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A Film In Progress On The KKK Shooting in 1980 Chattanooga

WUTC

Published February 7, 2022 at 3:23 PM EST

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From the open of “The Civil Case”

John Beder - with photo from The Chattanooga Times

“The Civil Case” is a documentary now in production that recalls a violent episode in Chattanooga’s past - and its legal impact to this day.

Here’s the case: In April 1980, five Black women were injured in a shooting spree by three members of the Ku Klux Klan on Ninth Street - now Martin Luther King Boulevard - in downtown Chattanooga.

The women survived.

The Klan members were charged with attempted murder. An all-white jury acquitted two of the men - and sentenced the third to nine months in prison and a fine. He served only three months.

Days of rioting followed the verdict.

Then, the women filed a civil lawsuit in Federal court, represented by civil rights attorney Randolph McLaughlin.

This time, they won a key victory against the Klan - and set a legal precedent for today’s court battles on racial violence.

John Beder is director and producer of “The Civil Case.”

Author and historian Rita Lorraine Hubbard has provided research for the documentary.