TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Feb 20, 2025

“How to Sue the Klan: The Legacy of the Chattanooga Five” will be screened on Feb. 26 at the Chattanooga State Community College. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST in the CC Bond Auditorium of the HUM Building. The film tells the story of four Black women who were shot by local Ku Klux Klan members. In criminal court, an all-white jury acquitted two of the Klansmen and sentenced the third to just nine months. Civil unrest followed the verdict, which also caught the attention of the Center for Constitutional Rights. The center successfully sued the shooters in federal civil court on behalf of the women. The court awarded today’s equivalent of over $1.5 million and issued an injunction against all Klan activities in the city. The suit also served as a precedent to go after the Klan in cities across the nation. Learn more about the story and the film.