Buried Truths

In 1946, Orson Welles, the director of Citizen Kane, was at the height of his fame. At the time, he had a national radio show called Orson Welles Commentaries on ABC. After a year on the radio, discussing politics and Hollywood, Welles heard of a shocking crime. It was the end of World War Two. A Black soldier, heading home, was brutally beaten by a white police officer in South Carolina. No one knew the identity of the police officer. No one even knew the town where it happened.  Welles pledged to solve the mystery… on the air... Today, we’re bringing you a special episode from the Radio Diaries Podcast and their new series, Orson Welles and the Blind Soldier. It’s the story of a crime in a small, southern town…that became a spark for the budding civil rights movement. To find out more, go to radiodiaries.org

What happened inside of the courtroom when Joe Cameron stood trial for the murder of Reverend Pickett? The trial tells a deeper story about who could receive equal justice in a small southern community where everyone, from the prosecutor, to the judge, and even the lawyer representing Clarence Pickett’s family, knew each other.

The Columbus police investigate one of their own, Joe Cameron in the Reverend Pickett’s death and come up with a surprising conclusion. Meanwhile, J. Edgar Hoover sends in the FBI.

Did the World War II battle of Peleliu, where more than 20,000 American and Japanese combatants fought on an island they could walk across, shape Rev. Pickett’s fate? For more, visit buriedtruths.org

How medical myths about Black people led American health care to fail Clarence Pickett in 1957. It is a tragedy that, 70 years later, is still failing African-Americans. For more, visit buriedtruths.org

Rev. Clarence Pickett’s final days: his arrest, his beating and how he saw a doctor one day and was dead the next. For more, visit buriedtruths.org

After enthralling congregations for several years, Rev. Pickett landed in the Georgia state mental institution, then a county jail where the jailer beat him to the edge of death. For more, visit buriedtruths.org

Rev. Clarence Horatious Pickett was a celebrated young pastor who developed behavioral problems that drew attention and arrests. But none should have led to what followed. For more, visit buriedtruths.org

Four days before Christmas in 1957, Clarence Horatious Pickett, a preacher and newspaper ad salesman in Columbus, Georgia, walked into town to pick up his paycheck. Forty-eight years old and known as “Reverend” to many, the tall, lean man with wire-rimmed glasses left his home and headed toward The Columbus World, a black newspaper where Pickett worked. Pickett, who’d been a boy preacher, was showing signs of mental instability and had spent time in the county jail and the state mental hospital, which was notorious for employing doctors with addictions, poor training and racist beliefs. Before the day was over, Pickett would be arrested, jailed, and beaten senseless by a white police officer. An examining physician would conclude that Pickett was “putting on.” He wasn’t. His injuries would lead to his death two days later. Pickett’s killing would spur police and FBI investigations where a remarkable number of eyewitnesses would come forward to testify on what they saw. But would an all-white criminal justice system bring charges against a white cop for beating a black man? Season 5 of Buried Truths follows the story of Pickett and the criminal justice and medical professionals who failed him. Why was he thrown in jail in the first place? Why wasn't he able to receive adequate medical care in those fragile days after his encounter with police? We'll explore Pickett’s life as a mentally disturbed Black man in the dark heart of the Deep South in the 1950s. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or listen at wabe.org/podcasts/buried-truths/ starting August 26.

Caroline Herring is a singer, songwriter and scholar of the South. She discusses the evolution of her music and of the song she wrote for Buried Truths.

Buried Truths Live, Part I: a special evening onstage with the daughters of James Brazier, who share the pain of his loss some 60 years after their father died.

Buried Truths Live, Part 2: Our special event continues with a conversation between Hank and Kelley Stinson, granddaughter of the policeman who killed James Brazier.

An anonymous letter in the files of Donald Lee Hollowell captures white attitudes in the South. Some whites harbored no hatred for Black people but were too afraid to say so. What about today? And tomorrow?

