HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENSORSHIP OF
“BIG RALPH: REFLECTIONS OF A BLACK POLICE CHIEF”
(Biography of the first Black Police Chief in Chattanooga, TN

by Carl A. Patton)


The United States Constitution is a document that gives constitutional rights to all citizens, despite race, religion and sex. The struggle, to achieve these rights by Black people did not come immediately at the end of slavery. Thus, the struggle for equal rights has been an ongoing process. By the year 1999, most analysts would conclude, that there were no serious challenges to the constitutional rights of most citizens in America.

Unfortunately the denial of Freedom of Expression still exists in America. Therefore, again the denial of equal rights takes on aspects of race, religion and sex. I would argue that the right to Independent thinking comes from God. No doubt, man has also realized the importance of this right and has sought to protect it with the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Truth also comes from God. This includes Spiritual Truth and the Truth of the world. Therefore those that do not believe in God and Truth cannot destroy what comes from the Creator of all things. Remember Socrates and his persecution for Free Expression. His execution did not stop what he believed in, because it came from a Higher Power. Do you remember Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Jesus was crucified for Truth. But the Truth of God is everlasting. I hear the words of Voltaire, the French philosophical writer ringing in my ears. "I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

To those that believe in God and Truth and to those that believe that equal rights and Free Expression should be afforded all human beings.

Are there any organizations in America that uphold the First Amendment for all citizens despite race, religion and sex? For the record the efforts to censor Big Ralph have been wide spread and have come from the right and the left.


The historical development of the censorship of Big Ralph was first realized in the censorship of the writer Carl Patton. As a journalist for a small Black Weekly (The Chattanooga News Weekly) the writer wrote very critical articles concerning the political, social and economic conditions of Chattanooga, Tennessee. During this time the writer was physically attacked and was threatened in every conceivable way.

Thus, for many people who had exploited the Black and poor Carl Patton was a hate monger. Also many misinformed people believed Patton was a troublemaker and not a Truth seeker that stood for justice for all people. With an established reputation as a so -called renegade journalist many people felt that anything Carl Patton wrote was vile and evil. Therefore, when it became known that Patton was writing the biography of Chief Cothran, the enemies of Truth began to mobilize. Eventually an organized effort to sabotage Patton's efforts to complete the project became a reality.

Personal attacks were made on the writer in various covert ways. As the writer sought to overcome these personal attacks, the agencies and persons that would be involved in the technical process for publishing the book got involved.
First the editor did not follow through with a professional job of editing. Meanwhile the editor sabotaged the editing process. Also I believe that she shared the uncompleted manuscript with other parties who also were interested in destroying the writer and the research.

By the fall of 1996 I removed the editor from the project we were under severe time constraints to finish the project. The city of Chattanooga was due to have a mayoral election by April 1997. The incumbent mayor had served four terms as mayor and was retiring for various reasons. For the record he served two terms under the old unconstitutional commission form of government. The mayor and the city fathers did everything they could to keep the unconstitutional commission form of government in place. Finally they lost in federal court due to the efforts of the News Weekly. Ironically the incumbent mayor was elected in 1990 to the new Councilmatic form of government.

This was a classic example of control politics of the highest order. Under the new Councilmatic form of government the incumbent mayor served two more terms up to March 1997. Therefore we wanted to release the book before the mayor left office. There are various groups in Chattanooga that have a negative attitude toward the biography of Chief Cothran. It is also noted that some of these people made false accusations about Chief Cothran and the missing drug funds from the Chattanooga Police Department.

As we pressed forward to meet this deadline we could not find an editor that we could trust. The printers that we had identified to do the printing were local. I was living in Atlanta, Georgia where the book was published. Chattanooga is only 100 miles north of Atlanta. Meanwhile, we felt that the printers were honest and dependable. The printers claimed that if we identified a private typesetter that would speed up the printing process. This was our first attempt to publish a book. Therefore, we did not know that this was a clear effort to sabotage the work. The typesetter we identified refused, or claimed he did not have the computer skills to place the index at the back of the book.

Meanwhile, our printers falsely claimed they had no expertise in typesetting or computer skills regarding helping with the indexing process. We later found out that the printers offered this service but for some reason they did not offer the service to us.

The second phase of censorship began to take shape after the book was published. The local politicians and city employees took a negative attitude toward the book. The local media also refused to publicize the book. Previously the local newspapers had run extensive articles regarding the death of Chief Cothran who died November 1995. But when his biography was published March 1997, the local media did not print one article about the book. Two TV stations and at least two radio stations did acknowledge that the book had been written.

Local bookstores and bookstores in general do not want to sell the book. Usually there is no response to an inquiry. Sometimes bookstore managers will insult our staff in various ways. But some stores are at least more professional about rejecting the book.

Another example of censorship has come from libraries. College libraries, public libraries etc. have acted as if the biography of Chief Cothran is not a book that has international appeal. Thus they have tactfully censored the book and have made up all kinds of creative excuses for excluding the book from their shelves. Most of the libraries and colleges just refuse to respond.


One of the most extraordinary lies told about the writer is that the book is an unauthorized biography. There have been ongoing subtle examples of censorship of Big Ralph that are too numerous to include. Often people will refuse to respond or answer an inquiry about considering the book for their library, bookstore etc. Several professors (intellectuals) were contacted to review the book. Only one professor saw fit to respond with a review. The rest refused to answer my letter with a yes or no.

Finally the latest serious attempt to censorship has resulted in a vindictive group of people in Chattanooga. They have threatened the writer and Psyche Publishing with a lawsuit. For the record this group of people is financed by a wealthy businessman in Chattanooga and has made the most serious threats on the writer's life.

Peace,
Carl A. Patton