The People v. The Klan
A four-part docuseries about the little-known true story of Beulah Mae Donald, a Black mother in Alabama, who took down the Ku Klux Klan after the brutal murder and lynching of her son, Michael. He was just nineteen years old and found dead, hanging from a tree in Mobile, on March 21, 1981. Black community leaders immediately suspected it was a Klan lynching, but local law enforcement was slow to acknowledge that the murder was racially motivated. When the investigation stalled, Beulah Mae and local Black leaders refused to back down until Michael’s killers and the hateful organization they belonged to received justice.
Cast: Tamika Mallory, Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Gwen Carr
Season 1
4 episodes
- 1. The LynchingAfter a Black teenager, Michael Donald, is found lynched in Mobile, Alabama in 1981, and local law enforcement fails to apprehend the killers, Donald’s mother Beulah Mae and Black activists fight for an investigation into the local Klan chapter, which they believe is responsible for the murder.CCApr 12, 2021
- 2. Justice for MichaelAfter Beulah Mae Donald’s activism and widespread community pressure re-energizes her son’s case, federal and local investigators race to find Mobile’s Klan chapter and apprehend Michael Donald’s murderers.CCApr 13, 2021
- 3. Hate on TrialThe Donald family is put at risk when the Mobile District Attorney charges Henry Hays with the capital murder of Michael Donald.CCApr 19, 2021
- 4. It Takes a MotherBeulah Mae Donald and her attorney Michael Figures join forces with Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center to wage a multi-million-dollar civil suit against the United Klans of America, embarking on what they believe will be an extremely difficult task.CCApr 20, 2021
The People v. The Klan
A four-part docuseries about the little-known true story of Beulah Mae Donald, a Black mother in Alabama, who took down the Ku Klux Klan after the brutal murder and lynching of her son, Michael. He was just nineteen years old and found dead, hanging from a tree in Mobile, on March 21, 1981. Black community leaders immediately suspected it was a Klan lynching, but local law enforcement was slow to acknowledge that the murder was racially motivated. When the investigation stalled, Beulah Mae and local Black leaders refused to back down until Michael’s killers and the hateful organization they belonged to received justice.
Creators and cast
- Directors
- Donnie Eichar
- Created by
- Jason Blum, Tom Goodwin, Nancy Oey
- Studio
- Blumhouse Television, CNN Documentary Unit
