In October 1919, a group of Black sharecroppers met at a church in an Arkansas village to organize a union. Bullets rained down on the meeting from outside.

Many were killed by a white mob in what became known as the Elaine Massacre.

Others were rounded up and arrested. Twelve of the sharecroppers were hastily tried and sentenced to death.

Scipio Africanus Jones, a self-taught lawyer who’d been born enslaved, answered the call and represented the twelve—but could he save the men’s lives and set them free?

Through their in-depth research and consultation with legal experts, noted nonfiction authors Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace carefully examined the complex proceedings and offer a riveting and clear account of this landmark civil rights case.