Transcript for the Piece Audio version of The Mayor of Nichols

THE MAYOR OF NICHOLS

In 1972 , a girl named Jackie Smith beat me up. She was big, I was little, she was black, I was white, she was in eighth grade, I was in seventh. It wasn't the best way to start my career at a new school in a new town. Obviously I hadn't yet learned the social terrain.
Then Earl Hutchinson came along. I didn't know much about him other than he was bigger than me, older than me and had the air of someone who could take care of himself. One day, before science class, from his seat in the back of the room, he started giving me a hard time. Teasing me. I froze. He looked tough and could easily masacre me if he wanted to. But, he didn't have the air of danger and malice that Jackie did. Then again, I didn't know him from Adam so why risk another confrontation or bodily harm? On the other hand, I was sick of being careful, sick of getting picked on, and sick of being scared. Then, I found myself just, razzing him back. Turns out, nothing could have made him happier. He started laughing, I started laughing and from that moment on, I was in love with Earl Hutchinson.
Earl was like the Mayor of Nichols Middle School. He roamed that school like a lion on the Serengeti. He was cocky, confident, jaunty and sweet as could be. He could maneuver through cliques in that school like a pinball through pitfalls: black, white, nerdy, tough, cool, weenie, you name it.
Then there was Regina.
Earl and Regina were as close to junior high royalty as you could get. This was no fleeting spin-the-bottle, I'll -go-with-you-til fifth-period, kind-of-couple. They were attached, together, bonded. Earl lived catty corner from the school, regina lived two blocks away. They had a big turf. And because he was black and she was white, whatever social cache they had before was exponentially increased when they got together. And against all expectations and predictions, they stayed together through junior high, high school and beyond. He was ferociously attached to her. None of us had any idea what would bring our paths to cross three decades later.
When I thought about Earl, thirty years after Ms. McMahons science class, I started feeling like I owed him something, a debt of thanks maybe. Cause, if Earl liked you, it was like you had a free pass to the school. The hallways were safer, the bathrooms were safer, the playground, the campus, the corner store were all places you could go without fear. The girls who might sucker punch you on the playground or "accidentally" pull your hair in gym would think twice if you were Earl's friend. And he knew absolutely everyone in the neighborhood. Unspoken protection: it doesn't get any better than that in Junior high. And after Jackie, none of this was lost on me.
Then, last summer, I ran into a friend from Junior high who I hadn't seen in a long time and we started reminiscing -- I said "I got beaten up by Jackie Smith" and she said, "I got beaten up by Jackie Smith too!" -- I asked her if she knew what Earl was doing and where he was so I might try and get in touch with him. She just looked at me. Didn't you hear? She said. Don't you remember a big story that was in all the papers a few years ago about a homeless man killed in an alley by a chicago cop"
"No," I said,
"That was Earl." She said.
And my heart just dropped into the dirt.

When I first heard about Earl's death, I knew I wanted to try and find his mother to tell her that thirty years after I knew him, I was still thinking about him. Then I thought about bringing my tape recorder along.
But when I first approached an editor about doing this story, I didn't know much; I just knew that someone I liked in Jr. high had been killed, homeless, in an alley. They gave me the green light to look into it. When I found out the skeleton of the story, they said: there's nothing surprising there and they gave me a kill fee for the work I'd done. When I approached another editor with the story, he said to me, "Why should I care about this guy? Maybe he's just a loser." I tried to explain that this was one life, and while it might be a tragic sample of what happens all the time, we could examine it and see where his life took a turn, why his life took a turn, where the complexities lay, and who failed who, the editor said "why? I have a thirteen year old black kid shot by a white cop here in LA, that's much more interesting" .....
And then I started to wonder: Is the fact that no one thought this was a story worthy of air time, in and of itself, a story worthy of air time? The editors' disinterest in the story seemed like the final nail in Earl's coffin, which had already been sealed pretty tight by the police department, the city, and the courts, among others. Earl, my protector, seemed to have absolutely no protection when he needed it most. I felt compelled to find out what happened to him. I really don't know what made me start thinking about him thirty odd years after I last saw him. Maybe it was beacuase I had moved back to town and was watching my own children wind their way through the same school system, maybe it was because I pass Nichols Middle School almost every day. Or maybe, like his family claims, God had soemthing to do with it. Who am I to say?

act: Most thing I remember about uncle earl...from the worms.

