The Estate of James C. Anderson, et al., v. Deryl Dedmon Jr., et al.

In the early morning hours of June 26, 2011, a black man was attacked in the parking lot of a Jackson, Miss., motel and then fatally run over by a truck. The Southern Poverty Law Center joined Mississippi attorney Winston J. Thompson III, in filing a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the man’s family. The civil lawsuit accuses seven white teenagers of deliberately setting out to “go f--k with some n----rs.”

The lawsuit describes how the teens were drinking at one or more gatherings in Rankin County, Miss., before leaving in two vehicles and finding James C. Anderson in the Metro Inn parking lot. During the attack, one of his attackers shouted, “White power!,” according to the lawsuit.

After the beating, the lawsuit alleges, one of the teens drove a Ford F-250 pickup truck over a street curb, striking and killing Anderson. The alleged driver of the truck, Deryl Dedmon Jr., reportedly told the other teens that he “ran that n----r over.” None of the teens named in the lawsuit attempted to stop the attack, call police or seek medical help for Anderson, the suit claims.

Video of the attack, including footage of Anderson being hit by the truck, was captured by a motel security camera and broadcast by CNN. Filed in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Miss., the suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of Anderson’s family.