On Sunday, August 16, 2015 I posted a freshly written book chapter inspired in part by a description of an unreleased novel by Harper Lee. You can find the chapter here.
Attorney Tom Radney gave the description to Charles Shields, author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee and to myself prior to his death in 2011.
For further
inspiration, I looked to the work of reporter Jim Earnhardt, who published an
account of events that happened at the funeral where Reverend Willie Maxwell was shot and
killed. On Monday, June 20, 1977, three
articles appeared on the front page of the Alexander
City Outlook under his byline. I also drew inspiration from a 2008 conversation with Earnhardt and former Outlook editor Al Benn.
Benn
inspired the character of Arnold in the chapter and his reporting for the
Outlook also influenced the piece.
The chapter
began with a fictional argument between Jim Easton and his editor Arnold over whether or
not to bring a camera to the 1977 funeral of a young girl. In the 2008 interview with Earnhardt and
Benn, the reporters told me that a discussion had taken place, but it was
decided that they would not bring a camera.
Following
the shooting, Earnhardt called Benn, who then came to the funeral home and
snapped a picture of the Reverend, dead and slumped in his pew. He showed me the picture and told me he was
saving it “for when Hollywood comes calling.”
I liked the
idea of starting the chapter with an argument because that is how Harper Lee
began To Kill a Mockingbird and by
writing this chapter I was, ostensibly, channeling Harper
Lee.
According to
Earnhardt’s coverage at the time, the chapel was “hot and crowded.” Estimates of the size of the crowd, appearing
in various news outlets, varied from 200-400 people in attendance.
In my
discussion with the reporters, Earnhardt mentioned a metal folding chair
causing a commotion that led a uniformed officer to charge in with his hand on
the holster. It was not Earnhardt,
however, who knocked over the chair. He
did mention that he was the only white person among 400 people and he wanted to
be as inconspicuous as possible. For my
chapter I wanted to establish some measure of tension right away and this
seemed like a good place to start.
The reporters
told me they had heard rumors about family members of the victims taking
revenge on the Reverend, but they did not believe them credible.
My family
lived in Alex City at the time, less than a mile from the funeral home. My mother told me that she drove by and saw
everyone outside on the lawn. She also
told me that a woman who worked for our family said. “I almost went to that funeral. I thought they were going to kill him at the cemetery.”
Earnhardt’s
article entitled “Maxwell gunned down at funeral,” described Mrs. Maxwell’s
display of grief. “Mrs. Maxwell, overcome during the viewing, was led back to
the red-velvet pew where she had listened to the eulogy. Her husband cradled her head in his left
arm. He had a handkerchief in his left
hand, a fan in his right.”
According to
the same article, the man who shot Maxwell, Robert Burns, was apprehended by
police officers Ennis Berry and James Ware.
The same
article quoted a relative of Ellington’s as shouting “You killed my sister and
you’re gonna pay for it.”
Although it
did not appear in newspaper coverage at the time, according to the transcript
of the jury trial of the State of Alabama vs. Robert Burns, following his
arrest, Burns was heard saying, “I’m glad I did it, and I’d do it again.” The statement was ruled inadmissible. The prosecutor continued to try and find a
way to get the jury to hear the statement, and became a source of contention
between the district attorney and the attorney for the defense. A bout of shouting and name-calling ensued.
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