Nolan Lee

sketches for painting ideas in pencil

2011-01-31T15:29:00.001-08:00

Here are some sketches of different painting ideas I've been working through. I usually like to just show off my finished work but I'm trying to post more of the preliminary aspects of my work. I just thought these would be fun to show.

sketches studies in watercolor

2011-01-31T15:19:00.000-08:00

This is another part of my sketches I've been doing based on the same persons face in different emotions. These were some of my favorite in terms of showing anger, my friend J did a great job modeling for this painting. This one was done in watercolor and isn't finished but I got to the point I wanted to and learned a lot about portraying the same face from different angles.

sketch studies in oil

2011-01-31T15:04:00.000-08:00

I've been working on study sketches working in different mediums based on the same person's head from different angles in different emotions. These sketches are created for a future finished painting which will show one person going through a visual transformation of worship. the idea is to show that true worship is coming where we are in our joy an in our suffering. I think a lot of Christian art shows an idealized form of worship in only happiness, which leaves out suffering and anger which are just as important parts of worshipping and communicating to God. The painting idea is to show one person in all different emotions which will show that we are all over the place when we come to God but that God is constant throughout. These are studies based on pictures of one of my freinds named blake, they aren't finished which is kinda the purpose of a study to do it as a warm up. Anyway enjoy!

PAO Conference

2010-12-20T10:52:00.000-08:00

One of my most favorite jobs I do is painting for a conference. I will be hired to paint for the duration of a conference on large canvas panels (4ft x 8ft) and I will paint a visual story that mirrors the theme and messages of the conference. I like it because I'm a perfectionist and it forces me to express myself honestly and not be able to correct all the flaws but to just focus on the message. I recently had the honor of painting at a PAO Conference in Orlando, Fl. The conference was based around giving up the things that get in the way of God and the redemption that only God can give in our lives and marriages. You can see the storyline of the suffering that comes from brokenness and self-reliance and then the freedom of Christ breaking the chains of sin in handing your life over to God. You can scroll through the pictures of the paintings and lastly there is a video of me explaining my art at the end of the conference.

Brothers

2010-11-10T12:48:00.001-08:00

I just finished this piece I created for a family celebrating the unity of brotherhood based on Psalm 133.

an article I did for Comment Magazine

2010-11-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/2138/

Comment did a piece on one of my newspaper burnings series "Strange Fruit" enjoy!

Then SIngs My Soul show

2010-10-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

I just recently was part of an art show at the Sunnyvale Art Gallery put on by Arts of the Covenant a group of artists that I'm a part of. The show was called "Then Sings My Soul" and the show was inspired by hymns of all faiths. Here are two pieces I created for it. The top one is acrylic and the other is burnt newspaper.

Justice wall finished

2010-09-06T10:51:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of the Justice wall I've been working on at MPPC Open Door Church San Mateo. I added light rays coming out of the redemptive side. The light over powers the darkness of suffering. The redemptive side was based on the scripture Amos 5:24 "But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness a never-failing stream." I added the statement 'because justice matters' which is a central statement of the churches redeeming justice mission. I also put in some pictures of more detail of the wall because it is so large. You can see the ash pile and then the water bursting through and breaking the chains. I also put some detail of the burnings to see the newspaper they were burned into. The wall is finally finished!

InMenlo's article

2010-08-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

InMenlo just recently asked to do a feature on my art. Linda and Chris who run InMenlo came over to my studio to see the art and meet with Brooke and I. They were absolutely incredible and it was a joy to get to know them. Check out the article here: http://inmenlo.com/2010/08/26/nolan-lee-artist-with-a-penchant-for-justice/

Just wrapping up the justice wall

2010-08-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

I've been working on an absolutely amazing project, what makes it amazing is the cause, not my art. I have been commissioned create an mural and installation on a large wall that is all about justice. 'The justice wall' is the moniker we've given it and it is located at Open Door Church San Mateo . The wall is an exploration of injustice and redemption. I'm just wrapping up the finishing details today on the wall but I thought I'd post some pictures of some of the process. I took the newspaper burnings I have been working on scanned them and printed them out much larger to emphasize their effect. I then installed them on the wall to look as ashes falling from the burnt images. The second half of the wall is the redemptive side showing faces in flowing multi-colored liquid. I'll post the finished pics soon ut I hope you enjoy. My art is mean to serve so I hope that it may serve you.

