When Evil Lived in Laurel: The "White Knights" and the Murder of Vernon Dahmer
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-18 18:31:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Curtis Wilkie
- ISBN：1324005750
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Summary
By early 1966， the work of Vernon Dahmer was well known in south Mississippi。 A light-skinned Black man， he was a farmer， grocery store owner， and two-time president of the Forrest County chapter of the NAACP。 He and Medgar Evers founded a youth NAACP chapter in Hattiesburg， and for years after Evers’s assassination Dahmer was the chief advocate for voting rights in a county where Black registration was shamelessly suppressed。 This put Dahmer in the crosshairs of the White Knights， with headquarters in nearby Laurel。 Already known as one of the most violent sects of the KKK in the South， the group carried out his murder in a raid that burned down his home and store。
A year before， Tom Landrum， a young， unassuming member of a family with deep Mississippi roots， joined the Klan to become an FBI informant。 He penetrated the White Knights’ secret circles， recording almost daily journal entries。 He risked his life， and the safety of his young family， to chronicle extensively the clandestine activities of the Klan。 Veteran journalist Curtis Wilkie draws on his exclusive access to Landrum’s journals to re-create these events—the conversations， the incendiary nighttime meetings， the plans leading up to Dahmer’s murder and its erratic execution—culminating in the conviction and imprisonment of many of those responsible for Dahmer’s death。
In riveting detail， When Evil Lived in Laurel plumbs the nature and harrowing consequences of institutional racism， and brings fresh light to this chapter in the history of civil rights in the South—one with urgent implications for today。
A year before， Tom Landrum， a young， unassuming member of a family with deep Mississippi roots， joined the Klan to become an FBI informant。 He penetrated the White Knights’ secret circles， recording almost daily journal entries。 He risked his life， and the safety of his young family， to chronicle extensively the clandestine activities of the Klan。 Veteran journalist Curtis Wilkie draws on his exclusive access to Landrum’s journals to re-create these events—the conversations， the incendiary nighttime meetings， the plans leading up to Dahmer’s murder and its erratic execution—culminating in the conviction and imprisonment of many of those responsible for Dahmer’s death。
In riveting detail， When Evil Lived in Laurel plumbs the nature and harrowing consequences of institutional racism， and brings fresh light to this chapter in the history of civil rights in the South—one with urgent implications for today。
Reviews
Belva
，
Very interesting， though disturbing true account of the 1960's KKK activity in rural Mississippi。 The book centers on the FBI's investigation of the murder of Vernon Dahmer for his role in encouraging black residents to register to vote。 The FBI was able to infiltrate the Klan with the help of Tom Landrum， an informant posing as a Klan member。 Fear was rampant during this time， not only were the black residents living in fear， but the Klan members were also fearful of being discovered as well。 M Very interesting， though disturbing true account of the 1960's KKK activity in rural Mississippi。 The book centers on the FBI's investigation of the murder of Vernon Dahmer for his role in encouraging black residents to register to vote。 The FBI was able to infiltrate the Klan with the help of Tom Landrum， an informant posing as a Klan member。 Fear was rampant during this time， not only were the black residents living in fear， but the Klan members were also fearful of being discovered as well。 Many members were law enforcement and other prominent members of the community who would be ruined if their secret evil activities were revealed。 Wilkie heavily researched this very informative and haunting book and it is definitely worth the read for anyone interested in this era of history。 My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a galley of this book for review。 。。。more
Ron Frampton
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A true story of the white knights and the murder of Vernon Dahmer。
Kendra
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With this book， author Wilkie tries to tell the story of Tom Landrum， an undercover agent for the FBI in one of Mississippi's Klans in the 1950s and 60s。 I really wanted to read more of Landrum's own words and descriptions， rather than Wilkie's somewhat plodding and long paraphrases。 Wilkie is also too often fatphobic and otherwise prejudiced in describing people， as if there is a certain look or body type found more often in bigots。 Another round of edits could tighten this up， work in more pri With this book， author Wilkie tries to tell the story of Tom Landrum， an undercover agent for the FBI in one of Mississippi's Klans in the 1950s and 60s。 I really wanted to read more of Landrum's own words and descriptions， rather than Wilkie's somewhat plodding and long paraphrases。 Wilkie is also too often fatphobic and otherwise prejudiced in describing people， as if there is a certain look or body type found more often in bigots。 Another round of edits could tighten this up， work in more primary sources， and make it a much better book。 。。。more
Cassandra
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Great book on a time period in US history that is disturbing but nonetheless part of this country’s history。 Anyone that is a fan of the movie Mississippi Burning will see the similarities in this book。 There are even references to the Mississippi Burning murders。
Carol Macarthur
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Wilkie's novel tells the tale of Mississippi in the late 1960's， a time when the Klan reigned supreme。 This is the story of how one young white man infiltrated the KKK to bring some justice to the murder of Vernon Dahmer。 Wilkie's novel tells the tale of Mississippi in the late 1960's， a time when the Klan reigned supreme。 This is the story of how one young white man infiltrated the KKK to bring some justice to the murder of Vernon Dahmer。 。。。more
Sara Broad
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"When Evil Lived in Laurel" is a nonfiction book centering around the FBI investigation of the murder of Vernon Dahmer and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in Laurel， Mississippi。 This book is really interesting look into the specific attack launched against Dahmer and his family for Dahmer's role in speaking up for Black people to vote in the South and how he was ultimately murdered for his activism。 Tom Landrum， an FBI agent， infiltrates the KKK， along with many other FBI informants who are "When Evil Lived in Laurel" is a nonfiction book centering around the FBI investigation of the murder of Vernon Dahmer and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in Laurel， Mississippi。 This book is really interesting look into the specific attack launched against Dahmer and his family for Dahmer's role in speaking up for Black people to vote in the South and how he was ultimately murdered for his activism。 Tom Landrum， an FBI agent， infiltrates the KKK， along with many other FBI informants who are mostly unnamed in this book， to investigate Dahmer's murder and the overall daily Klan activities that terrorized life in the South。 Something this book really highlighted for me was the infighting that occurred within each Klan faction and among the different factions， and increasing disinvestment from Klan members as a result thereof， that really contributed to the Klan's downfall。 Wilkie relies on Landrum's first-hand accounts to layout the details in this really well-written and informative book。 。。。more
Paperwitch
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