earl left behind a huge family. He had five brothers and sisters, numerous nieces and nephews, a few grand nieces and nephews and lots and lots of cousins. His family is a veritable rainbow of colors and nationalities. His relatives are black, white, native american, christian, jewish. You name it, the Hutchinson's have it. His mother, Pauline, is from South Carolina. She got married at 15, had her first child at 16 and eventualy settled in Evanston, Illinois with her two sisters and their families. Pauline has lived through and almost unbelievable amont of maladies and illnesses but remains forever optimistic, due at least in part to her faith. She was a social activist, and an advocate for racial harmony. But her southern accent lead people to assume things about her, passing her off, as she says, as a stupid black lady. But she doesn't mind, in fact, she says,

pauline: I love it.....I do. can't you tell i talk funny/ No that's where I'm from.

To hear Earl's siblings describe it, the Hutchinson home was happy and loving, strict, religious, chaotic, and open. All the kids were athletic. Earl was a camp counselor for years, loved children. They were regular church goers and many of the kids became choir directors when they got old enough. When Pauline bought the kids a nienty-eight cent guitar and came home one day to find them actually playing it, they formed the Hutchinson Family singers and performed at churches all over the city. They were a close knit, intact family. And Earl was happy. Earl's older sister Catherine.

Act; he was always trying to protect someone...he was compassionate.

ACT: He played the role of the protector...we were twins.

Patricia, his sister eleven months older.

ACT: My oldest daughter..nothing he wouldn't do for you.

Later, Earl's life would be derailed by all sorts of things. But in Junior high, he was safe and secure. And one day, when she was in sixth grade and he was in seventh, he fell, and fell hard, for Regina.

ACT: He followed me home from school....seven years.

Initially though, in 1972, a sixth grade white girl and a seventh grade black boy going together wasn't an easy sell in the halls of nichols middle school

act: There were just some....I really didn't.

Eventually their families and friends all become one big group and alliances were built between kids in the school, cultures in the neighborhood and families in the area that might have never happened without the "Earl and Regina" thing pushing it along.

act: I hung out with his family...unique experience......first love , caring individual.

Earl and Regina's life only became more entwined after junior high. Then, suddenly, in mid high schoool, the first domino fell and things began to unravel. His sister Patricia.

ACT: Well In high school.....he became angry. .

act: regina: It really rocked his world. ....stability was gone

After the family split up, Earl dropped off the football team, the wrestling team and eventually dropped out of high school. At the same time, he started smoking. His girlfriend, Regina.

Act: he just started smoking pot...started fighting, going nowhere fast. like the kid going to change...couldn't straighten it out.

Their split was, by all accounts, a mess. Earl couldn't handle it.

ACT: I went into hiding....extremely jealous type.

So Regina told Earl's family that she was moving to California. In reality, she moved to Roger's park, just a few blocks away.

Act: earl was in love with Gina...thats when he became different.

Earls older sister Catherine.

Act: He was very withdrawn...after he broke up with Gina.

Within a few years, Earl was arrested for theft. His family claims it was literally over a few pennies and that he was wrongly accused. Regina's mom got letters from him in jail addressed to Regina. After he got out, Earl was hospitalized in the psychiatric unit. Though no one knows for sure, the family thinks Earl's diagnosis was depression. His younger brother was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. In retrospect, some siblings and in-laws wondered if he could have had bi-polar disorder and if his father, who passed away while Earl was serving his second jail term, also struggled unknowingly with mental illness. By the time Earl was released early from jail the second time , he had stopped using drugs and alcohol. He was taking his medication regularly. he was working on and off with his brother panting houses, for his step father, and worked day labor, whatever he could patch together. He spent time with his neices and nephews babysitting and helping around the house. He even started dating, though his relatives still think he was stuck on Regina. He sometimes rented apartments and sometimes stayed with family. But never for very long. His mother, Pauline

ACT: You know hen we could, we would get him to come here....what can you do?

Catherine, his older sister

ACT: He chose...he was not homeless.

Jim Lawler was the shelter supervisor at REST shelter for men when Earl was there.

Act: he was a loved guy...make him your friend.

Eight days before Earl's death, the ChicagoTransit Authority announced a plan to remove homeless people from train stations because they said, they believed that homeless passengers could be linked to an increase in crime. And then, on March 16th, 2000, according to the police report, Earl was on an EL platform, asking people for their transfers. He was asked to move. He did. He went down to the alley. The police officer who had asked earl to leave the area approached him in the alley. An altercation insued. Police Department spokesperson Pat camden.

Act; hutchinson.....fatally striking him.

