How to Sue the Klan: The landmark case against racial violence in the US
The civil case of five Black women sets a legal precedent across the United States in the fight against organised hate.
A group of Black lawyers use a little-known law to win a case previously thought to have been lost. Their victory set a legal precedent still used in US courts today.
Five Black women from Chattanooga survived a shooting by members of the Ku Klux Klan in 1980. While the criminal courts handed a light sentence to the shooter and allowed two of the men to walk free, the women were adamant about holding the white supremacist group accountable for their crimes. Using legal ingenuity, the lawyers and the group of women devised a plan to bankrupt the Klan and bring justice to the community.
How to Sue the Klan is a documentary film by John Beder.
Published On 11 Jun 202511 Jun 2025