Super Short Summary

At the Hands of Persons Unknown by Philip Dray explores the history of anti-Black lynching in America, investigating the social, political, and legal factors that enabled such atrocities. Dray recounts the case of Sam Hose, a Black man violently lynched in 1899 after defending himself against his employer. The book asserts that lynching was a systemic issue, not merely mob violence, and critiques the justice system's failures, exemplified by cases like that of Willie McGee—an African American man wrongfully sentenced to death for rape in 1945. This book contains detailed accounts of racial violence, lynching, and legal injustice.