THE CIVIL CASE

This documentary tells the story of a racist attack that took place in the home state of the KKK and how that landmark case is still used in court today to fight cases of hate. After Klansmen shot and injured five Black women in 1980 Chattanooga, the women were able to take the KKK to federal civil court using the long-forgotten Enforcement Act of 1871 – also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. Today the Act is seeing a revival with civil cases in Charlottesville and Washington DC where lawyers hope to address resurgent hate groups. This film seeks to commemorate a piece of civil rights history still resonating in today’s civil courts.