Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Closed Ranks: The Whitehurst Case in Post-Civil Rights Montgomery
Closed Ranks: The Whitehurst Case in Post-Civil Rights Montgomery
Closed Ranks: The Whitehurst Case in Post-Civil Rights Montgomery
Ebook338 pages5 hours

Closed Ranks: The Whitehurst Case in Post-Civil Rights Montgomery

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

On a chilly December afternoon in 1975, Bernard Whitehurst Jr., a 33-year-old father of four, was mistaken for a robbery suspect by Montgomery, Alabama, police officers. A brief foot chase ensued, and it ended with one of the pursuing officers shooting and killing Whitehurst in the backyard of an abandoned house. The officer claimed the fleeing man had fired at him; police produced a gun they said had been found near the body. In the months that followed, new information showed that Whitehurst, who was black, was not only the wrong man but had been unarmed, a direct contradiction of the white officer's statement. What became known as the Whitehurst Case erupted when the local district attorney and the family's attorney each began to uncover facts that pointed to wrongdoing by the police, igniting a year-long controversy that resulted in the resignation or firing of police officers, the police chief, and the city's popular New South mayor. However, no one was ever convicted in Whitehurst's death, and his family's civil lawsuit against the City of Montgomery failed. Now, more than four decades later, Whitehurst's widow and children are waging a 21st-century effort to gain justice for the husband and father they lost. The question that remains is: who decides what justice looks like?

In this latter-day exploration of the Whitehurst Case, author Foster Dickson reviews one of Montgomery’s never-before-told stories, one which is riddled with incompatible narratives. Closed Ranks brings together interviews, police reports, news stories, and other records to carry the reader through the fraught post-civil rights movement period when the "unnecessary" shooting of Bernard Whitehurst Jr. occurred.

In our current time, as police shootings regularly dominate news cycles, this book shows how essential it is to find and face the truth in such deeply troubling matters.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 1, 2018
ISBN9781588383631
Closed Ranks: The Whitehurst Case in Post-Civil Rights Montgomery
Author

Foster Dickson

FOSTER DICKSON is a writer, editor, and teacher in Montgomery, Alabama. He is the author of Closed Ranks, the editor of Nobody’s Home and level:deepsouth, and the coordinator of the Fitzgerald Museum’s annual Literary Contest.

Related to Closed Ranks

Related ebooks

United States History For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Closed Ranks

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Closed Ranks - Foster Dickson

