Chapter 8 Forty years late apology

In the early morning of Saturday, I passed the automatic newspaper machine in the small town.All the newspapers sold in the machine were local tabloids, the content of which was mainly local news from the villages and small towns in the county.We lived here for many years and almost never read the local tabloids.But today, like a finger of God poking my forehead, I glanced at the glass door displaying the headlines as I hurried past the newspaper machine.So, when I walked out of the supermarket, I bought a county newspaper for the first time. On the front page was a small black-and-white photo, an inch and a half long by an inch wide, of a person we knew well.Although we never met, we mentioned him in a book on the evolution of race in America.His name was Lemuel Penny, and he was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army.

Today, Lieutenant Colonel Penny is making headlines in our county's leading newspapers.There is another notice in the newspaper: This Sunday, July 11, 2004, is the 40th anniversary of the Penney incident that took place in our Madison County.A memorial concert will be held in a church near our home.We seem to have been expecting it for a long time, but we are still very surprised.Only by living here can you feel how heavy a historical burden this event is on the people of this county.And today's commemoration of Officer Penney in Madison County is a testament to how profoundly the hearts of the people in this county have changed.

Forty years ago, it was a tense summer day in American history, rooted in a few extreme southern states.Nine days before the Penny incident, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 went into effect in the United States.This act officially declared the end of eight decades of racial segregation.It is understood that, though it is a federal law, it is directed first and foremost against a few southern states.The whole world is familiar with the racial segregation system in the United States. In fact, among the 50 states in the United States, only a few southern states practiced racial segregation. During these long eighty years, the South itself has also moved forward.The 1960s was a time of change in the South. Starting from the demand for equality in the quality of education, blacks finally won step-by-step victories in the Supreme Court of the United States.Some southern states have desegregated races one after another.In the process, the most stubborn states of the so-called Deep South: Mississippi and Alabama, have all experienced a certain degree of popular unrest.

Georgia, where we live, also had a racial segregation system. At the critical moment of change, there was no public unrest like that in Alabama and Mississippi, and the integration of black and white students was gradually completed.The main reason is that the state's leaders made a wise decision to conform to the trend of history.Originally, this state might be able to transition gradually and pass this historical juncture smoothly.But the Penny incident suddenly changed the history of Georgia. In any position, the most feared are extremists.The southern states were in a state of tension at that time, mainly a very small number of KKK extremists, just like today's terrorists, you can't predict when and where they will do what.Because of this, few people can cause great terror, especially the black people.

Officer Penny was black, but not native.His home is in Washington, DC.Looking at the resume of Officer Penny, he is a very outstanding American citizen.He is a "World War II" veteran and an educator.After returning from the Pacific War, Officer Penny was assistant superintendent of schools in the Washington area, supervising five schools.He led the Boy Scouts and was an officer in the reserves. In the summer of 1964, he left his home in the north and went to Fort Benning in the south to participate in regular reserve military training.The military training ended on July 10. When he and two comrades heard that the South was not safe for black people, they decided to drive at night, hoping to pass through the South without attracting attention.When passing through the city of Athens, thirty miles away from our home, they stopped for a while in front of the famous small black cast iron arch at the main entrance of the University of Georgia.It was three o'clock in the morning on July 11. The original driver was really sleepy, so Officer Penny went up to replace him.They also looked at the map and decided to take a shortcut, follow Route 72, and then turn onto Route 172.

In the early hours of the morning, another car drove slowly on the empty streets of Athens. It was three KKK extremists living in the city. They wandered the streets, pretending to have the task of maintaining "order".President Johnson had signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 nine days earlier, setting them on fire.During this period, they heard that civil rights workers from the north were coming to the south to carry out activities. Therefore, when they saw a car with a Washington license plate driven by a black man in Athens, they believed that it was "Johnson's (President) boys" Came and decided to "teach them a lesson".So the three white men followed the three black men who were driving until they entered the wilderness filled with night mist. Route 172 is a country road, and it is even more deserted in the early morning.The cars of the three KKK elements finally overtook in the opposite lane and rushed to the left of the driving officer Penny.Two of them opened fire, and multiple bullets entered the window of the car. Officer Penny, who was driving, was killed on the spot.

The two surviving people in the car were awakened by the gunfire, and at first thought it was a blown tire.It was only later that I realized that my body was sprayed with blood, and the speeding car was completely out of control.They took the car with great difficulty and braked to the edge of a bridge, and they rushed into the river just a little bit.The river is called the "Broad River," and at the head of the bridge is the boundary sign of Madison County, where we live.The car just got stuck on the county line.Madison County is thus involved in a whirlpool. The innocent murder of a black Confederate officer in the South, again just nine days after the passage of the new Civil Rights Act, is widely seen as a challenge to the Civil Rights Act

The first case shocked the whole country.Everyone understands in their hearts that for such a controversial law, the provisions on paper are the same thing, and whether it is really effective or not needs to be tested by implementation.The FBI sent dozens of agents.The executive leader of Georgia at the time also ordered a thorough investigation and stated to the whole country that such a thing happened, it was only the behavior of individual people, and our state does not tolerate murder.However, the progress of the matter eventually cast a shadow that lasted for decades over the entire Madison County and even the state of Georgia.

