United Klans of America - The Lynching of Michael Donald

The Lynching of Michael Donald

The trial of a black man in Alabama in 1981 was the reason for the lynching of Michael Donald, a 19-year-old black male, on March 21. After Josephus Andersonan, a black man in Mobile, Alabama, was charged with the murder of a white police officer, UKA member Bennie Hays blamed the jury when they failed to convict Andersonan. Hays claimed that it was because there were African-American jury members. Hays’ opinion was that he should be allowed to kill a black man since Andersonan killed a white man with no consequence. On March 21, the son of Bennie Hays, Henry Hays, and another member of the UKA, James Knowles, decided to take action and went driving around to find a black man to kill. They found Michael Donald walking along the street and made him get into their car. After kidnapping him, they drove out to a bordering county, where Hays and Knowles hanged him from a tree.

During the investigation, the police concluded that the murder had to do with drugs, but Donald’s mother, Beulah Mae Donald, knowing that her son was not involved with drugs, decided to take action. She eventually talked to Jesse Jackson, but it was Thomas Figures who ended up helping out. Figures was Mobile's U.S. Attorney, and he contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to take on the case. Knowles quickly confessed to the lynching. In 1983, James Knowles of the UKA's Klavern 900 in Mobile, was convicted for the 1981 murder of Michael Donald. His conviction resulted in a sentence of life in prison. At trial Knowles said he and Henry Hays killed Donald "in order to show Klan strength in Alabama."

In 1987, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) brought a civil case on behalf of the victim's family against the United Klans of America for being responsible in the lynching of Donald. Unable to come up with the $7 million awarded by the jury, the UKA was forced to turn over its national headquarters to Donald's mother who then sold it. This lawsuit resulted in the bankruptcy of the UKA, along with its official split in 1987.

During the civil trial Knowles said he was "carrying out the orders" of Bennie Jack Hays, Henry Hays's father, and a long time Shelton lieutenant. The trial ended with a guilty verdict, and Knowles, charged with “…violating Donald’s civil rights…”, received a sentence of life in prison. Hays was charged a few months later with the murder of Donald, he was found guilty, and sentenced to death. Hays was finally executed in June 1997. More than 80 years had passed since a white man had been executed, “…for a crime against an African American…”.