To get to the truth of what happened to voting rights activist Frank J. Robinson, we go searching for the documents and records related to the investigation into his 1976 death and the public inquest. Time after time, those records are missing. But eventually a key Texas Rangers investigation report is uncovered and critical new information is revealed that sheds new light on this mystery.

Episode 4 — ‘A Questionable Death’

On Oct. 13, 1976, East Texas voting rights activist Frank J. Robinson was mortally wounded from a shotgun blast to his head. When the police chief saw the body, he declared it looked like a murder — but days later he retracted his assessment. After a public inquest, Robinson’s death was ruled a suicide. But a specter of doubt hangs over his death — so much so that even the Texas State Historical Association’s Handbook of Texas questions the ruling. Robinson had won victories to promote and preserve the power of the Black vote in East Texas, and some say that’s why he was killed. In Texas Public Radio’s "The Ghost of Frank J. Robinson," reporter David Martin Davies investigates and finds new evidence about this mystery that haunts East Texas. This podcast is made possible in part by Texas A&M San Antonio.

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On Oct. 13, 1976, East Texas voting rights activist Frank J. Robinson was mortally wounded from a shotgun blast to his head. When the police chief saw the body, he declared it looked like a murder — but days later he retracted his assessment. After a public inquest, Robinson’s death was ruled a suicide. But a specter of doubt hangs over his death — so much so that even the Texas State Historical Association’s Handbook of Texas questions the ruling. Robinson had won victories to promote and preserve the power of the Black vote in East Texas, and some say that’s why he was killed. In Texas Public Radio’s "The Ghost of Frank J. Robinson," reporter David Martin Davies investigates and finds new evidence about this mystery that haunts East Texas. This podcast is made possible in part by Texas A&amp;M San Antonio.

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Episode 4 — ‘A Questionable Death’

Episode 4 — ‘A Questionable Death’