The Family TreeA Lynching in Georgia, a Legacy of Secrets, and...

In the tradition of 12 Years a Slave and Lee Daniels' The Butler, the provocative true account of the hanging of four black people by a white lynch mob in 1912—written by the great-granddaughter of the Sheriff charged with protecting them. Hamilton County, Georgia, 1912. A white man, the beloved nephew of the county Sheriff, is shot dead on the porch of a black woman. Days after the Sheriff is sworn into office, he oversees the lynching of a pregant woman and three men, all African American. Now, in a personal account like no other, the great-granddaughter of that Sheriff, Karen Branan, digs deep into the past to deliver a shattering historical memoir a century after that gruesome day. In researching her family's history, Branan spent nearly twenty years combing through diaries and letters, visiting the Harris County countryside and courthouse, and conversing with community elders to piece together the events and motives that led up to the lynching. But this is more than a historical narrative; throughout Branan weaves her own personal reflections about coming into touch with difficult, inexplicable feelings surrounding race and family, and ultimately challenging her own self-image as an educated, modern woman who transcends the racism practiced and experienced by the people who raised her. Part of that came with uncovering a startling truth: Branan is not only related to the Sheriff; she is a relative of the four African Americans as well. A story of racism, power, jealousy, and greed, The Family Tree transports you to a small Southern town entrenched in racial tension and bound by family ties. What emerges is a gripping explanation of that awful day in history, but also the crucial issues that follow us into the present.