Amy Mallard and Racial Justice

The first book to document the story of Amy Mallard, who bravely sought justice for the lynching of her husband and became an advocate for civil rights

In this book, Matthew Lippman details the little-known story of Amy Mallard, a schoolteacher from rural Georgia who, after the lynching of her husband, Robert "Duck" Mallard, in 1948, courageously sought justice through the legal system. Lippman explores Mallard's trajectory from a victim to a civil rights activist.

The story begins with Amy Mallard's arrest for her husband's murder. Making extensive use of primary and secondary sources, including historical and current news articles, Mallard's interviews, and the NAACP Papers, Lippman chronicles her journey from her exoneration and testimony at the trial to her activism at the national level. A founding member of the Sojourners for Truth and Justice, she also worked with the Civil Rights Congress, where she assisted with three pivotal civil rights cases and helped submit the famous "We Charge Genocide" petition to the United Nations.

An important addition to the history of African American women, racial violence in Georgia, and justice in the post-World War II South, Amy Mallard and Racial Justice situates Mallard's story within social and legal history. This book outlines how the American legal system failed in its promise of delivering justice and accountability to Mallard and many other Black Americans like her.

Publication of this work made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.