Voting rights activists in Terrell are met with shootings and arson, attracting the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson and an angry President Kennedy.

Penniless and heartbroken, Hattie Bell Brazier pulls the only lever of power available to her: she sues Mathews and Cherry in federal court, setting up a tense battle between leading lawyers for and against civil rights.

James Brazier’s family will never forget his killing, but what about the family of Weyman Cherry? His granddaughter reaches out to us after learning of his brutal racism. She accepts the truth but struggles with it. 

An underground railroad of information smuggles the story of Terrible Terrell out of Georgia and onto the Washington Post’s front page.

The police said Willie Countryman had a knife, but did he?  And his girlfriend is left to wonder about his love for her.

The cops had already hurt James Brazier when they arrested him and took him to jail. But they returned late that night to finish him.

On one April day, three generations of the Brazier family, including 10-year-old James Jr., were beaten by white Dawson police.

Terrell County was like a lot of rural communities in Georgia. But in some ways, it was like no other place on earth. 

James and Hattie Brazier worked hard and earned more than most people in Dawson, white or black. But this black couple's prosperity was a provocation to white police.

An interview with Margaret Burnham about her new book, By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners.  The book is so revealing that we wanted to share a conversation she had with the public radio program, Fresh Air (produced by WHYY in Philadelphia and distributed by NPR).   

A gruesome, unpunished 1967 murder reveals little-known stories of the civil rights movement and Black resistance in Mississippi and Louisiana. "American Reckoning" on Frontline, from PBS, tells the story of Wharlest Jackson Sr. and the search for those who killed him. In this episode of Buried Truths, host Hank Klibanoff talks to the filmmakers behind this documentary, Brad Lichtenstein and Yoruba Richen. Klibanoff also speaks with Stanley Nelson, the weekly newspaper editor who brought this story of Wharlest Jackson Sr. to light. 

The men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery have now been sentenced. Host Hank Klibanoff and his Emory colleague, professor Carol Anderson, talk about Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley’s decision on the public radio program Closer Look with Rose Scott,  from WABE Atlanta. 

The jury finds all three defendants guilty of murder. Sentencing will come later, but the three will almost surely live out their years in prison. A case that was all about race comes to a close with almost no mention of race in the courtroom. Outside the court, two of the defense attorneys are condemned for comments that inflamed much of the nation.

Although the racial composition of the jury – 11 white jurors, one black – has set off alarm bells, the trial commences with three opening statements and the first prosecution witness. A Glynn County police officer’s body-cam footage filled the  somber courtroom with horrific images from the scene of Ahmaud Arbery’s killing.

The murder trial for defendants Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan is set to begin in October and there have been some recent, critically important twists leading up to this point. WABE’s Rose Scott talks with Buried Truths host Hank Klibanoff and WABE legal analyst Page Pate to preview the trial and discuss the indictment of former Glynn Co. district attorney Jackie Johnson for obstructing the Ahmaud Arbery case.

In February 2020, Hank Klibanoff was invited back to his hometown of Florence, Alabama for a live community event. It got him thinking about growing up in a state that was notorious for its civil rights abuses. Hank’s recollection of his childhood in the 1950’s and 60’s is that Florence seemed to be more progressive than the rest of Alabama. But… was it really?

One year after the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, Hank Klibanoff returns to Closer Look with Rose Scott to discuss the latest developments in the case.

Join host Hank Klibanoff, his team of Emory University student researchers, and the WABE production team as they deconstruct the podcast to show you how they gather information to uncover hidden history and reveal a complete and compelling story.

With the video released, the public outcry grew to a rolling boil.

What happens when a police officer skips school?

How did the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery come so close to escaping all scrutiny?

The Georgia coast, where Ahmaud Arbery was born and killed, is steeped in history. Hank Klibanoff and his students trace the family roots of Ahmaud and the men who chased him, and marvel at what they find.

Funny, humble, and always saying “I love you.” The officer who approached Ahmaud as he sat alone in his parked car saw something different.

