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127 11 State of Alabama v. Norman C. Jimerson Few people outside the state of Alabama had heard of Talladega in 1962. It was a typical sleepy southern town, far from the big-city bustle of Birmingham , the political center of Montgomery, or the civil rights symbolism of nearby Anniston. The Talladega Superspeedway would not be built until 1968, and NASCAR would not hold its first “Talladega 500” race until a year a#er that. Typical of rural Alabama county seats, Talladega huddled around its courthouse square. A two-story brick courthouse, surrounded by narrow green lawns, dominated the town center. The four facing blocks of small shops and offices included hardware and farm stores, a five-and-ten, drugstores, small diners, and offices for lawyers, doctors, and businessmen. The civil rights demonstrations that began in Talladega in April 1962 made few headlines outside Alabama. The confrontations did not lead to violence, as did similar demonstrations in McComb, Albany, Selma, and some other communities. Yet the very ordinariness of what happened in Talladega represents the majority of civil rights initiatives. Throughout the South local issues and concerns led black people to demand change in relations between the races. In Talladega and hundreds of other communities, such power struggles took place without notice by national media. These sitins and kneel-ins, led by local people willing to risk their personal safety to overturn centuries of discrimination and oppression, produced small gains. Yet they signified the power of ordinary people to change the political and social system through direct action. In Talladega my father first found himself confronted by the traditional power and authority of the State of Alabama. Following the demonstrations in April 1962, the state aorney general threw him in with a group of civil rights activists barred by injunction from demonstrations and other activities threatening the racial status quo. Although Dad had sought to open com- 128 shattered glass in birmingham munication and negotiations between the black and white communities, and did not engage in direct action protests, his tactics did also seek to overturn segregation in Talladega. In October the case known as State of Alabama v. Norman C. Jimerson–one of several parallel cases for various defendants— went to trial in Talladega’s historic courthouse. While waiting for the trial to begin, Dad’s lawyer, Chuck Morgan, advised him to keep his distance from the other defendants. Since Dad’s defense would be based on the fact that he had neither participated in nor assisted the demonstrations, it seemed prudent to avoid being seen speaking to anyone who had been involved. Radical activist Carl Braden, in particular, had been labeled a communist, partly because of his outspoken support for civil rights. Dad had talked with him several times in the past two years. Braden aended the 1962 Alabama Council annual meeting, in the auditorium of the Gaston Building in Birmingham, and Morgan warned Dad not to be seen with him. Dad said: “My approach is a lile different from his, and I don’t talk in quite such angry terms as Braden does. So staying away from him is no problem.” Morgan also advised Dad not to communicate with Bob Zellner before the trial. Bob came to our house and asked for a ride down to the trial in Talladega . Dad called Chuck Morgan, who said, “No. Don’t take him in your car. You shouldn’t be seen with him.” Dad reluctantly followed his aorney’s advice.™ The trial in Talladega courthouse began October 8, 1962. With so many defendants on trial at once, this would be a potentially very lengthy process. Each of the individually named defendants had the right to be represented by legal counsel, to testify and call witnesses, if desired. Dad reported that Circuit Judge William Sullivan stated he could not predict how long the trial would last. For the first two days, the state called only one witness, Police Chief Victor Dyson. He testified that the demonstrations in April had brought on high tension, threats, and violence. Under cross-examination by Arthur Shores, a black aorney from Birmingham, the chief stated that there had been too many people to arrest during a march from Talladega College to downtown. “I’d still be arresting them if I’d started that,” he declared. Reporting on the trial, the Birmingham Post-Herald identified my father at greater length than any other defendant: [18...

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