Lucille's Ashes

It comes around full circle, if the whole central thesis of this Broadway musical 'Parade' is Leo Frank was a Northern Jew, working in the South, and convicted because of Gentile anti-Semitism, then why when speaking about the real Leo Frank case (1913 to 1915) must we leave out the race of Leo Frank and Newt Lee the man he tried to frame? If we are going to have an honest and open discussion about Leo Frank case in the context of a White racial separatist South, we should not omit the fact that Leo Frank was a privileged White and Jewish factory boss, who tried to frame an innocent low-ranking African-American nightwatchman. The reason is because in racist 1913 Atlanta, the word of a Whiteman would almost certainly be taken over an African-American and this is most relevant to the discussion. Governor John M. Slaton was a part-owner and senior law partner of the lawfirm 'Rosser, Brandon, Slaton and Phillips', that represented Leo Frank at his murder trial and appeals. Perhaps it wasn't, 'good clean vigilante fun' as you say, but the outgoing Governor John M. Slaton commutted the death sentence of his own wealthy client that outraged the people of Georgia. The most prominent members of the Government of Georgia hanged Leo Frank, not some drunken mob of rabble rousers.
— May 2, 2012 6:16 p.m.

Parade

I encourage people to go to google.com and search on the keyword, 'Leo Frank' and see the web sites on the Internet teaching people the truth about what really happened. This play smears Southerners as anti-Semites and gives people a distorted rendition of what really happened. The anti-Semitism smear is a mask to cover up the real racism of this case which was a Jewish factory boss trying to frame his African-American nightwatchman for the rape and murder of Mary Phagan.
— April 29, 2012 4:18 a.m.

A Look Back

If anyone reading this wants to learn what really happened, the book, 'The Murder of Mary Phagan' by Mary Phagan Kean gives an accurate synopsis of what really happened. You can download or read the book online at, http://archive.org/details/TheMurderOfMaryPhaganB… For 100 years people have been spreading misinformation about the Leo Frank Case and its time for the public to learn what really happened.
— April 29, 2012 4:13 a.m.

Lucille's Ashes

The central thesis of this Broadway Musical, 'Parade' is that Leo Frank was indicted and convicted because of Anti-Semitism. Don't you think it is a most unfair slander against someone, or some group of people, to claim they convicted a man for murder and sentenced him to death because of Anti-Semitism, when the truth of the matter is he was convicted by the overwhelming preponderance of the evidence? Falsing accusing people of racism, prejudice or anti-Semitism is a most grotesque slander and this play defaming Southerners. What the Leo Frank case was really about is a Jewish factory boss who tried to blame a rape and murder on an innocent African-American nightwatchman, Newt Lee. None of the retellings of the case mention the fact that this was a case of a White Jew trying to frame a black man. http://www.LeoFrankCase.com has a Leo Frank Yahoo discussion group, people should join to learn what really happened.
— April 29, 2012 4:08 a.m.

The Recent Unpleasantness

While there are some who give this performance rave reviews, there are many others who are offended by this play, because it falsely accuses Atlanta of indicting and convicting Leo Frank not on the facts, but because of anti-Semitism. The anti-Semitism smear in his play is grotesque, especially since most of you probably never read the Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence (1913). What happened in real life? The real racism and prejudice of the Leo Frank case is that Leo tried to pin the murder of Mary Phagan on his African-American nightwatchman Newt Lee and when that failed he tried to pin the murder on his African-American janitor. That's pretty grotesque to blame the the whole thing on Anti-Semitism, when Leo Frank tried to ensare an innocent African American nightwatchman with no criminal record.
— April 27, 2012 12:19 p.m.

A Look Back

In one breath you say it doesnt take sides. "And at no point does the Cygnet production pull away from, or sugarcoat, the subject matter. Or even take sides." in another you say Leo Frank was wrongly accused. "Southern Jew wrongly accused of murder " but isnt that a contradiction saying it doesnt take sides given that the whole theme of the production is Leo Frank was wrongfully accused of murdering Mary Phagan. In another article posted by you on this online newspaper you suggest Leo Frank was a convicted because of anti-Semitism. Have you considered the possibility Leo Frank was guilty? Have you actually read the trial brief of evidence? Closing argument? newspaper accounts leading up to Leo Frank's indictment and day to day testimony at the trial? Is it possible every level of the United State's legal system was correct in upholding the conviction?
— April 27, 2012 noon

Lucille's Ashes

Anti-Semitism is the common mythology about the Leo Frank trial, but Steve Oney dispelled this myth in his book, 'And the Dead Shall Rise, the Murder of Mary Phagan and Lynching of Leo Frank'. The only false charge in this case was the accusations of anti-Semitism as the reason Leo Frank was convicted, because if race hatred were involved in this case, it would have been infinitely easier to railroad Jim Conley, a friendless African-American alcoholic with a criminal rap sheet listing 7 drunk & disorderly charges. If you believe racism and prejudice are immoral, don't you think making false accusations about racism and prejudice against people is equally immoral? Leo Frank told the Atlanta Police in a stenographed statement that Mary Phagan entered his office on April 26, 1913, between 12:05 and 12:10pm, he also told the police he never left his office from noon to 12:45pm. Monteen Stover testified she went to the National Pencil Company on April 26, 1913, at 12:05pm to pick up her pay envelope and waited till 12:10pm before leaving, because she found Leo Frank's office empty. Leo Frank responded that the reason his office was empty was because he might have "unconsciously" gone to the bathroom in the metal room. The admission amounted to a murder confession, because the prosecutor Hugh M. Dorsey's case at the Leo Frank trial was that Leo Frank murdered Mary Phagan in the metal room bathroom between 12:05pm and 12:10pm on April 26, 1913. What made the conviction tight and narrow was that Jim Conley told the court he found Mary Phagan dead in the bathroom area of the metal room at the behest of Leo Frank. Lucille requested to be cremated in her 1954 will and before she died asked her family to disburse her ashes in an Atlanta park. The Frank and Stern family reserved an empty grave to the left of Leo Frank in the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Glendale, NY. That grave is still empty according to the staff at the Mount Carmel Cemetery. Lucille Selig Frank chose not to be buried next to her husband or have her ashes spread near Leo Frank in Queens, NYC, that should say something about her belief in her husband's innocence or guilt. Lucille might have been a loyal wife who stood by her husband during the whole ordeal between 1913 and 1915, but she was not naive. "Lucille Frank was definitely the third victim in this story." I definitely agree with this sentiment, and so does Steve Oney. The world's foremost expert on the Leo Frank Case is Professor Allen Koenigsberg of Brooklyn College, he has a Yahoo discussion group about the Leo Frank case and I recommend you share your views there. The yahoo group can be found through his web site Leo Frank Case Doht Com
— April 27, 2012 11:49 a.m.