The Rope: A True Story of Murder, Heroism, and the Dawn of the NAACP by Alex Tresniowski

In The Rope: A True Story of Murder, Heroism, and the Dawn of the NAACP, author Alex Tresniowski tells a captivating and in-depth story of a string of events that occurred in 1910 involving a black man, a white woman, and a hangman's noose.

The incident began when a young white woman, Mary Newton, was found dead near a creek in Winchester, Virginia. She had been strangled to death, her back broken beyond repair. Her father, John Newton, quickly accused a 24-year-old black man named Lloyd Ruffin of the crime. Lloyd was an educated black man who had worked his way up to a job in the US Postal Service as a mail carrier. Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence stacked up against him, John Newton was determined to have his daughter's murder avenged and have Lloyd Ruffin hanged for the crime.

John Newton's fast prosecution, combined with the lack of any substantial evidence and the lack of access to a lawyer, deeply bothered a few of Winchester's most prominent citizens. Walter Plecker, a Winchester lawyer, withdrew from the case after realizing that the proceedings were anything but fair. Meanwhile, Dr. Aubrey Strode and Mr. Jacob Trotter caught wind of Lloyd Ruffin's plight. They soon formed the Winchester League of Justice, a forerunner of the NAACP, as a means to pressure state authorities for a fair trial.

Despite the best efforts of the Winchester League of Justice and their allies, which included the NAACP, attempts to mobolize public opinion on both sides fell short. Lloyd Ruffin was to be executed via the hangman's noose on August 14, 1910.

However, mere moments away from the gallows, several marines and a Catholic priest, Father Terence Lillis, pleaded with the town to spare Lloyd Ruffin's life. Their efforts and the stirring words of Father Lillis moved the townsfolk and ultimately the judge and governor. The governor soon issued a reprieve for Lloyd, who received a pardon two years later.

Tresniowski masterfully weaves together the narrative of the Ruffin case with the story of the fledgling NAACP. He intricately delves into the man-on-man combat between Walter Plecker, who was responsible for Virginia's racial segregation laws, and W.E.B Du Bois, who strived to end the "color line" that had been set in Virginia.

The Rope proves to be a heart-stopping and humane account of how a small group of brave citizens managed to defy the odds, preserve an innocent life, and spark the embers of social change. Tresniowski's skillful storytelling, passionate research, and sharp eye for detail make for an extraordinary book that is bound to captivate readers from start to finish. While the Ruffin case may be over a century old, its reverberations still echo in our modern lives.