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The 1913 antisemitic lynching of Leo Frank resonates in today's political and racial climate

Earlier this week, Here & Now aired a segment about “Parade.” The Broadway musical is a retelling of the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man from Atlanta, falsely accused and sentenced to the death penalty for the killing of a 13-year-old girl in 1913. Two years later, he was exonerated and lynched.

We explore the real case of Frank, including the eerily familiar political and racial moment that spawned the injustice, and the historical implications that are felt even today.

Steve Oney has studied the event since the early 1980s, met several people who attended the lynching and wrote the acclaimed book “And the Dead Shall Rise.” He joins host Robin Young.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.