The book, A Cry in the Night, based on the murder of a seventeen year old civil rights participant, provides a general background on the life of Negros in Canton, Mississippi during the Jim Crow era. The city of Canton, now the city of lights was once a city embedded in darkness as Negros struggled for justice and equality. It focuses primarily on the role of the civil rights movement dealing with boycott, integration, voter registration, and death. Recommend for general reading.