Vernon Ferdinand Dahmer is one of the 40 names etched into a monument honoring martyrs at the Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery.

But most of the crowd gathered there Monday night to hear from his granddaughter-in-law Shelly Dahmer seemed to be hearing his story for the first time.

The Southern Poverty Law Center arranged the event for Dahmer to share about her new book targeted at upper elementary kids: “‘If You Don’t Vote, You Don’t Count’: Vernon Dahmer’s Fight for Equality.”

The book presents Vernon Dahmer’s story for children, taking them back to his very childhood and building up how he became interested in Civil Rights.

Shelly Dahmer said she has been working on getting the story right for 20 years, and finally gained family approval in 2022. Then she had to publish the

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