I knew that race relations were going to play a major role in my story simply by virtue of the town’s large African American population (currently about sixty percent). Although I did my best to understand life between the races both in 1940 and today, I don’t pretend to know what it is now—or was then—like for any individual to live there. It was my good fortune to stumble across the Racial Reconciliation group that has met at the United Methodist Church in Edenton for several years. The group was started by Jo Baker and several other concerned townspeople to foster communication between the races. I’m grateful to Jo for inviting me to a meeting, where I expected to find five or six dedicated folks chatting for an hour or two. Instead, I found a large circle of perhaps thirty animated people, black and white, who had clearly become important to one another. They moved me to tears as they described how they’d tiptoed around difficult topics in the beginning, afraid to say anything that might offend. But they were determined to find new ways to understand one another and it was clear to me that they were succeeding. The most obvious indicator of that success, to my eyes, was the little boy who ran from lap to lap in the room, no one a stranger to him. I think Edenton’s Racial Reconciliation Group could be a model for similar groups in many other cities in the United States. Here’s a link to a video about the group for anyone who might be interested. https://www.dailypress.com/visuals/video/84720339-157.html.

Through the Racial Reconciliation group, I met two African American men, Norman Brinkley and historian, Dr. Ben Speller, both of whom had been boys in Edenton in the forties. I’m grateful to each of them for spending individual time with me as they helped me understand what Jesse Williams’s life might have been like as a teenager. It would have been close to impossible for me to write about Jesse without Norman’s and Ben’s valuable input.

The Shepard Pruden Memorial Library is near the lovely waterfront in Edenton. Librarian Jennifer Finlay answered my questions, and Joyce White helped me use the microfilm machine to read the 1940 Chowan Herald, as Morgan does in Big Lies.

Speaking of the Chowan Herald, I’m grateful to the late reporter Rebecca Bunch for accurately and generously covering my visits to Edenton. Rebecca was clearly devoted to the town. I quickly learned that I could trust her reporting, and I’m very saddened by her death

During my visits to Edenton, I stayed at Susan Beckwith’s beautiful Inner Banks Inn, where the rooms are filled with history. Thank you, Susan, for your lovely inn and the incredible breakfasts!