Beulah Mae Donald: The Woman Who Successfully Sued The Klan

She Forced a Klan Unit To Its Knees

Photo by Jakayla Toney at Unsplash

Michael Donald was the baby of the family, having eight siblings older than he. On March 21, 1981, he was beaten, then choked, his throat was slit, and he was hung from a tree. Michael was 19 years old when he was murdered. His killers, Henry Hays, James Knowles, and other members of Unit #900 of the United Klans of America. Let that sink in for a minute: Unit #900.

The trial of a Black man for the murder of a white policeman angered Hays and Knowles. Josephus Anderson had been tried twice on the charge, ending in a mistrial each time. I won’t speculate whether the policeman was a member of the Klan as well, but the odds were good. Hays’s father, Bennie Jack Hays, the second-ranking member of #900, is reported to have said the following:

“If a black man can get away with killing a white man, we ought to be able to get away with killing a black man.” — Bennie Jack Hays

Henry Hays and James Knowles went cruising through Black neighborhoods looking for some…