Last burned newspaper piece for the justice wall

2010-05-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

2010-04-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the finished burnt newspaper for the Justice Wall in San Mateo. More to come soon!

Good Friday painting

2010-04-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

He died so that I may live

Holy Week

2010-03-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

a painting I started on cardboard for good friday.

Justice Wall Coming soon to San Mateo

2010-03-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

I went up this week to paint a quick piece on the wall that will later become the Justice Wall at a church in San Mateo. This piece will be erased when I start the wall but I thought it might set the tone for what is to come. We went on a day where no one was working so the doors were locked but that didn't stop my wife she took these pics through the window with the lights off, I don't know how they turned out so well but she's incredible like that!

New project with burnt newspaper

2010-03-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

I've just been commissioned by a local church to do an installation on one of their walls on the theme of justice. They really liked the newspaper burning art that I've been doing and hired me to do this installation using this
medium. This installation is going to be something that no one has done before. Needless to say I'm really excited and honored to be working with them. Here are some of the burnings (the images are newspaper that has been slightly burned) so far.

Ethiopian Initiative Painting

2010-02-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

I just finished this painting for the Ethiopia Initiative Celebration here in Menlo Park. The painting is a collection of the faces of partners to the Ethiopia Initiative in the form of an Ethiopia cross. It was a large scale painting 5 ft wide x 10 ft tall and was fun to work on.

more pics burned paper

2009-12-16T12:00:00.001-08:00

My amazing wife took these pictures and she is a photographer so I thought I'd post some better quality pics for you to see. I really like the backround, which was her idea, it adds more to the pictures.

Strange fruit piece done!

2009-12-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

Below are the lyrics from the song "Strange Fruit" followed by artworks I created inspired from the song. The first piece was the first of a new series I started in November 2009. The series consists of freehand burned images into newspaper articles. Each piece is created by slightly burning newspaper until it browns certain areas to reveal an image.

The subject of "Strange Fruit" is based on an anti-lynching poem by Abel Meeropol that was later adapted into a famous song, "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday. One of the stanzas in the song reads, "strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees," which is meant to represent the lynchings that had been occurring in America throughout the 20th century. Knowing and understanding the injustice behind the civil rights murders haunted me enough to create a visual depiction of these specific lynchings.

My pieces is a visual representation of the oppressed. If you look at the top image, first, you will notice that the overall shape of the piece is similar to that of an oddly shaped fruit hanging from above by chains and a noose. Second, you may notice that I burned these images into an article from the New York Times about abolitionist John Brown. Third, you may find faces within the burning which are meant to depict the agony of injustice, as a way to remember the atrocities that occurred. And lastly, amidst the burning you will find the face of the victim, Mack Charles Parker, who was lynched in 1959 without anyone ever being arrested for his murder.

Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
Blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
for the rain to gather
for the wind to suck
for the sun to rot
for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop

Burned Paper

2009-12-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

I have just started a new series of works that ties into the civil rights theme in a lot of my work. This new series is based off of lynchings in the US. These images were created by burning pieces of newspaper, no paint or anything added just burnt paper. I know that these works I've done are very fragile and might not last long but I think it is the exact aesthetic for the pain and injustices that have occurred. I also think that the fragile nature represents the fact that this history is hard to face and is easier to ignore letting it crumble away into the forgotten. Lynchings have occurred as recent as July 24, 1981 Michael Donald was lynched and June 15, 2000 Raynard Johnson was lynched. These images are the first of many works to come in this style and on this subject.

new paintings

2009-12-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

here some work that I've been doing just for fun

New quick painting

2009-11-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

I just did this painting for a proposal to a church for a mural they might have me do based on John 7:38 but I wanted to try and add anguish to the face just for effect. Once again it's a cruddy picture from my phone but it was just a rough painting on cardboard.

random sketches

2009-10-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some random sketches I've done. Each one is to purvey the emotions of hurt. The one on the bottom is a drawing of a civil rights era photo of two males being assaulted by a police officer, the photo was powerful and so I wanted to draw it to capture the brutal oppression that is often overlooked for convenience.

More pics from Salvation Army paintings

2009-10-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

These are the first two panels from the weekend, the themes were outcry for the lost and God hears our cry.

