Civil Rights in My Bones: More Colorful Stories from a Lawyer's Life and Work, 2005-2015

by Julian McPhillips, Terri Sewell (Foreword by)

Overview

Civil Rights in My Bones: More Colorful Stories from a Lawyer's Life and Work, 2005-2015 is a memoir by Julian L. McPhillips Jr. In a career stretching over forty-plus years, the Montgomery, Alabama, attorney has earned a reputation as a determined advocate for the rights of consumers, victims of police abuse, falsely accused criminal defendants, the unborn, immigrants, and the environment. A previous book, The People’s Lawyer, covered his life and career up to 2005. Civil Rights in My Bones provides additional background about his family roots in Alabama, his parents’ political activism, his education and athletic competition as a champion amateur wrestler, his religious convictions, and his wife, children, and grandchildren.

But it also details many of the major cases he has handled in the past decade. These include defenses of consumers victimized by unfair compulsory arbitration clauses, victims of employment discrimination, fellow lawyers and even judges who were unfairly targeted for sanctions for reasons of race or gender, and church congregations at war within themselves over various issues. One fascinating section of the book discusses his and his wife Leslie’s leadership in establishing a new evangelical, healing-spirit Episcopal church and its struggles with the larger church hierarchy. While focused on the author’s life and work, the memoir is also a window into Alabama and Southern life, culture, and politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603064170
Publisher:	NewSouth, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/04/2016
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Julian L. McPhillips Jr. was born in Birmingham, Alabama, grew up in Cullman, and attended Sewanee Military Academy, Princeton, and Columbia University Law. After four years as a Wall Street attorney, Julian returned to Alabama in 1975 as an Assistant Attorney General. His private law practice from 1977 to date has involved considerable civil rights and public interest work. Julian is the subject of the twice-published People’s Lawyer, 2000 and 2005, and now a new autobiography, Civil Rights in My Bones. He has won numerous awards from the SCLC, NAACP, and other civil rights groups. Julian is also co-founder (with his wife Leslie) of the Scott and Zelda Museum and lay minister/administrator of Christ the Redeemer Episcopal Church. Julian has been married to Leslie for 42 years. They have two married daughters, Rachel and Grace, one son David, and three grandchildren.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Preface xii

Part I Background and Inspiration

1 Civil Rights in My Bones 2

2 Civil Rights Inspirations and Allies 14

Part II My Professional Life

3 The Legal Profession, Its Changes, and Its Personalities 28

4 Battling Police Brutality 40

5 Bernard Whitehurst Jr. 48

6 Nick Autrey and the Case from Hell 55

7 Falsely Accused But Vindicated Seven Years Later 57

8 Universities Saddled with Employment Problems 60

9 Chris Turner's Long Fight Against Race Discrimination 68

10 Black Belt Mayors in Need 71

11 Coach's Son Likes Dreadlocks 78

12 Capital Murder Charges Can Involve Innocent People 80

13 No Joy in Troy 87

14 Chickens Coming Home to Roost 93

13 Judge Not, Lest Ye Be judged 96

16 Lawyers Need Help, Too 102

17 Missionary Baptist Churches in Conflict 106

18 Double Duty 109

1 A Good Samaritan or Not? 113

20 Black Lives Matter 117

21 Liberated from the Punitive Sexual Offender System 120

22 Secretary to a King 124

23 The King of Reward Zone Points 126

24 Virginia College's Arbitration Noose 128

25 Wildcat Versus Tamedog 132

26 Dothan Police and Fire Departments Challenged 135

27 The Law Firm Family 140

Part III Family and Personal Life

28 Our Children and Other Family 152

29 Traveling with Leslie 164

30 The Fitzgerald Museum 174

31 Wrestling in My Blood 183

32 Others Who've Influenced Me 191

33 The Political Gene 202

34 Don Siegelman and Other Political Prisoners 207

35 Life is A Civil Right 216

36 The Depression 222

37 The Resurrection of Christ the Redeemer 234

38 The Healing Ministry 248

Part IV Summing Up

39 Alabama Can Rise, Montgomery Must Lead 258

40 Closing Comments 276

Appendices 280

Index 295