Days of Fear

Days of Fear exposes the shocking story of a gruesome 1914 murder in St. Petersburg, Florida and the calculated lynching of the Black man accused. Who killed Frank Sherman with a shotgun blast inches from his head? What in the restless photographer's life led to his bloody end? And why did powerful men decide John Evans had to die for the crime? This book explores true-crime events buried for decades. It tells of the friendless Evans torn from his jail cell, marched down the main street, strung by his neck from a pole, and riddled with gunfire from men, women, and children. It suggests that someone close to Sherman killed him, igniting three days of brutality in a town that cherished its reputation as a placid and profitable resort. Days of Fear describes in detail St. Petersburg as it existed more than a century ago - a growing waterfront community particularly comfortable for white people but often difficult for Black people. It tells a grim story the authors hope is relevant to the twenty-first century's periodic mob violence and domestic terrorism.