Intermountain Youth Councils

2009-10-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics I took with my phone of two of four paintings I did for the Intermountain Youth Councils Salvation Army this weekend. I did each painting 4 ft x 8 ft in about two hours, all that practicing speed painting paid off. It was another amazing expirience with the Salvation Army.

cardboard speed paintings

2009-09-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

I did these paintings to practice for my upcoming onstage painting for the Salvation Army. I didn't have any money for canvases so I painted these on some used cardboard. I painted each in an hour, trying to learn to paint better faster. Each one is probably 3 ft tall x 2 ft wide. I know these pics aren't the best I took them with my cell phone camera but as you can tell I'm trying to get away from perfectionism and just go for it!

The Infected movie poster, finished!

2009-09-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here is the completed poster for "The Infected" now I'm really juiced! Gotta love zombie movies, just classic

Painting for Salvation Army

2009-09-15T09:52:00.001-07:00

I will be doing some onstage painting for The Salvation Army Youth Councils in Estes Park Oct. 2-4 so Colorado folk come on out if you dig. The Salvation Army is one of my favorite clients, their missions and outreach is on point. I always just thought they were a charity.

The Infected movie poster

2009-09-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a design I did for my friend Cougar Littlefield for his upcoming release "The Infected." The piece was done by using ball point pen on paper. The movie is a psychological zombie thriller it's gonna be awesome. I'm juiced to be part of the movie!

performance painting from Dec.(CCCA)

2009-09-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

This is a painting I did for the CCCA Conference at Disney this last Dec. The mural was donated to Laurel Mountain Christian Camp in PA for their brand new dining hall. It's cool to see the mural being used and also to see how much I've learned about painting faces on a large scale in the last year. This was my first on stage painting, which has now led to many other similar opportunities. It's crazy to see where it all started, and I gotta say I'm thankful to Greg Fields for going out on a limb and giving me the opportunity to paint for CCCA.

New painting, almost done

2009-08-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of a painting right before I finished it for MPPC. I will post more once I get pics of it finished, enjoy.

Las Vegas Mural

2009-08-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

I just finished doing a mural at AB&L in Las Vegas for my father in law Jim. He wanted Ruby's on the Huntington pier with a VW 64' Double Cab in front of it. It was an awesome experience and challenged me to remember how to do seascapes. It was also just awesome to hang with Jim down at his dealership! Here is a few pics of start to finish

A painting for Jimbo

2009-07-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

I did this painting for my father in law for fathers day. His favorite car is a VW Double Cab so I thought I'd give it a try. Jim is the man! I'm scheduled to do a mural for him in a couple of weeks in Las Vegas at his lot, so there will be more double cab to come!!

Southwest Youth Councils more pics

2009-06-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

I met some incredible people and had such an awesome time at the Salvation Army Youth Councils in New Mexico so here are some more pics.

Reproductions for sale

2009-04-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

"The Willie Edwards Case" 30"x40" $175

Art should be accessible to everyone. That is why I'll take a hit to lower the prices of my reproductions from $350 to $175. All of my 5 paintings to the left that are based on unsolved civil rights murders are now $175 each. The reproductions are large giclee's 30''x40.'' Each painting is based on an actual unsolved civil rights murder case that I will send along with the painting. Check out the links below to read about each case. We need to spread awareness of injustice so that these atrocities don't remain along the margins of our history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Edwards

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Smith_(activist

http://www.essays.cc/free_essays/d3/bsw119.shtml

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8670054/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Lee

"The Lamar Smith Case" 30"x40" $175

"The Moore's Ford Case" 30"x40" $175

"The Johnnie Mae Chappell Case" 30"x40" $175

"The Rev. George Lee Case" 30"x40" $175

pics from Salvation Army Southwest youth councils

2009-04-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the onstage painting I did over the weekend for the Southwest Youth Councils in Glorietta New Mexico. The people my wife and I met were instant friends and the kids attending were incredible! It made for an awesome weekend and fun painting experience.

my painting stolen

2009-04-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

If you see this painting in a gallery or anywhere please contact me. The person who was using this painting went missing along with my painting and changed their phone number. Looking to get it back....

a bag I did for Case Logic

2009-04-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

This is some art on a bag I did for case logics new canvas guitar cases. It is 80's cartoon and rock inspired

A bag for my wife

2009-04-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

This is a bag I did for my wife with paint pens, she loves black and white.

Some more quick paintings

2009-04-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

Practice work for the Salvation Army Conference in NM...

preliminary sketches: angels without wings

2009-03-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

a board I'm doing for my little bro Josh

2009-03-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have this kid that I mentor who is the epitome of stud. He is into graff and I have been kind of mentoring him through spray paint techniques and fine art stuff. Anywhoo he sanded down an old skateboard and ask that I paint it for him. I started in on it and have reached a road block because I don't know if I can paint something awesome enough for this guy.

