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Chapter 9 - 1930: The State of Louisiana v. Huddie Ledbetter

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2024

Sheila Curran Bernard
Sheila Curran Bernard
Affiliation:
University at Albany, State University of New York
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Summary

Despite the publicity, reporters do not investigate the arrest, just five years earlier, that landed Ledbetter in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. This chapter does so, looking at his arrest in Mooringsport on January 15, 1930 and at the protracted, but ultimately unsuccessful, legal battle waged on Ledbetter’s behalf by a white law firm. On the basis of the evidence, and unpublished drafts of the Lomaxes’ book, it seems that the Lomaxes, too, had reason to doubt the story as edited for their book.

Keywords

Salvation Army bandBessie SmithBlind Lemon JeffersonTex RitterGene AutryLynchingShreveport jail
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Chapter
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Bring Judgment Day
Reclaiming Lead Belly's Truths from Jim Crow's Lies
 , pp. 141 - 152
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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