On April 19, 1980, the lives of Fannie Mae Crumsey, Viola Ellison, Lela Mae Evans, Katherine Johnson, and Opal Lee Jackson changed. KKK members armed with shotguns fired birdshot at the women. They survived their injuries, but they demanded justice.
The Klan members behind the attack were arrested and charged with attempted murder. Unfortunately, that summer, they were acquitted by an all-white jury, dashing the women’s hopes for justice. Then the NAACP stepped in.
The head of the NAACP recruited Randolph McLaughlin to develop a plan to help the five women get justice in civil court. The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 would be his weapon. The act imposed penalties on terrorist organizations like the Klan and authorized the use of military force against them.
Citing the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, McLaughlin and the Chattanooga Five sued the Klan in civil court and won a judgment of $535,000. The judge also issued an injunction permanently prohibiting the Klan from engaging in any violence in Chattanooga again.
The fight for liberation takes many forms. The Chattanooga Five used the law to stick it to the KKK and literally make them pay for their crimes.