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176:(KKK); he was beaten and choked, had his throat slit, and was hanged from a tree. While some authorities initially argued that his killing was not connected to the KKK and may have instead been motivated by a drug deal or affair, Donald disagreed and set out to clear Michael's name. When the investigation stalled in the summer of 1981, protests were organized to urge its continuation. Two years later two men were convicted of murdering Michael.
187:, who suggested suing the KKK. Donald agreed and became part of in the lawsuit, which was filed in her name in 1984. It targeted Unit 900 of the KKK, which was considered "one of the largest and most violent of the groups". Dees later described Donald's involvement as "critical to the case". Donald refused to settle for $ 1 million and pushed for a full trial. During the trials following her son's death, Donald opposed the
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and told a
Klansman: "I do forgive you. From the day I found out who you all was, I asked God to take care of y'all, and he has." On February 12, 1987, after six years, a $ 7 million judgment was passed in her favor by an all-white jury. Unit 900 was forced to file for bankruptcy and by November
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1987 Donald had received none of the money. Donald told the press that "I wanted to be assured ... I wasn't even thinking about the money. If I hadn't gotten a cent, it wouldn't have mattered. I wanted to know how and why they did it." Donald's attorney,
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Donald died of natural causes on
September 17, 1988, in a Mobile hospital. The lawsuit was the first time that the KKK was held financially liable for actions that its members had taken. When she died, Donald had no
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135:, and Mary Gregory, a laundress. The youngest child in a family of eight children, she helped her family and was raised as a devout member of the
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Early in that decade she met David Donald and the two were soon married. They had five children before divorcing after David moved to
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and was forced to leave school and work in a hotel. By the 1960s, she had two children and was living as a divorced single mother.
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154:. Beulah initially moved with him but returned to Mobile after several years to care for her parents.
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111:(October 10, 1920 – September 17, 1988) was an African-American woman who successfully sued the
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Aue, Pamela
Willwerth (2018). "Donald, Beulah Mae 1920–1988". In Mazurkiewicz, Margaret (ed.).
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474:"Jeff Sessions Said He 'Prosecuted the Head of the Klan.' Here's What Actually Happened"
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Lincoln, C. Eric; Mamiya, Lawrence H.; Mamiya, Lawrence H. (November 7, 1990).
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Marshall, Marilyn (March 1988). "The Black Woman Who Beat the Ku Klux Klan".
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After the lynching, Donald was approached by a lawyer working for the
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On March 21, 1981, Beulah's youngest child, Michael Donald
627:. Johnson Publishing Company. April 24, 1989. p. 12.
599:"Beulah Mae Donald, who won a $ 7 million judgment..."
499:"Woman Who Won $ 7 Million Judgment Against Klan Dies"
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gave her an award the following year. She received a
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American woman who successfully sued the Ku Klux Klan
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The Black Church in the
African American Experience
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562:"Baileys Honors Outstanding Black Women Of 1988"
282:"Beulah M Donald in Social Security Death Index"
204:named her one of the 1987 women of the year and
143:, with her family, where she became pregnant in
227:, and two of her daughters oversaw her estate.
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409:"In the Bad Old Days, Not So Very Long Ago"
378:"In the Bad Old Days, Not So Very Long Ago"
542:"1988 Essence Awards: Beulah Mae Donald".
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660:People from Harrison County, Mississippi
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365:. Vol. 142. Gale. pp. 44–46.
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247:Kornbluth, Jesse (November 1, 1987).
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407:Daniel M. Gold (October 12, 2008).
376:Daniel M. Gold (October 12, 2008).
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131:, to Marion Gregory, a worker in a
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472:Serwer, Adam (January 9, 2017).
158:Lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan
655:American civil rights activists
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115:after her son, Michael Donald,
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323:Smith, Jessie Carney (1992).
249:"The Woman Who Beat The Klan"
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363:Contemporary Black Biography
331:. VNR AG. pp. 184–185.
329:Notable Black American Women
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181:Southern Poverty Law Center
137:Southern Baptist Convention
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568:. July 30, 1988. p. 7
164:Lynching of Michael Donald
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451:. Duke University Press.
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123:Early and personal life
87:Successfully suing the
162:Further information:
129:DeLisle, Mississippi
57:DeLisle, Mississippi
550:: 72. October 1988.
325:"Beulah Mae Donald"
413:The New York Times
382:The New York Times
253:The New York Times
172:by members of the
139:. Donald moved to
68:September 17, 1988
566:The Atlanta Voice
458:978-0-8223-1073-0
338:978-0-8103-9177-2
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72:(aged 67)
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174:Ku Klux Klan
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113:Ku Klux Klan
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89:Ku Klux Klan
70:(1988-09-17)
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650:1988 deaths
645:1920 births
607:January 23,
572:January 23,
508:January 23,
483:January 23,
266:January 23,
185:Morris Dees
170:was lynched
145:tenth grade
117:was lynched
639:Categories
231:References
49:1920-10-10
291:April 12,
261:0362-4331
214:in 1988.
423:July 24,
417:Archived
392:July 24,
386:Archived
133:saw mill
95:Children
544:Essence
503:AP NEWS
207:Essence
531:: 148.
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78:, U.S.
59:, U.S.
525:Ebony
286:Fold3
218:Death
609:2021
574:2021
510:2021
485:2021
453:ISBN
425:2011
394:2011
333:ISBN
293:2021
268:2021
257:ISSN
225:will
65:Died
43:Born
624:Jet
602:UPI
201:Ms.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
