Joan Little Pt. 2

At just 21 years old, Joan Little finds herself on trial for murder and facing the death penalty. But still, thousands of people around the country insist that Joan’s actions were justified. When her case sparks nationwide protests and a wave of financial support, eyes around the world are suddenly all on Joan. Picking up where part 1 left off, today’s episode explores what happens when someone suddenly and unwittingly becomes the face of a movement.

A full transcript of this episode is available here.

Action Items Related to Today’s Episode:

Survived and Punished

National Jericho Movement

Check out and Support the Southern Historical Collection.

Key Research Mentioned:

Folder 1: Testimony of Joan Little in the James Reston, Jr., Collection of Joan Little Trial Materials #4006, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Trial Transcripts

The New York Times: The Joan Little Case, by James Reston, Jr.

Audio Used:

Audiocassette 14: Jerry Paul, defense attorney. : Side 2 in the James Reston, Jr., Collection of Joan Little Trial Materials #4006, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Audiocassette 10: William Griffin, prosecutor.: Side 1 in the James Reston, Jr., Collection of Joan Little Trial Materials #4006, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Audiocassette 13: Courtney Mullin, social psychologist who helped defense team argue successfully for change of venue.: Side 2 in the James Reston, Jr., Collection of Joan Little Trial Materials #4006, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Audiocassette 10: Joan Little, accused of murdering her white jailor, Clarence Alligood.: Side 2 in the James Reston, Jr., Collection of Joan Little Trial Materials #4006, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

YouTube: 40th Anniversary of Joan Little’s Pivotal Muder Acquittal, by CBS News.

YouTube: The Case of Joan Little Interview Excerpts TBPM Extras, uploaded by 3X Muhammed.

Sources Used:

The Charlotte Observer: Joan Little: From Petty Thief to Celebrity, a Young Black Woman Discovers that Her Image Is What Others Want It to Be, by Milton Jordan

The News and Observer: Karen Bethea-Shields: In Joan Little’s Cell, by David Cecelski

The Cut: Stop Hustling Black Death Samaria Rice is the mother of Tamir, not a “mother of the movement,” by Imani Perry

The New York Times: Joan Little’s Lawyer Scorns Legal System and Says He ‘Bought,’ by Wayne King 

St. Petersburg Times: Little acquitted of jailer murder, by Lyle Denniston

IndieWire: Joan Little: Dramatic New Footage Casts Light on Historic Black Panther Activism, by Jordan Green

Law and Contemporary Problems: The Uses of Social Science on Trials with Political and Racial Overtones: The Trial of Joan Little, by John B. McConahay, Courtney J. Mullin, and Jeffrey Frederick

Ms. Magazine: Black Herstory: “The Trial of the Decade,” by Jamia WIlson

Vintage: At the Dark End of the Street, by Danielle McGuire

The Journal of African American History: “She Ain’t No Rosa Parks”: The Joan Little Rape–Murder Case and Jim Crow Justice in the Post–Civil Rights South, by Christina Greene

Crime and Social Justice: The Case of Joanne Little by Social Justice/Global Options

Wikipedia: Joan Little.*

*Indicates a source that is speculative and/or otherwise unofficial. These sources are used for gathering general information related to the story and are then independently verified by our team. We want to give credit to these sources for pointing us in the right direction of more official sources and/or being the first source to present us with information. With any source, it’s always important to fact-check the information.