    bbook_preview_excerpt.html}rGiV(E$%(ކđUB^JyAf^m{wfOї9ksY~%_oxΓ=]c_ҿ|]tiZcY&-~Niogx6%e_Enb+̿MN.-jW2L֐(t s&w{ -[,I+SY5Vh` K|jrڬNm+d#_ע!v_xs5듓#=><.M|t 5iMq#;nEu?/Ξ5@|j/Xdf9ޣ_%wE*.~-/gj=,Rf'0§ Wlda,>u]u(ʷq7x)JMbsK_Ǚi״ |p X7yrL5޵1̳0 wuRB=1msL`KRxx_ޝ~w-z56/S:ŀ!/_<;ήz[|Uڃ-K`F70C!gߓ?(}\װ3HO{߿M./C~'u jU9yY,qvbK,L? ٘}R5}bJ6 q>/EA.~ ~3*e~:g~xxKycUW\Dަ kр^lϪm 5@_Ih(֭I ?fgkWl̕+`ɜ@҇)%ًT,勻/J.e]EƯ5EŖ CVA5\ӥyځAMPZ]Y:ԺYQy^]`p Pur8yxg`=un6X@|$?νCSC:lZ>͂k*R34·`!4al!z>{y"xv~ŋݻo Ud]ʩg QyRu=} IH((DY.tGm%%5KeЄ҆ݷ7V"#D: *"ڗ}hO݃.Jt%hM; ??c5KVW, Jđ cok*" hu"iB/A0~3Fa$Y !O/z_)jA8W*Vzl ?- "ГA +8f4@6{>.r`2ٳ>l* kj b3ݻgA0sl$/}xۯ!Ҹ26 FܪQ.(E$ꑌop[R0LJ v*u]B!xsx6uDs/k +yWbQvs_1 MElj325L4F Y *Rjb`_ foM؅8 VJ,TJUnm}T3~ a2Resᥬ>rMM2h:JSYgAG lj`_I\Yl5aB1K41=p]E])_c 6yġq7Md>m>έlr|2<|$6PWk•e ֏3ΖHU1)׳v<pj]!,4> a/tl9`WϬdߐ$]_K\0,Km@olx K3CO&m3-LE?+5ċ^ѹxY2mG/3ׇw#nf/t2ZJRP@Tg|tf]d<"FU6R .f9}a-TCEh)m``0hpWh`Z;{m͹H_/R׶|wIiOknǓB"p =J Ir' —1k'Bmf6$Ż ZNhLc-ZTNr= 隹~weM&7!Jʴ֎ \ԙo(7> wo"( ڊx\&6'iX!z[3$H N|6 LlwF )(V"---R[mR52h!e&13TNOuiG׵řI re㾢x7$d dD:AcՈ+X# :GS!&c &U1aYM^hP7֒h})yG}mUBN̽R JQ˺R|`O`M-}z{Ǿ3i!K.046 ^z}\Vd1<žI3ιx'tJ r\fdi/]Ki2]4} ?Aoס J\yC4*9G򧘸UŭѹNa,!8xZH9 LxCiA b\^ׁ|Lֹ c0ԪLQ̵H}b-su0 B8@:-|v!/w߽LhYv 44韰-'rޛzDq&G%^, M?ٽ/D~YGLJj!&Z8w ݄;hN5e6 eۑ~Y3뛰D ^)y #%5#_e PܒCH k?EZ{\ E $&eO#9ϜHj:%l1 xI,H̯a&R4Lc44œ¯t,G0&~ԣB懕v E+4xCLڽUk]1=0ؐwt8;G_eUc;=,{уG-7=YgF]} 9kmX[8yԎ@cE|0 b+Dv=$EH\w PQ$#"VS1I>ZܕRv;ꞲwoO߼x{yZ.99;~ n"좉Q]Mi@<{ݜ[Ħ+PdsrE-ۂ;s &'`HҁMЊ|4S6Hb%X O-pb͓3g1Vf7^TT7į}흥>B!NFo9X?&vc'Q}N5lD׵AeU;iJ{N[[qL遡*ϼs8H}xE4b&14 i2&̤7]Z3 kMI`-g/j+AR]`Y*ftHİ✓9H5MX2gܕ^͒.cНa9+Ai*3/7A%3 |[#yQDdm]>J'h%N@T~[l6g Ӂ_oɬQ_M2%$dk SM4=/!*>X Y+g7*t$/\sz}Bj Psc4JFeK2]7hx7 4l?I[bPd!ieͮK'49p>ccRaniuqP|vuϘh?h y82)K(> UpG8n ɟ8;vvjA誼$WeOPCq!:c6oͬUJ |Wd!/1rG\^冂M0 'kMjAƥH2D8X f:N9XD 5J6/3NaUi$Mq 2 c~SFytQnπT7ee0t)Йc6R}4fٷ~i[ BNⲶAXDD,g>~vI Tq%7EkГr.$$bc2'm8f#xD5qY!CDRn)IhJ.~HlZː$$͇0.,mN>g{N˙ɣ@ZN[!5Lpr>hd«'1l֭Ri(r'\.pRjZO`5cDj@mLyhW@ ]] `$%5&9mxgxbaۀI\Ce_ëҬ@U\Ɖh- O3# Ϊ3=" V.ݾ TSlQL'Au+04e k} 6U,β&|kҒy1=~ɤ쏵NPZj0iR]4ZslSbVvcJuX5ޫ5%#1SIdvX(Tthre!αbåD{Gmm)m:äN:XsN 2 !L>6>޾hzdd0yr9 {Iص $[JɋOZI"ڑ:.LeHEfVxür^[JvziҕG(f+{L@XzNm\zP4:qKRVS4OH/$sAdW_ 4S }TЀb6.tvX^P>QEqgAI'm. ?#  ٛ[a!I&U,o.qcIAur|$JKr7~ΞfBmRBMѹnEĊldmPW^ψ[J8O|)+$(qMIx=5^b_1nӞ1ODyÛ }@/WTpx$]yxNR'Ww'N%^'<~N}4^E!q ,S-!M\|8?d.7O.5zsY]Jx 'AK[O 3, JC@ffіYKУkkvWk+j3ħɳn̘9"ƆW~@]5L4Í!T'pFVGS!xۛg();{}$fEEh/㷩ft="Ye%凞~YI5L&`o1ib'6*pFQ/F5"T-ǒ;?J?]FPVn 9&l%[uH'! )O>Zί[RsɤhrQvZ< dY< sP*tb_g}ir2Zuк'YW3kE8sj ?+r,1Ƞ&zYմp\ T :%&Ƨ bj4I$$wwg;߉w4v7~J Nl]+ 'PojbwfKָQp6=]j>DM HpJ z-߀b@7;_EkxO mu5OB]7d4īhy5EOF '?~'x#t/.mM]0I[>WGDʎء(]H9Piu:/@S/ahI\̋1uvMxWt`W(L]X-JڍJI=JFSrY#f礪Q+Łd&1wHme098Ց> v#Ϻv<\n%= ^]LAɺ1ت׮Y k/sS$?n4+ | Үdł0ۅuh,7/tREk=Sa86VXVWʺwtޝE P1WWvj_Ec؆EQﮂQkyYlZ/[MS8cŕ6~l}S{ 6;67-i;8^[AOOwPVUnnqhv_}߬+&i ’7uA\^![Ƕ]Ug)f_s PMQ6Fz`[GypᲉer|9+"O [cXYle8;@Rf.nW5}ԛq?NȆ[}U?BD6/+Pʄ`z FøRzOfu)@#쪈1`>FS!?5m޸$Vk+G.vY7ʐu6בTzI䂊 Aaeȡ:TJDI`0L Owݏ׵۩1XE8fk|̒E/8<io
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1