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The Murder of Willie Edwards, Jr., and Civil Rights Violence in Montgomery, Alabama

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The Murder of Willie Edwards, Jr., and Civil Rights Violence in Montgomery, Alabama UNKNOWN MARTYR: THE MURDER OF WILLIE EDWARDS, JR., AND CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLENCE IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA by PAIGE EUGENIA YOUNG (Under the Direction of Robert Pratt) ABSTRACT This thesis will examine the virtually forgotten murder of Willie Edwards, Jr. At the beginning of 1957, Montgomery remained a testing ground where racial struggles were still being played out after the successful bus boycott. Of all the violent acts following the boycott—including physical confrontations on city streets, gun shots fired at integrated buses, and the bombing of black churches and homes—only this one resulted in death. This work will examine the circumstances surrounding this murder as well as how the subsequent investigations and legal efforts unraveled throughout forty- five years. INDEX WORDS: Civil rights, Willie Edwards, Montgomery, Alabama UNKNOWN MARTYR: THE MURDER OF WILLIE EDWARDS, JR., AND CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLENCE IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA by PAIGE EUGENIA YOUNG B.A., The University of Georgia, 2003 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2003 © 2003 Paige Eugenia Young All Rights Reserved UNKNOWN MARTYR: THE MURDER OF WILLIE EDWARDS, JR., AND CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLENCE IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA by PAIGE EUGENIA YOUNG Major Professor: Robert Pratt Committee: William Stueck James Cobb Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2003 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1 PROLOGUE ………………………………………………………………….1 2 MONTGOMERY: A TORRENT OF RACIAL TENSIONS.........................10 3 THE HEIGHT OF THE VIOLENCE..............................................................40 4 LIFE AND DEATH.........................................................................................97 5 FROM OPPORTUNITY TO DESPAIR .......................................................133 6 THE LAST CHANCE...................................................................................194 7 CONCLUSION..............................................................................................226 BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………...233 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................237 1 CHAPTER 1 PROLOGUE As the large delivery truck rambled along the desolate road in the northern region of Montgomery County, Alabama, its radiant headlights sliced through the night to reflect the frost forming gently on the long blades of grass growing beside the shoulder of the narrow two-lane highway. The driver of the rig, Willie Edwards, Jr., a limber, hard- working twenty-four-year-old black man, downshifted the gears as he gradually eased the vehicle to a halt in the parking lot of the A & H grocery store on Lower Wetumpka Road. Truck drivers employed by Winn-Dixie frequently purchased sodas from this store and fraternized with the local clientele, but the hour was late and the store was unoccupied.1 The monotonous, vibratory drone of the idling truck ceased as Edwards turned but did not remove the silver key, cutting the ignition. He switched on the overhead light in his cab so he could quickly make notations in his logbook before returning to the Winn-Dixie warehouse on Jackson Ferry Road. Earlier in the day, after Edwards had already completed his customary shift and returned home, his employer telephoned, asking him to make an additional delivery run to Sylacauga—a town located in Talladega County approximately sixty miles north of Montgomery—because the regular driver had called in sick. Although drained from his normal workday, Edwards accepted the assignment for the supplementary money it would bring his family. He prided himself on his ability to provide for his wife and two young daughters as well as the two sisters who lived with him after their mother died. He 2 grabbed his jacket and walked to the front door with his wife, seven months pregnant. “Take good care of my son for me,” Willie instructed her as he touched her stomach. Laughing as she grasped his hand, Sarah Jean inquired, “How do you know it’s a boy?” He smiled at her and cocked his head in a flirtatious nature, “I just know. Don’t worry, I know the route, and I will be back sometime later tonight.”2 Unbeknownst to him, Edwards kissed his wife for the final time and departed from their house on Rice Street in the west side of the city. Although no one has divulged a complete account of what transpired during the final hours of Edwards life, what follows is an interpretative extrapolation based predominantly on a confession given nineteen years later by former Klansman Raymond C. Britt, Jr.3 Several hours after Edwards left the Jackson Ferry Road warehouse and while he unloaded the groceries in Sylacauga, four Ku Klux Klan members—Raymond Britt, William “Sonny” Kyle Livingston, James D. York, and Henry Alexander—met across town in Chisholm, a northeastern section of the city, at the house of Henry Alexander, a cantankerous man known throughout the community for his racist rhetoric. A wide gap existed in the ages of the men who gathered that night: Britt and Alexander were both in their late twenties, York was the eldest member of the group at fifty-two, and Livingston was only nineteen—a fact he would later use to argue that he was never a member of the Klan. Trying to dissociate himself years later from the racist organization, Livingston explained that even if he had wanted to join the Ku Klux Klan, it would not have permitted him to do so because of his youth. Despite the disparity in their ages, all of the men were local laborers who convened that night for the purpose of executing an order given by one of the leaders of the Montgomery Klan klavern. The assignment 3 involved “taking care of” a black Winn-Dixie truck driver who allegedly made inappropriate comments to a white waitress. Rumors of the incident had circulated among Klansmen who perceived violations of such racial customs as unpardonable threats to white supremacy. According to the rumors, this driver typically made deliveries along the Sylacauga route, the assignment Edwards inherited when he agreed to complete the additional run. Armed with several pistols and a rifle, the Klansmen left Alexander’s house later that night and drove along the Lower Wetumpka Road—the path traversed by northbound Winn-Dixie trucks—searching for the offending black man. They patrolled the road for about an hour before finding Edwards’ parked vehicle. As Edwards attended to his logbook, the Klansmen, with Alexander at the wheel, drove past the truck and noticed the Winn-Dixie logo painted on the side. Kicking up a small cloud of dust from the shoulder of the road, Alexander turned the car around and pulled in front of Edwards’ rig, slowly creeping closer to ascertain a better look at the driver. The light in the truck cab enabled Alexander to see the dark complexion of the man behind the wheel, and he informed the others that they had found the correct driver. Livingston, the lanky teenager whose confrontational nature gave him the demeanor of someone quite older, and Britt, a well-built man, bounded out of the vehicle, drawing their guns and rapidly approached Edwards. Yanking the door open, Livingston grabbed Edwards by his jacket collar and wrenched him from the seat; Edwards’ boots banged loudly against the side rail of the truck as he stumbled from the rig. Livingston clenched his hand around the back of Edwards’ neck and positioned his gun next to the driver’s temple. As Livingston marched Edwards toward the four-door car, York stepped out of the back seat, leaving 4 the door ajar. Livingston then shoved Edwards into the back seat of the vehicle. The three men who had vacated the car returned, and Edwards sat trembling between two armed white men. As they navigated the poorly lit roads, the Klansmen began their interrogation of Edwards, accusing him of offending the white waitress. “What did you say to that white woman, you nigger?” Britt probed in a steely voice. “You better fucking tell us what you said, boy,” another threatened. Edwards denied their allegations every time, a defense that proved futile and only seemed to infuriate them more. “For the last time,” York leaned in, lowering his voice, “you had better admit to what you said.” Swallowing hard before he answered, Edwards whispered, barely able to articulate the words, “I didn’t do anything. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” With that, Britt drew his hand back and slapped Edwards across his cheek, delivering a stinging blow that knocked Edwards’ face to the side. York accompanied this hit with one of his own that landed just above Edwards’ eye. Alexander stopped the car along the side of the road and one of the men got out to relieve himself. Livingston looked over his shoulder from the passenger’s seat and instructed Edwards, “Get out of the car.” As Edwards began to step from the vehicle, Livingston forcibly removed him and shoved him against the cold metal of the automobile. He brought his gun to Edwards’ eye level, holding it inches from his face. Livingston leaned in closer to Edwards and in a low threatening voice told him, “I ought to cut your nuts out for harassing that woman.” In a sadistic gesture, Livingston half smiled at Edwards, reveling in the fear he inflicted. He then grabbed the defenseless 5 black man by the shirt, ripping away several buttons as he forced Edwards back into the car. “I swear to you, nigger, if you don’t tell us what we want to know, we’ll beat the hell out of you,” Alexander threatened in a husky voice as he reached for the shiny pistol he had placed in the console. After waiving the gun in the air and making several more intimidating gestures, Alexander started the engine, and began driving again. Edwards began breathing heavily and sweating profusely. The Klansmen continued to vituperate Edwards unmercifully and each took his turn striking him.
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