In such a case, the most effective way to solve the case is to offer a reward to solicit reports.Because the perpetrators are at the bottom of society, for those who know, the bounty is a huge sum of money that they could never dream of in their lifetime.After getting the clues, the federal agents interviewed Lanci, who drove for the two murderers but did not shoot, and he finally told the whole story and confessed the two shooters, Meyer and Sims. .Lan Qi became the most important witness.Another important witness is Gesta, who runs a car repair shop in Athens. He is a friend of the two suspects. After the accident, they personally told him that they were responsible for the murder of Officer Penny.

The case seemed to be solved smoothly, so the criminal trial of this case started more than a month after the incident. According to regulations, the case is tried at the place where the crime occurred.The county seat of this unknown small southern county suddenly became famous overnight because of the trial of a major national case.In a small town only three miles away from our home, nearly a hundred reporters from all over the country flocked to surround the most beautiful old red brick building in the center of the town.That building is the county courthouse.Now, the court has been moved away a few years ago, and the red building is still standing in its old place. When you walk in today, you can still see the original layout of the court, and the jurors’ wooden chairs are crumbling.Standing in the dusty, empty hall, it is hard to imagine that forty years ago this ordinary room was once the center of attention for all of America.

It seemed that this was just a murder case, but at the time, everyone understood that this was a KKK murder case.In other words, in the South at that time, everyone expected that this would be a special criminal trial with a "strong political atmosphere". Judge Skelton is a military officer who participated in "World War II" and a former prosecutor.He is a recognized "very good and very distinguished gentleman". Before the trial, in his 27-page request to the grand jury, he specifically wrote a clause requiring jurors to let go of their prejudices, "This court protects the rights of all citizens who enter the court. Whether he is poor or rich , regardless of his status, whether he is black or white, red or yellow."The judge asked the jurors to abandon all prejudice and "calmly" weigh the evidence and reach a judgment.However, when Judge Skelton addressed the grand jury, he also appeared to be addressing a large audience, and he expressed some political opinions.He even expounded his objections to the new "Civil Rights Act", mainly because in the "Civil Rights Act", in order to protect vulnerable groups, it interfered with some rights that owners have always had. This is especially true in the United States, which has a long tradition of free economy. controversial.He believes that such legislation "will be the beginning of the ruin of this country's freedom."Judge Skelton's address to jurors was unusual.It seems to indicate that political concepts and political positions will inevitably become the background of this criminal trial. Today, future generations of Madison County cannot imagine how such absurd murder could have occurred.The three white men and the three black men who met that night were neither relatives nor relatives, they had no grievances and no enmity, and the murder had no motive of financial gain.Today, a new generation of Madisonians, looking back, say it was the most "inexplicable" murder in the world.However, the defense attorney for the defendant, Hudson, is a local. As he said today, these three white people are KKK extremists. Forty years ago, "not only did they think like this, but many people also , Although it was wrong, it is still wrong today, but at that time, they were like this." The trial began in August 1964, and the first round of witnesses called by the prosecutor were two reservists who were in the same car as Officer Penny.They narrated the experience of that horrible night. However, when the incident happened, both of them were still asleep. After waking up, they tried their best to control the car. What they could see in the dark was limited. From the point of view, the testimony cannot "detain" the criminal. The prosecution's key witness was Lankey, who drove for the gunmen.As Lanci was also involved in the case, he had spent several weeks in jail before the trial began.Before the trial, Lan Qi suddenly refused to come out to testify at the last moment of his battle.He claimed that he spent thirty days in prison, suffered from insomnia, was mentally disturbed, and was extremely depressed, so now he may testify and sign irresponsibly, so he cannot appear in court.Witness Gesta also adopted the same attitude. After repeated debates by both the prosecution and the defense, Judge Skelton agreed to submit the accounts of Lanci and Gusta to the federal agents during the investigation stage.In the U.S. Constitution, the defendant has the right to face his own witnesses.Witnesses are sworn to tell the truth.However, under a law in Georgia at the time, judges had the power to decide whether such written testimony could be presented in court.This law that allowed "unsworn testimony" was later judged to be unconstitutional and abolished. This is a later story.However, Judge Skelton also agreed that the two defendants, Meyer and Sims, would not be questioned by their lawyers in court and would only issue a statement that they had nothing to do with the murder.Probably a balance to the first decision. In this way, although Lan Qi and Gesta did not appear in court to testify, their confession testimony read out at that time is legal evidence. Closing arguments, the state's attorney told jurors that he believed Lankey's and Gersta's account to federal agents was overwhelming evidence.Calling the defendant a "cold-blooded murderer," he tried to evoke compassion from jurors for the black man.Prosecutors told them that Officer Penny was one of them, suffering and wanting to live.Officer