Dear Reader,

Like everyone, I’ve been thinking a lot about the case against the officers who killed George Floyd. I’ve also been thinking about policing, racism, and the way forward. Another case, a very different case, from nearly a century ago, comes to mind because of its continuing relevance, the nature of the facts, and the eloquence of the defense summation. It’s one that I mention in my book, that I quote from time to time, and memorized in tenth grade for speech competitions. It has had a deep impact on me, and I thought I would share an extended excerpt here.

The facts were these: Dr. Ossian Sweet had moved his family into a new house in a neighborhood in Detroit. Dr. Sweet was a black man, and his white neighbors didn’t want a black family in their midst. It was 1925.

On their second night in the house, an angry mob descended. The mob yelled and threw rocks.