Devil in the Grove

This chapter describes the chain of events that led to the arrest of the Groveland Boys for rape.

On the night of July 15, 1949, a young couple, Willie and Norma Lee Padgett, went on a date to a local dance hall. After being married for less than a year, Norma Lee and Willie had separated. Willie hoped the date would help patch things up with his bride (35). At the dance hall they danced and drank until early in the morning. While driving back home, their car battery died. Two young black World War II veterans named Samuel Shepherd and Walter Irvin happened along in their car and offered to help. After trying unsuccessfully to jump start Willie’s car, a fight with racial overtones broke out between them and Willie during which Samuel knocked Willie out cold.

The narrative returns to New York and the activities of Marshall at the NAACP, where he leads with vivacity and humor. We learn of the many people with whom he works—including reporter Evelyn Cunningham, attorney Constance Baker Motley, sociologist Annette Peyser, and famed black leader W.E.B. DuBois. We also learn how Marshall’s law professor, Charles Hamilton Houston, helped him attain his position at the NAACP shortly after graduating from Howard University.