Image by: Teri Havens
Bridgette McGee holds a photo of her grandfather
Willie McGee and the Traveling Electric Chair: A Granddaughter's Search for the Truth
From: Radio Diaries
Length: 00:22:59
In 1951, Willie McGee was executed in Mississippi's traveling electric chair for raping a white woman. Six decades later, his granddaughter is on a quest to unearth everything she can about his life - and his death.
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Related Pieces
Broadcast History
Aired May 7th, 2010 on NPR's All Things Considered. Also aired on BBC World Service.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blues Round My Door | Lonnie Johnson | Blues by Lonnie Johnson. | Prestige/Bluesville | 1991 | 00:00 |
| Green Gloves | The National | Boxer. | Beggars Banquet Records | 2007 | 00:00 |
| Skinny Love | Bon Iver | For Emma. Forever Ago. | Jagjaguwar | 2008 | 00:00 |
Additional Credits
Narrated by Bridgette McGee Robinson. Help from Deborah George, Ben Shapiro, and Anayansi Diaz-Cortes. Thanks also to Sue Johnson and Harold Robinson. Support comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York Council for the Humanities, the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Macarthur Foundation, and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
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Rob Shinnick
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 04:01 AM | Permalink
Poignant and powerful
I enjoyed this piece very much.