Painting in progress

2009-03-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

This is a painting I'm working on for one of my best friends mom. The painting is of Jesus and the disciples laughing. The whole concept is flawed because to paint what we think Jesus would look like is going to be based on our narcissistic projection of something familiar i.e. a caucasian jesus smiling and wearing a freshly washed linen robe. In my opinion there is no way that we as humans could ever paint a picture to fully embody Jesus or God for that matter. So instead I abandon the idea of capturing God on my canvas. Instead I try to paint the closest thing to aspects of who God is (joy, beauty, etc). This painting is of people oppressed and labeled as ugly. The center character (who is the only painted so far) is a homeless man laughing. What does he have to laugh about? Maybe God's ideal of beauty is what we label as ugly. Billboards and advertisements are filled with women and men who all look the same. Maybe God loves ugly because each line and indent on those faces are handcrafted and painstackingly different from all the people we elevate to model status. We cheapen beauty to a word meaningless. Beauty becomes the familiar so that it can be quickly labeled and categorized as sexy, beautiful, and hot. We call ugly people characters, and rugged because we feel the need to patronize their struggle. God has his own aesthetic regardless of how we twist it. G o d l o v e s u g l y

Some practice sketch stuff I've been working on

2009-03-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

events

2009-03-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

I just found out I'm confirmed to be doing on stage painting for a Salvation Army Youth Council Conference in New Mexico April 17-19. On that note I never put up the pictures from CCCA so maybe posting this will motivate me to finally get those up.

Also if you're in Boulder come check out my art alongside opera. April 10th at the CU music building there will be a gospel opera with my unsolved civil rights series as the backround. I'll have all the details soon, but come on opera and art is always epic...

A poem written by Gregg Lipkin inspired by my painting "The Untold Story of Emmett Till"

2009-01-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

Told

I can't keep you from looking

but

I can’t make you see

the untold story.

You see

an angry young black man

because

that’s what you need me to be;

the part you need me to play

but

I don’t play

and

I won’t get played

by any. single. part.

I’m not

an angry young black man

I’m angry.

young.

and

black.

man.

can

you begin to

understand

any of the three?

I scream to be heard

but

I don’t think you can hear me

because if your

hearing is as

backwards thinking

as your sight

you’re not looking to understand

you’re looking for some new fright

and

that is why I have to fight.

I fight to tell you

because

you refuse to be told.

I fight

because

you see me as nothing more than

a bellowing stereotype

when enemies long public

have warned, “Don’t believe the hype”

you still cast me to type

as often as you can

in the role of

angry young black man

and

that’s why I’m

angry

man.

I am not a bellowing stereotype

I’m a

bellow

in stereo

type

so your tired thinking

makes me tired

because

it’s too difficult to listen to; you can see that can’t you?

maybe the thoughts I got weren’t the ones you sought

but

they were definitely the ones you brought

and how can a young man like me,

who spends his time thinking in sporadic internal rhyme,

not tire of such one note thinking?

I’m a

bellow

in stereo

type,

I can’t listen in mono, you know?

where does that leave us?

will I continue to raise my voice,

as the paintbrush of every thought to cross my mind,

to try to get across points that have never crossed your mind?

will you continue to assume

that every display of passion

is one of anger

without ever trying

to distinguish anger from anguish?

if you wish

we can continue with business as usual

but

it’s bad business

which is something

I make it my business never to be in.

I have no interest in fiscal fear

and

if I’m to remain part

of the world corporation

I have to be part of a division

that is downsizing division

otherwise

what’s the point

you see my point?

no?

that’s cool;

that will not keep me from making it

because

the thoughts I paint my mind with

are thoughts that bring people closer

like the strum of the right strings can make millions sing

and

beat of the right drum can leave millions numb

in dance and trance

I will no longer tell you

what makes me different

because

no matter how angry I seem

and

no matter how loud I scream;

it will never bring us closer,

it will only prepare me for

whatever stereotypical role

you’ve decided to cast me in

but

this isn’t your movie

it’s ours

we need to take bites of the rewrite

and react this entire act so it won’t be our final act.

