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Meet Attorney Anthony S. Pitch
Best-Selling Author & Historian
For those who wonder why the Moore’s Ford Lynching is still a matter for the Courts in 2019, it’s important to know something about the man who decided that it was finally time to shine the light of truth into a dark period of American history and examine the 1946 grand jury transcripts: Author and Historian Anthony S. Pitch.
Just prior to 2010, Pitch had been researching lynching in the United States as the subject of a new book when he stumbled upon the Moore’s Ford murders. He became interested in this case because of the unfathomable brutality meted out to two young African-American couples, all in their early 20s, but especially because one of the men, George W. Dorsey, had only recently returned from distinguished service in World War II.
Another reason for his choice of the Moore’s Ford case is that here was a veritable bonanza of documents available to research. To ensure the integrity of his research, Pitch obtained nearly 10,000 documents related to the case at the National Archives and elsewhere, with those obtained from the FBI through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Pitch, a thorough and painstaking researcher, traveled to Monroe, Georgia, interviewed residents and visited strategic locations with his good friend Rich Rusk, son of former Secretary of State Dean Rusk and former Secretary of the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee. Note: Rich Rusk passed away in January 2018 but Pitch describes him as a “beloved guide and mentor.”
Meticulously documented with 955 footnotes, “The Last Lynching: How a Gruesome Mass Murder Rocked a Small Georgia Town” was published in 2016 and is now widely regarded as the most authoritative treatment of the Moore’s Ford massacre ever published.
Pitch’s Presentation to the National Archives, May 4, 2016
The Story of Moore’s Ford Lynching. Pitch’s speech starts at about 11:20. Author/Historian Anthony S. Pitch Speaks Before The National Archives (1:06:13)
Author Profile
© Photo credit: Johnathon Kelso, New York Times
Anthony S. Pitch is the author of many non-fiction books including:
- They Have Killed Papa Dead! – The Road to Ford’s Theatre, Abraham Lincoln’s Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance
- Our Crime Was Being Jewish
- The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814, read by President Clinton and a History Book Club selection with movie rights optioned by National Geographic
Both won an award from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference. Pitch has narrated for Tribune Broadcasting TV inside the White House and has appeared on C-Span TV, the History Channel, National Geographic TV, NPR, PBS, Smithsonian TV, the AP Broadcast Editor in Philadelphia, and inside Ford’s Theatre.
Two of his tours in Washington, D.C., were filmed by C-Span TV. He is a former Associated Press staffer in London, and Broadcast Editor in Philadelphia, a senior writer in the books division of U.S. News & World Report, and has reported from Israel and Africa. He has been a guest speaker at the Federal Circuit Bar Association, the Brookings Institution, the Library of Congress, National Archives, National Press Club, the Smithsonian Institution, Fort McHenry, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pitch is now putting the finishing touches to a book to be titled, “Our Crime Was Being Black.”
Practice Areas
- Employment Law
