In 1970, a young black man was senselessly beaten and murdered by a group of white store owners in Oxford, North Carolina.
The event threw the town into an eruption of grief, protests and threats. And for one Methodist minister it meant pushing his all-white congregation to confront the long history of hatred and injustice in their town.
Years later, the son of the minister returned to his hometown to retrace the events leading up to and following that violent summer day. He seeks out the story of the victim, the killers and his family.
Thursday on Up to Date, guest host Brian Ellison welcomes Timothy Tyson, his sister Boo Tyson, their father Rev. Vernon Tyson, and Mary D. Williams to discuss the story behind the book and movie, Blood Done Sign my Name.
The Tyson family will give a presentation this evening at the Holter Center at St. Paul School of Theology, 5123 E. Truman Road, Kansas City, MO. The event runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and also includes a reception, barbecue dinner and concert by Mary D. Williams. The dinner is at capacity but for more information contact Audrey Williams, 816-245-4815.
Timothy B. Tyson is senior scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and adjunct professor of American studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is author of Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story and coeditor of Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy.