The silver object in Earl's hand, the one police assumed was a weapon, turned out to be a fork. It was daylight, they were five feet away from each other. According to the police report I got, there were witnesses that said Earl was beligerent and verbally abusive, though their names were all blacked out. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless canvassed the area for witnesses in the days after the shooting but couldn't find any.

ACT: They murdered him.

Pauline Underdown, Earl's mother.

act: God didn't do it. .... I won't take down from that.

Act: Isn't it rather quaint that we can sit here...coulda woulda shoulda.

Spokesman for the Chicago Police department, Pat camden

Act: Mr. Hutchinson, he only had a....to deadly force. Whats the problem with homeless person in the alley? ....and they didn't do it.

For the next year, homeless advocates called for an open investigation into the shooting and the realease of the name of the officer who shot Earl. The Cook County state's attorneys office, and the FBI opened investigations. Additionally, the FBI was supposed to moniter the State's attorney's investigation. But the name was never released and the only investigation that was completed was done by the Office of Professional Standards. The Office of Professional Standards, which is headed by a chief administrator who works for the police superintendent, deemed the shooting "justifyable." After that, all other investigations stopped. On the one year anniversary of Earl's death, this spot ran on the local news.

Act: TV spot.

Police department spokesman Pat Camden admits that it was unfortunate that at the time of Earl's shooting, the police force didn't have taser guns or other instruments at their disposal that might buy them more time to assess an escalating situation. In April of 2004, the Chicago Police Department did institute the use of about 200 taser guns with plans to increase that number over time. But after two recent incidents, one in which a fourteen year old went into cardiac arrest after police tried to subdue him with a taser gun and another when a fifty-four year old man was killed the same way, the Superintendent of police cancelled plans to buy and distribute 200 additional taser guns until their safety could be determined. He did not suspend the use of the two hundred taser guns already in use. A lawsuit against the city is still pending in the case of the fourteen year old boy. Camden did say that police training in dealing with the metally ill is ongiong.

act...Since that time ...whats prob being in alley? wont discuss. he was told to move on.

Earl was shot once, in the center of his chest. When the family started gathering at the hospital, and there were a considerable number of family members there, they weren't allowed to see his body. They claim that when the family arrived and when it became clear that Earl wasn't homeless, the police scattered. Finally, they went to the morgue to view him. His sister patricia.

ACT; I was so blessed to know,...why cant he be shot in the leg.

On March 24, 2000, Earl was given a homegoing, a funeral, at the church where he grew up.

ACT: it was packed...to see everybody there.

His old girlfriend Regina.

ACT; it was so sad....he never was.

Jim Lawler, from REST homeless shelter for men, along with other friends from the homeless shelter, attended his homegoing.

Act: I remember there being a great sense of family.....much loved guy.

Earl's sister Catherine

ACt; he was always the protecto...from their heart.

Afer months of talking to people about Earl, I still couldn't put all the pieces together. I couldn't figure out if he was a different person on the streets than he was at home, if his illness affected his ability to control his temper, if he was so often wrongly accused that he was antagonistic toward the police, or if he died as a result of police brutality at worst and rash judgement at best.
I knew this much: For one year, over thirty-four years ago, I knew Arthur Earl Hutchinson in the prepubescent wasteland of junior high that most people would like to forget. But I never forgot him. In a single act of friendship, he changed the landscape of my junior high world and as a result, all that followed. You don't get to meet a lot of Earls in your life: a peacemaker, a protector, someone who by their very presence, brings people together.
And at the end interviewing and investigating and trying to figure out what happened to Earl between life in 1972 as a happy, cocky, eighth grader, and life in 2000 as a "homeless" man shot in the chest with a fork in his hand, I don't know which is worse, how he died or how unremarkable it seems to be to everyone: the jaded, desensitized editors to whom a death like this is too predicatble and uninteresting, the defensive police who are judged by a body of investigators, many of whom are former policemen, or the crowded courts, where the statute of limitations for Earl's case has expired. Even if there were some kind of official "closure" to this case, it's not something that's ever really closed. You can't just put it away and forget about it the way you would a totalled car after a bad accident or a painful memento from a romance gone south. It is possible to think of Earl as "gone" but its almost impossible to make sense of him being killed. I guess everyone who knew him just has to find a way to make it as not-horrible as they can for themselves-- do something, try something, to appease the loss. And I guess this is mine.

Regina: it was so sad....don't know what that means in the big picture for all of us, you know?

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