Penny values ​​his own life as much as the accused, as much as the jurors, and as much as the prosecutor. "Gentlemen, please take courage and make a right choice." "Let us declare to the world that they came from Athens, Georgia, to our county to kill people, and we, Madison County, are against it. Declare to the world , which is wrong." The state's attorney filed a request for the death penalty for the defendant. Defense lawyer Hudson's defense focused on emphasizing that he believed that the witness Lanci's testimony was "forced to provide" and pointed out that the psychologist proved that Lanci had mental problems.However, another defense lawyer, Darcy, almost focused his defense on provoking racial topics.His closing argument was highly inflammatory, even mentioning rumors that the federal government was trying to frame southern whites.He also told the jurors: "Don't let it be said that we, the Madison County jury, are turning the electric chair into an altar, using the fresh, pure flesh of our fellow human beings to satisfy the savage, vindictive desires of the angry mob." Even reminded many times: "You are the jury of white people." Yes, the twelve jurors are all local whites, if today, they are our neighbors.It is said that at least two-thirds of them are KKK members or KKK sympathizers.In less than four hours, the jury returned a "not guilty" verdict. Although the murder prosecution failed because the case took place on the ninth day after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 went into effect, the federal government was able to sue again for violating the federal Civil Rights Act.The reindictment of the two suspects in Athens for civil rights violations comes nearly two years after the killings. In this federal trial in June 1966, the same courthouse in Madison County was used, and the same local white jurors were used.This time, Meyer and Sims, were convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison each. In the murder trial of the Penny case, the witness refused to testify, which was predictable at the time. The local white people generally had the concept of racial discrimination, and the witness would inevitably feel the pressure of the public.Even with sufficient evidence, a jury verdict of "not guilty" is still to be expected.Behind the jury's acquittal of well-documented murder was a position that was common among local southern whites four decades ago: They did not consider a black life to be equal to a white life.This position is a vague concept, usually they don't have to make a statement and express their position, and they may not even ask themselves clearly.This problem does not seem to arise in everyday life. Even forty years ago, it was extremely rare to go out and kill because of extreme opposition to racial equality.The vast majority of southern white people work hard, they are kind and law-abiding.They're racist and look down on black people, but that doesn't mean they're going to murder.On the contrary, the South is known for its good law and order, and has always advertised "law and order."Both of the murderers in this case were questionable people, and one of them, Sims, was already sitting in jail for shooting and wounding his wife while awaiting his trial under the Civil Rights Act. But that summer forty years ago, this murder sharply opened the question: Do you agree to the death penalty for a white man who killed a black man?Would you still acquit the accused if the same evidence proved that a black man killed a white man?The twelve jurors in the courtroom were a random sample of ordinary Madison citizens who were seen as emblematic of the white population of Madison County, Georgia, and even the southern states.So this kind of unequal treatment of the value of life, which usually only vaguely exists, which is almost a private concept for most people, was finally made public in the summer of 1964. in the world. No one person or region is willing to easily face their own evil deeds and the irreparable mistakes they have made.As time passed, the truth became clearer: Lieutenant Colonel Penny was killed, justice was not served, and the responsibility lay with everyone in Madison.Over the past forty years, it is this Madison County that bears the burden of history and feels the heaviest.In one history book after another, it is clearly recorded that in the summer of 1964, it was the jury in Madison County who acquitted the murder defendant in court. As time passed, older Madisonians were reluctant to bring up the Penny case, and newer generations gradually forgot.The United States has always attached great importance to erecting a small commemorative plaque at historical sites.But at the Penney crash site in Madison County, there was nothing. Several times when we drove across the Broad River Bridge, we couldn't help talking about the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Penney, and we asked ourselves: "Why hasn't there been a commemorative plaque for the place where Lieutenant Colonel Penny died?" We answered the same way Self: "Perhaps, Madison County has not yet waited for the day to unload its historical burden." When we got this paper, we knew that the time had finally come for this county to emerge from the shadow of history and stand up with a new look. Forty years later, a white woman in Athens named Candara with a southern accent read the story.Her husband is running for this year's city council in Athens, where the family is part of the mainstream.She read that Lieutenant Colonel Penny's murderer, like her, was also a resident of Athens, and one of them was still alive.She also read that Lieutenant Colonel Penny was not only a World War II veteran like her father, but also a loving family husband and father of three.Lieutenant Colonel Penny's children were five, ten, and thirteen when he was killed.Candala also read that Lieutenant Colonel Penny's daughter, Linda, said she vividly remembers her mother telling her how strange she felt about why her husband didn't die fighting the Japanese during World War II The Philippine battlefield will fall on