"In October 1919, a group of Black sharecroppers met at a church in an Arkansas village to organize a union. Bullets rained down on the meeting from outside. Many were killed by a white mob in what became known as the Elaine Massacre. Others were rounded up and arrested. Twelve of the sharecroppers were hastily tried and sentenced to death. Scipio Africanus Jones, a self-taught lawyer who'd been born enslaved, answered the call and represented the twelve--but could he save the men's live and set them free?" -- book jacket