that’s what I’ll be doing

I’ll be eating my words

that I can spit back

our new words

you can break out of your own typecasting,

the

whisper

in mono

type,

and

get in the scene with me.

go.

bellow

in stereo,

you know?

you can hear and see

rather than

listen and look at me.

hell you

may

fail to

maybe I didn’t

sell you

but

you can’t say

I didn’t

tell you.

v inspired by the painting The Untold Story of Emmett Till by Nolan Lee.

v while the words are not reflective of Emmett Till’s tragic story, I have taken Mr. Lee’s advice.

on his web site he states, “I firmly believe that art can inspire others, just as it has inspired me.”

v these words that I’ve slapped together (I don’t believe that inspiration is an exercise of multiple drafts, do you?) are what his incredible painting inspired in me.

v I think that Mr. Lee is correct; so who knows; maybe someday, somebody will read these

words and find them inspiring.

Gregg Lipkin

back from the madness

2008-12-15T18:49:00.000-08:00

I just back from Orlando and Atlanta and it was awesome, did so much stretching and painting the canvas my knuckles are bloody and my hands are healing from blisters, spent the night in the Atlanta airport with a bunch of homeless people and ate dinner with one of them at about 3am. I sold 2 paintings of 3 at Learn Promote Defend and might still sell another before Christmas. I don't have any pictures of the Orlando mural but I think I will soon.

getting ready for CCCA

2008-11-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be doing some live on stage art for CCCA convention in Orlando Dec. 8th-10th. I'll be doing progressive painting over three days on a 8x21 ft canvas. The subject is Re-imagine so it's got to be looking gooood! I'll be putting up the photos after the convention directly.

I'm one of the winners for an international art contest

2008-11-17T16:47:00.000-08:00

In September I entered three of my paintings from my Dirty Water series into an international art contest called Learn Promote Defend. It is a juried by big timers in the art world. They chose all three of my paintings to be exhibited and sold in a silent auction on Dec. 10th at the Mason Murer Art Gallery in Atlanta. They also chose to use my "Moore's Ford Case" painting for the flier promoting the event. (See flier)

After the auction they will choose 6 paintings to put on billboards around Atlanta in 2009. If you're in Atlanta in Dec. come check it out at the Mason Murer Gallery http://www.masonmurer.com

Getting married on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

Getting married to Brooke Paulson and we're going to Bali for the honeymoon, I'm out of the country until Nov. 12th

Till Freedom Come

2008-10-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

here is the painting I did for Keith Beauchamp's website for Till Freedom Come, his production company. Check out his new show on TV One Oct. 5-8 "Murders in Black and White," this is the show that chronicles the cases that Keith asked me to do interpretive paintings for. Check it out here http://www.tvoneonline.com/shows/show.asp?sid=890

here is the painting

partially done...

done

some new case logic bags

2008-10-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here's some of my latest bags I did for the case logic artist series. Music inspired

Unsolved Civil Rights Murder Cases (Interpretive Paintings) Series

2008-08-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

The following paintings are interpretive of actual unsolved civil rights era murder cases in which no one was ever brought to justice. The paintings are visual aids to the pain and suffering of the victims from these actual murder cases. The paintings were created to raise awareness and to pursue justice for these cold cases all these years later. This is a very important part of American history that is not talked about enough. In order to move forward combatting racism we must bring justice for those whom our justice system failed. Please read each case file before looking at the painting.

The Johnnie Mae Chappell Case

On the evening of March 23, 1964, MRS. JOHNNIE MAE CHAPPELL, mother of ten, had just been grocery shopping for her family at a local store. Upon arriving home, she discovered that her wallet was missing. Accompanied by two neighbors, Mrs. Chappell retraced her steps to a local highway to look for her wallet.

As the riots flared in downtown Jacksonville, four young white men were drinking beer and discussing the racial “troubles” when they allegedly decided “to find themselves a nigger to shoot.” As they drove down the highway, they noticed a small group of black people walking along the side of the road. The car slowed down and one of the men cold-bloodedly fired his rifle from the window. Johnnie Mae Chappell was struck and killed by a single gunshot from the passing car.

After a flawed investigation by local officials, J.W. Rich (the shooter), Elmer Kato, Wayne Chessman and James Davis were indicted on First Degree Murder charges for the death of Mrs. Chappell. Only J.W. Rich went to trial where he was subsequently convicted on the lesser charge of Manslaughter. The other men walked free, even though one of them had confessed his involvement in the crime to a local detective.

