Author Gilbert King Visits St. B's

The Upper School boys were fortunate to have author Gilbert King visit St. B’s on May 16.  Mr. King is the author of Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America.  The Groveland Boys case centered around a group of four African-American youths who were on trial for a violent crime against a seventeen-year old Caucasian girl in Florida.  A young Thurgood Marshall defended the men during the late 1940s, a time of the burgeoning civil rights movement, even though this decision almost cost him his life.  Mr. King talked to the boys about the parallels this case had with the trial in To Kill a Mockingbird, especially the similarities between Thurgood Marshall and Atticus Finch.  The discussion was fascinating for the students and their teachers, and conversations about the Groveland Boys could be heard in the hallways the rest of the day.  Interested students can find a signed copy of Devil in the Grove in the school library.  Many thanks to Mr. King for visiting St. Bernard’s.