't that what redemption's all about?"

Conclusion

Jerry Mitchell's heartfelt storytelling not only illuminates the dark chapters of America's past but also highlights the enduring power of truth and perseverance in overcoming systemic injustices. His journey embodies the spirit of courage and determination, inspiring listeners to reflect on the importance of standing up against oppression.

Transcript

[Dan Kennedy]

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[Jerry Mitchell]

Welcome to the Moth Podcast. I'm Dan Kennedy and the Moth features true stories told live without notes. All stories from the podcast are taken from our ongoing storytelling series in New York, Los Angeles, and from our tour shows across the country. Visit themoth.org the moth receives support from Amazon.com the story you're about to hear by Jerry Mitchell was recorded live at the moth mainstage in 2008, and the theme of the night was stories about men.

Hi y'all. I'm standing on the front porch facing Byron D. Lebeckwith, the notorious Klansman who killed Meg Rivers. He wasn't caught doing that, but he was caught trying to plant a ticking time bomb outside a Jewish leader's home in New Orleans. You see, my stories are the ones that got the case reopened against him, as well as other Klansmen. But he hadn't figured that out, or at least I thought so. My wife was eight months pregnant at the time. She begged me not to go visit him. It's a trap. I have to go. I don't want to raise the children by myself. I have to go. If you go, I'll never forgive you. Karen, I have to go. Beckwith made me answer all these questions before he'd ever let me come to his house. Where'd you grow up? What are your parents names? Where do they live? Where do you live? Where do you go to church? Are you white? Fortunately, my conservative Christian Southern Upbringing meant I passed with flying colors. So he welcomed me at his house and walked me into the living room. And for six hours, he spewed one racist remark after another. After the interview ended, he walked me out into the darkness, walked me out to my car, then blocked my way, stood in front of me and said, if you write positive things about white Caucasian Christians, God will bless you. If you write negative things about white Caucasian Christians, God will punish you. If God does not punish you directly, several individuals will do it for him. As soon as he got out of the way, I was in that car and down the hill. My descent into the world of racist killers began when I saw the movie Mississippi Burning with a couple of FBI agents who investigated that case, which involved three civil rights workers who were killed in 64 in Mississippi, two of them from here in New York City. But that. The thing that's just always stuck in my craw is for someone to get away with a crime, especially murder. And that's what happened in these cases. And what made these cases so egregious was the fact that not just that these Klansmen got away with murder, but the fact that everybody knew these Klansmen got away with murder. That's what upset me. I talked to Beckwith not too long after that, and he had figured it out by this point that I'd done the stories. So I talked to him on the telephone, and he said, I'm going to live to be 120. I don't know how much longer you've got. You're a reckless driver. You may have a wreck or somebody may molest you. Do you know somebody who do that? And I said, do you? It frightened me. And I remember checking in my car for a while, and the thing I realized was he could kill me. But I also hated bullies, probably because of all those times I got the crap beaten out of me on the playground. And I wasn't going to be intimidated by Byron de lebequith, so I persisted. He was arrested, hauled into the courtroom, and then one day in the courtroom, he spotted me, yelled at me, you see that boy over there? When he dies, he's going to. I turned to my friend Ed and said, you know, I've always wanted to go to Africa. On February 5, 1994, a jury convicted Byron D. Lebeckwith of the murder of Medgar Evers. And when the word guilty rang out, the sound camera cascaded down the hall, the cries of joy, until it reached an open foyer of white and blacks and just exploded in APPLAUSE I just felt chills down my spine because I realized what had seemed so impossible really was possible. There were dozens more cases that could be prosecuted other than this one. A couple of days later, the sheriff calls me and tells me that when they took Beckwith off, he kept saying two words. I'm like, what two words? Like, Jerry Mitchell. He's like. He was telling me, you know, well, you know, you might not want to go home the same way every night. And, you know, that kind of disturbed me a little bit. But I never told my wife about that because she was already worried I was going to be killed or her family harmed. She wanted me to write other investigative stories. But one day, the family of Vernon Damer asked me to come and meet with them in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. And the widow of Vernon Damer, with tears in her eyes, asked me to help her find justice in her husband's case. So here I weighed my own family's interest and heard her story. I couldn't say no. You may have never heard of Vernon Dahmer, but you should have. He was an African American farmer who spent his whole life fighting for the rights of. Of all to be able to vote. The Klan didn't like that. They attacked him and his family one frigid night, January 10, 1966. They threw firebombs into the house, began firing their guns into the house. He woke up, grabbed his shotgun, ran to the front of the house to defend his family so his family could escape safely out a back window. Unfortunately, the flames of the fire seared his lungs and he died later that day. A few weeks later, in the mail came his voter registration card. He had fought his whole life for the right of all Americans to vote, but had never been able to cast a ballot himself. The man who ordered that killing was a man by the name of Sam Bowers, the head of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi, the most violent Klan organization in America. If you saw Bowers, you looked like a kind grandfather in a seersucker suit. And I had people tell me this too. They're