Richard J. Margolis Award

Miraculously enough, I recently got a call saying that I would be the 2010 recipient of the Richard J. Margolis prize for social justice reporting, which calls for another link:
http://award.margolis.com/

I am now officially a promising new writer at age 61. I think the custom here would be for me to say that I am grateful and humbled. Stunned, actually, is the better word.

The James Scott monument fundraiser

Sunday night was the very successful official kickoff of the fundraising compaign to place an appropriate headstone over the grave of James Scott. Hundreds attended. Lincoln University sent a choir and a string quintet. It was a remarkable evening altogether, well described in a story in the Columbia Missourian, for which I'll provide a link.

www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2010/11/08/benefit-raises-money-james-scott-headstone/

Truth and Reconciliation in Mid-Missouri

Most readers of this blog are probably aware of some of the notable developments in Columbia, MO, as it revisits the story of the James Scott lynching. They are varied enough, however, to merit a short recap. Rev. Clyde Ruffin of the Second Baptist Church is heading a large and active committee that is raising funds to put a proper headstone on the grave of James Scott, a stone that will note on the reverse side the circumstances of his death. The monument project has been endorsed by more than a dozen significant organizations, including the Office of the Mayor, the State Historical Society, the Black Law Students Association at UMC, and the Boone County Historical Society. The fundraising effort will officially begin with a kickoff event this upcoming Sunday, November 7, at Second Baptist. It will culminate when the gravestone is placed next April, 88 years after Scott's death.

Largely because of the efforts of Scott Wilson, one member of the monument committee, Scott's death certificate has been altered in a way that shows both the original coroner's finding that his having "committed rape" was a contributory cause of death and the current coroner's finding that Scott was never convicted of rape.

In January and February, there will be programs about the Scott lynching at the Osher Lifelong Learning Center (University of Missouri), the State Historical Society, and the Columbia Public Library.

Heartening, all this. As every serious local historian learns, communities have a much heartier appetite for upbeat stories about their past than downbeat ones. But in this case, Columbia seems willing to look squarely at a terrible incident from its past—willing to undo some of the harm, if possible, and to consider what lessons can be learned.

The Sixties Project

So as not to seem entirely idle, I will say something about the project that I am presently working on. Again, it is a glimpse at the history of Columbia, Missouri. This time, it is about the civil rights struggle in the mid and late 1960s. The cast of characters could be huge, but I'm trying to focus on a few. Liz Schmidt, a ferocious white liberal churchwoman, will certainly figure large in the story. So will James (Jimmy) Rollins, an activist black student who eventually faced criminal charges, went underground, and fled to Africa. James and I now talk every week, every week getting a part of his story written (or "talked") pretty much in his own words.

The final form of this sixties piece I can't entirely anticipate. I believe it will have at least two "own voice" narrative pillars--Liz's and James's--to which other material can be attached. All suggestions about form or content are most welcome.

Watching the Watchers

Back in 2003 I attended what was called the "Citizens Police Academy" here in Columbia, a pared-down version of the training given to police recruits when they join the force. I learned, among many other things, about the use of "hard-hand" tactics (pressure points, elbow and knee strikes, sleeper holds) for insuring compliance. With a laser Glock in hand, I worked my way through video-training scenarios (some unintentionally comic) where deadly force might be required. After receiving training, I was able to ride with an officer during his night shift, watching his interactions with the public. I kept good notes on what I saw and spent weeks afterward reading about the history of policing here in Columbia and elsewhere.

Seven years later (this March) I was called for jury duty in the case of the State v. Cadilac Derrick. The case involved an apparently routine traffic stop that escalated into a Tasing and a serious fight. Derrick was thoroughly bruised and battered. Our jury hung on the criminal charge ("Failure to obey a lawful police order"). Derrick is now suing the officers involved for a million dollars.

Eventually there were newspaper stories about the incident, and a YouTube video that got more than 10,000 hits. There's no shortage of outrage about the incident in Columbia, some directed at Derrick, some at the police, too much of it misguided, misinformed, or deliberately deceptive. An ordinance banning Tasers has been placed on the November ballot, and it's a fair bet that this fall will see a robust discussion of police tactics, and particularly the use of force.

Because I think it might be useful in such a discussion, I am publishing a long essay (about 16,000 words) that combines what I learned in the Police Academy with what I learned from sitting on the Derrick jury. A 99 cent Kindle edition should appear in the next 24 to 48 hours.