Why did they chase him in the first place? Investigators find disturbing Instagram posts and text messages.

Ahmaud Arbery went for a Sunday afternoon jog in a quiet neighborhood near the Georgia coast. He never made it home.

The afternoon of February 23, 2020, was a typically beautiful winter day on Georgia’s coast. Sunny and clear with a high near 65. At about 1 p.m., Ahmaud Arbery was taking advantage of the near-perfect running weather. He’d gone for a jog down Satilla Drive, right by the home of Gregory McMichael. Tragically, Ahmaud Arbery never made it home. For months after three white men chased him to his death, Georgia of 2020 looked disconcertingly like Georgia of 1950. This is the story of the long arc of injustice in the American South -- and of the persistence that brought worldwide attention to coastal Georgia.

Sallie Nixon was small in stature, but large in spirit, strength and willpower. In 1948, she watched as two white men killed her husband Isaiah Nixon because he dared to vote. She lived on, overcame obstacles and inspired generations of family members, including children and grandchildren who affectionately call her Sallie Mama. In July 2020, she passed away at the age of 96. Host Hank Klibanoff remembers Sallie Nixon in this special episode, and is joined by her daughter Dorothy Nixon Williams and Dorothy's children, Joi and Tony Williams.

In 1936, a black man named Thomas Finch was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer who later became leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Very little was known publicly about Finch’s death until his name appeared at a new memorial to the victims of lynching. In this special episode of Buried Truths, Hank Klibanoff sits down with Stephannie Stokes, the reporter who uncovered Thomas Finch's story, for an in-depth look at what happened, and how it's connected to the stories on Buried Truths. Read more and see images here. Stephannie Stokes reported and produced the story on Thomas Finch. It was first released on Reveal, a podcast from the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX. The story was edited by David Lewis, investigations editor at WNYC, and Reveal’s Michael Montgomery. It was produced in collaboration with APM Reports, the investigative and documentary unit of American Public Media, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Special thanks to Susanna Capelouto and Chris Worthingon. David Barasoain is the senior producer of Buried Truths.

Howard Moore, Jr. and Newton Collier join Hank Klibanoff for a live show at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. They share more about their experiences with A.C. Hall and the coroner's inquest, and they discuss what life had in store for them afterwards. Also, Hank Klibanoff and Buried Truths producer Dave Barasoain pull back the curtain on the making of season two.

Sheriff David Davis of Macon-Bibb county, LaTasha Morrison of Be The Bridge and Jill Savitt of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights join Hank Klibanoff for a discussion about truth, policing, race relations and our individual roles. Then, we take questions from the audience. It's a straightforward, personal and pointed Q&A with the panelists, Hank Klibanoff, Howard Moore, Jr. and Newton Collier.

Former president Jimmy Carter visits Hank’s class at Emory University. He describes the racial climate in Georgia from his childhood to his bid for the Governor's seat, and he takes questions from students. Biography of Jimmy Carter

On the heels of the 2018 Peabody Award win, Hank talks to 1A about making Buried Truths, its relevance today and where he hopes to take the project next .

Why tell A.C.’s story? Hank looks at the many ways in which 1962 resonates today and he heads to Macon with his students to visit A.C.’s gravesite. 

So what happens after the storm? Hank discusses the after effects of the A.C. Hall verdict, grand jury proceedings and an FBI investigation. Will they follow the lead of the coroner’s jury? And what became of Eloise Franklin?

The police take the stand. Years later, one of their sons speaks out. The jury delivers its decision.

How accurate is eyewitness identification? Donald Hollowell, one of the civil rights attorneys representing A.C. Hall's family, questions what Doris Hopper actually saw. Hank looks at the science...and he speaks to Doris.

It's the wrong gun. As Barnett Hopper takes the stand, saying the gun that police found isn’t his after all, we examine the kind of training that officers like Brown and Durden received. Hank discusses police culture and training with a former police officer, now law professor. His focus – policing the police.