like, jerry, why do you bother these old guys? And I say, look, the thing you're forgetting is these are just. These are young killers who just happen to get old. You see the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan responsible for at least 10 killings in Mississippi, and Bowers ordered every single one of them. While I was investigating this case, I got a phone call from a Klansman. He said, did you think we were going to let you go unscathed we know where you live. We've got pictures of you and your family. Well, I've gotten a lot of death threats in doing what I do, but this one really frightened me because. Because he's threatening my family. My wife became extremely upset about it. I tried my best to tell her, look, all right, I promise this is going to be it. I'm not doing any more after this. This is it. The guy who's the main witness against Bowers back in the 60s was a guy by the name of Billy Roy Pitts. Billy Roy Pitts was involved in the killing, had dropped his gun, got caught, pleaded guilty to murder and sentenced to life in prison. I'd been told the reason there wasn't a record of that was because he went into the Federal Witness Protection Program. But in my research, I found out the Federal Witness Protection Program didn't even exist at the time. So guess what? He had never served a day of his life sentence. So I wanted to talk to him, but no one seemed to know where he was. And this will sound like an advertisement from an Internet site, but I got on switchboard.com and typed his name and up at pop. Billy Roy Pitts. His address in Denham Springs, Louisiana, and his telephone number. So I called him. First 20 minutes of the conversation went like this. How'd you find me? How'd you find me? How'd you find me? It's on the Internet. The Internet. I got an enlisted telephone number. I'm like, well, you have to take it up with them. So as a result of my story, Mississippi authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. He didn't like that. In fact, he ran. And while he was on the run, he sent me an audio cassette tape in the mail. And I got it, and I put it and played it. And this is how it began. Jerry, I just thought I'd let you know you've ruined my life. But I promise, if I talk to anybody, I talk to you. So here's this tape. Proceeds to tell me all about his involvement killing Vernon Dahmer and his involvement in all this other Klan violence. Shortly after that, he turned himself in. And this led to the arrest of Sam Bowers and his trial in August of 1998. Deadly serious trial, but I've got to say, was one of the funniest trials I ever covered in my life. One Klansman actually got up and said that the Klan was a benevolent organization, passing out fruit baskets to the needy at Christmas. Under cross examination, he admitted that he had never actually passed out any Fruit baskets himself. Bowers was represented by a lawyer for the Klan back in the 60s. He represented all these guys. And one of the perks of being a lawyer for the Klan back in those days was, well, free membership. So he's cross examining Billy Roy Pitts about this planning meeting took place prior to the actual raid. And he's like, Mr. Pitts, who all was at that planning meeting? And Pitts is like, ah, let's see, I was there. Sam Bowers was there. Well, you were there. And Bowers lawyer's like, objection, your honor. I've covered a lot of trials in my life, but that's the only trial I ever covered where a witness implicated the defense lawyer in the case. On August 21, 1998, Sam Bowers was convicted and sent to prison, just one cell down from Byron de Lebequith. Back home, I promised my wife I would stop, but I couldn't stop. My heart wouldn't let me. I couldn't let these klansmen get away with murder. So I started secretly kind of working on these cases, continuing to work on these cases. And sure enough, she caught me. I was worried she'd just be furious with me. And she told me she was always going to worry about me. She would never stop worrying about me. But that she understood these cases were more important than her fears. She gave me her blessing. I felt so, so relieved. Just like a burden had been lifted from my soul. 21 more men followed Sam Bowers to prison after this. A miracle if ever there was one. And the FBI today is investigating dozens more killings that were unpunished from the civil rights era. Not long after Sam Bowers was convicted, Billy Roy Pitts testified in this hearing. And when he got done testifying, he walked to the back of the courtroom and ran into the Dahmer family. There was a widow, Mrs. Dahmer, several of the Dahmer children. And Billy Roy Pitts apologized to Mrs. Dahmer for what he had done and asked for her forgiveness. And she forgave him. And she began to cry. And the Dahmer children who were there began to cry. He began to cry. I began to cry. And isn't that what redemption's all about? Trying to make things right, even when they've gone so terribly wrong in the past. May God bless you in your own journey of redemption. Thanks, guys.

Jerry Mitchell, an investigative reporter at the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, was a 2006 Pulitzer Prize finalist. Over the past 20 years, his stories have helped put four Klansmen behind bars. We're thrilled to announce that he's a 2009 recipient of a John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur foundation genius grant which allows him to spend more time doing this important work. The Moth is a non profit organization so consider supporting our free podcast by going to our Podcast Consulting contribution page or by becoming a Moth member and you can do [e-mail] you can also buy moth stories on CD including today's story which is featured on audience favorites volume six.

[Dan Kennedy]

Our podcast host Dan Kennedy is the author of the book Rock An Office Power Ballad.

[Jerry Mitchell]

Learn [e-mail] Amazon.com is proud to support the creation of great stories on the Moth main stage and at the Moth Story Slams. Thanks to Maz Swift for our podcast music. Thanks to all of you for listening and we hope you have a story worthy week. Podcast audio production by Paul Ruest at the Argo Studios in New York Podcast hosting by PRX Public Radio Exchange helping make make public radio more public at prx. Org.