On April 27, 2004, forty years after the crime, Governor Jeb Bush asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to reopen the Johnnie Mae Chappell case in hopes of having first degree murder charges reinstated on the three un-indicted murder suspects. These men are now in their late 60’s and still live in Jacksonville.

Moore’s Ford Case

On July 25, 1946, four young African Americans -- George & Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger & Dorothy Malcom were shot hundreds of times by 12 to 15 unmasked white men in broad daylight at the Moore's Ford Bridge spanning the Apalachee River, 60 miles east of Atlanta, Georgia. These killings, for which no one was ever prosecuted, enraged President Harry Truman and led to historic changes but were quickly forgotten in Oconee and Walton Counties where they occurred. No one was ever brought to justice for the crime.

Rev. George W. Lee Case

On May 7, 1955, The Rev. George Lee, a minister who also ran a local grocery and printing press in Belzoni, was preaching about voting rights in black Baptist churches more than a decade before the height of the civil rights movement. Lee and a friend started a local chapter of the NAACP and convinced nearly 100 black people to register to vote before resistance began turning violent. Lee was driving home one day when he was hit with gunfire from a passing car. Without investigating, the Humphreys County sheriff claimed that Lee's death was a traffic accident. Asked about the lead pellets taken from Lee's face and head, the sheriff replied they were probably dental fillings. The coroner ruled the death resulted from "unknown causes." No one was ever arrested in the case

Willie Edward’s Case

Recently hired to drive trucks for Winn-Dixie, Willie Edwards left the afternoon of January 23, 1957, never to return home. Three months passed before his body washed up on the shores of the Alabama River. Officials stated that decomposition made it impossible to determine the cause of death.

In 1976, then State Attorney General Bill Baxley re-opened the Edwards case. Four people were arrested and charged with Edward's murder: Sonny Kyle Livingston Jr., 38, Henry Alexander, 46, James York, 73 and Raymond Britt (Jr). Britt broke the long silence with his sworn affidavit (in exchange for immunity), dated February 20, 1976. In the statement to Attorney General Bill Baxley, Britt describes how on the night of January 23, 1957, he along with three other men beat and forced Edwards to jump off the Tyler-Goodwin Bridge into the Alabama River.

Alabama Judge Frank Embry dismissed the charges, even with Britt's sworn testimony because no cause of death was ever established. He concluded that "merely forcing a person to jump from a bridge does not naturally and probably lead to the death of such person." Edwards fell 125 feet (27 metres), from the bridge into the Alabama River below.

Case Re-opened: Twenty-one years passed before Malinda Edwards made her plea to Montgomery District Atorney Ellen Brooks for justice in her father's case. Brooks responded by reopening the investigation. In late 1997, State Medical Examiner, Dr. James Lauridson acting on a request from Brooks, exhumed and re-examined Edwards's remains. Based on the re-examination of Edwards' remains using modern technology, Dr. Lauridson ruled the cause of Edwards' death to be homicide.

Brooks filed a motion with the court to have Edwards's death certificate reflect Dr. Lauridson's findings. Judge Charles Price ordered the Alabama Department of Vital Statistics to change Edwards' cause of death from unknown to drowning by homicide.

Dr. Lauridson's ruling and Judge Price's order resolved the legal problem that caused Judge Embry to dismiss the case in 1976. Brooks took the case before the County Grand Jury.

The Grand Jury concluded that Edwards was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, but didn't feel there was sufficient evidence for new indictments. Brooks, speaking to a column in the Montgomery Advertiser dated March 2, 1999 said that because most of the key witnesses were dead, it was difficult to prosecute the case. Britt recanted his assertions regarding the involvement of Alexander; both Livingston and York were dead at this time (Livingston's wife came forward in 1993 saying her husband confessed to the murder on his deathbed). The Grand Jury refused to return an indictment. Malinda Edwards, who was 5 years old when her father was murdered, remains hopeful that a successful prosecution can be brought to fruition.

Rev. Lamar Smith Case

Aug. 13, 1955, Lamar Smith was a World War II veteran, a farmer and a local leader in the black community in Brookhaven, Mississippi. He organized voter registration drives and even campaigned against an incumbent county supervisor. One August day shortly after an election he was downtown on business when he and some white men got in an argument. A number of witnesses saw one of the white men pull out a .38-caliber pistol and shoot Smith at close range. Three men were arrested but went free when none of the witnesses would testify to what they had seen.