the land of its own country in peacetime.Lieutenant Colonel Penny's youngest son was only five years old at the time.Penny Jr., who has the same name as his father, is a pilot today. He said, "We have always understood that people there do not all agree with the KKK. We are angry at the KKK, not the white people there." Candala was shaken.She asked several local young people, but they didn't know the story.So she said to herself, this is a stain on our place and we should wash it away.Someone will stand up and do something for history, maybe this person is me.So, in the paper we bought, we read that that day in Madison County, in the black church closest to the place where Colonel Penny was killed, Candala would hold a memorial concert for Colonel Penny. We went.Together with our neighbors and folks, the church was full of people, almost too crowded to sit down.One-third black, two-thirds white, and two of us Asian.There was an old white man who was so frail that he could hardly sit still in a wheelchair, and the wheelchair was pushed by an old white lady who was almost as old.They walked towards the gate slowly and with difficulty, and the young man hurried up to help them.The serious and pious faces of the two old men are shocking.The concert invited white bands and black bands.There are black church songs with a strong rhythm, and there are also the most rustic white American country bands.The black church songs here still retain the style brought by the blacks from their African hometown hundreds of years ago. Sometimes the rhythm is strong and the sound shakes the house, and sometimes it is long and sad and breathtaking.They are the most conservative Baptists in the South, and they sing "Hallelujah" over and over again intoxicated by the strong music that God may think is too irritating to the eardrums. Whites mostly dress conservatively and behave primly.At first, I probably wasn't used to the style of black churches, so I sat quietly.The black pastor greeted them: "Let's sing and dance together, don't forget that this is a church!" However, most of the white churches are solemn and solemn. When they entered the church, they were quieter than usual.At this time, a short and fat black old lady in a pink coat came up. I thought she must have walked on the stage by mistake.But when she opened her mouth, her voice was full and pure, and it immediately infected everyone.She sang and danced on the stage, sometimes high-pitched, sometimes low-pitched, she seemed to be speaking and singing as she wanted, like a goddess or a witch.She doesn't need pre-written lyrics, her lyrics are a conversation between herself and everyone present, and also a conversation with God.She repeated it over and over again, seemingly endlessly, but everyone seemed to be possessed, and sang along with her, over and over again.Many people couldn't sit still anymore, stood up and danced.Till all are her harmonies.She sang from the stage to the audience, and in the end it seemed that she was just whimpering and talking to herself, but the crowd was completely fascinated by her, and her singing became frantic, as if it was going to rush out of the roof.When she finally raised her hands to signal the end, the crowd burst into cheers and applause. The local black children's hymn choir is full of vigor and vitality.This style of children's choir is found in almost all black churches in the United States, and they have very distinct black cultural characteristics.Forty years ago, Lieutenant Colonel Penny had to cross the South at night, and he didn't make it out alive.The black pastor of this church said that when he was young at the time, when the news came, his parents were so frightened that they didn't know what to do. They panicked like ostriches and painted the windows with paint.And today, in his church, the black children of Madison sing, with pure eyes and confidence.I turned my head and smiled at a white woman behind me, who smiled back but had tears in her eyes. Just as behind the 12 jurors in Madison County back then was the widespread racist stance of southern whites; today, 40 years later, behind the Madison County Memorial Concert is a new-born American South. Forty years have passed.The folks got together and expressed the guilt they had carried for a long time.They believe that the change in the South today is not that the blacks have won, but that all people have won. We have all stepped out of narrowness and transcended our own limitations and ethnic barriers. We lined up patiently, waiting to have our names and addresses signed in a yearbook.This book will go to the children of Lieutenant Colonel Penney, a new generation of Madisonians who offer a 40-year belated apology to the Penny family for their parents.After our English names, we also signed in Chinese to let them know that in today's newly integrated Madison County, foreign Asians like us are also included. Here comes the white chief judge of Madison County.There was also a short, unattractive black man who was a justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and had come all the way from Atlanta.He told everyone that forty years ago, he was only seventeen years old.When the news of Penny's case came, his father called him and his brother, who was in the Air Force, and told them that Lieutenant Colonel Penny was killed and justice was not done, and that we should learn from such incidents.We cannot resort to hatred, we must know how to seek justice.His father ran the insurance business and had hoped that he would inherit his father's business.But on that day, he decided to go to law school and become a judge.He said that without Lieutenant Colonel Penny, I would not be where I am today. The donations received from this commemorative concert will be used to erect a commemorative bronze medal at the place where Lieutenant Colonel Penny was murdered. We stepped out, looked back at this humble country church under the setting sun, and remembered the words Candala said at the concert: When we come together today, we're not just witnessing Madison County history, we're making history.