The Jim Crow era of America is riddled with stories — some told and many unspoken — of violations against the civil rights and basic humanity of Black people.
One such story is that of Hattie DeBardelaben, who was killed in Autaugaville, by law enforcement on March 23, 1945. Details of Hattie’s death always remained a mystery to her grandchildren for nearly 80 years.
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Mary DeBardelaben always wondered what happened to her grandmother and why her family never discussed Hattie’s death.
Those answers finally came on Oct. 26, after Mary received federal documents related to her grandmother‘s death and the alleged cover-up that ensued.
Mary and her brother Dan told AL.com how the documents finally gave them closure surrounding Hattie’s death. Mary said that while she was happy to finally know the truth it was extremely painful to read about what happened to her grandmother.
“I cried for a couple of days, because I couldn’t believe what had happened to my grandmother,” Mary said.
While the documents revealed the truth about Hattie’s death, they also uncovered why Mary and Dan’s family members never spoke about their grandmother’s passing.
Mary and Dan said that their father, Hattie’s son Bennie, never mentioned her death, even when they would visit her grave.
Several of Hattie’s children and relatives were witnesses to her assault and eventual death at the hands of officers.
“The case was so big, and we never knew how big it was, because her seven children, who were still alive, never said a word about what happened to my grandmother, to any of their children,” Mary said.
“And all of her children had children, and I checked with all of them and all of them said that their parents never talked about what happened to their mother.
“But it was my mother who kept telling us a story. All she could tell us was that, you know, my grandmother was killed by officers who came to see if they were selling liquor.”
‘A person whose breath was cut off’
According to testimony from Edward Underwood, Hattie’s youngest son and witness to her death, four officers came to their home the afternoon of March 23, 1945.
The officers were Clyde White, John Barrenbrugge, J.C. Moseley and L.O. Smith. White was an Autauga County deputy and the other three were officers of alcohol enforcement agencies.
The men claimed they were looking for illegal whiskey in Autauga County and Hattie agreed to let them search her home after denying having any whiskey.
As the officers tried to search the home, one of them struck Hattie’s nephew after they said he was disobeying an order to sit down.
Hattie intervened and told the officer to stop. The officer began assaulting her, causing her to fall against a pot of boiling water she was using to wash clothes.
Another officer struck Hattie multiple times before putting her into a chair. According to Edward’s statement, he called his two older brothers, Bennie and Johnni, who were in the fields working.
Officers with their guns drawn ordered the two boys to sit on the ground.
White proceeded to check the house for whiskey. Edward said during this time his mother sat silent and was, “panting and grunting like a person whose breath was cut off.”
After the search ended, the officers said they were taking Hattie to jail and for Edward, who was 15 at the time, to accompany her. Her 7-year-old grandson fetched her shoes.
While in the car, Hattie started vomiting. Police ignored her pleas to stop and get water. Edward began using her dress to catch the vomit before they finally pulled over.
After pulling over, Hattie continued to vomit. One officer told her to get back in the seat. Hattie contested, saying she was sick, but Edward pulled her back into the seat.
Hattie fainted and murmured, “that’s my baby,” in reference to Edward.
Those were the last words she would speak.
By the time they arrived at the Prattville County jail, Hattie had died as her “baby” sat next to her.
Hattie was 46 at the time of her death.
‘He never said a single word’
After reading this, Mary and Dan said they understood why their grandmother’s death was never discussed by her children.
Hattie’s story is like many from the Jim Crow period — never officially or accurately recorded and never uttered aloud due to trauma and fear.
“My dad and his brothers and cousins, you know, got to witness what actually happened,” Dan said.
“Seeing that, I’m sure, was so traumatic for my father, and was one of the reasons that he never said a single word, nor did he or his other six sisters and brothers, ever had a conversation with us about what took place.
“It was a combination of fear and just the trauma being traumatized from an event like that.”
Mary said the fear and threat of retaliation caused their father to change his name a month after Hattie’s death and move to Birmingham.
Mary and Dan said that one of the most shocking things about the documents was that Edward was in the car and had to watch as his mom died while the officers showed indifference to her condition.
An investigation goes nowhere
A statement from the undertaker revealed that Hattie’s head fell back whenever her body was picked up, indicating that her neck was broken from the assault.
Despite the examination, the white doctor said the cause of death was a heart attack.
Following her death, Hattie’s husband filed an affidavit with the NAACP, and the organization began contacting the Department of Justice. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Tom Clark sent a letter asking FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to investigate.
The NAACP also contacted then Alabama Gov. Chauncey Sparks who gave information about the case to the state’s solicitor.
A grand jury heard the case in October 1945, but declined to indict and none of the officers were ever arrested.
White went on to become the Autauga County Sheriff.
Mary said the documents clearly reveal a cover-up that protected the officers.
“It is disturbing, that people could be so cruel back then,” Mary said.
“Not just the people who killed her, but those who were in official law positions clearly could see that she was killed by these officers, but they preferred to cover it up rather than to prosecute their own.”
Mary and Dan said they hoped that their grandmother’s name would be cleared of any criminal record. Mary also hopes the individuals involved in Hattie’s death could be posthumously charged.
‘You couldn’t help rescue your mom’
The reason why Mary and Dan were able to finally obtain this information is due to the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018.
The act was a bipartisan piece of legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2019.
The bill established a review board, independent of the FBI, comprised of private citizens. The board was not staffed until 2023, after President Joe Biden provided nominations that were approved by the U.S. Senate.
The review board is tasked with accelerating the review and release of civil rights cold case records under government control from 1940 to 1979.
In cooperation with the National Archives and Records administration, the review board contacted Mary prior to the documents being made public to confirm if she wanted to receive them.
Review board member Gabrielle Dudley said that Hattie’s case was unlike others at the time because she was not engaged in any civil rights activity, yet she was still a victim of violence by law enforcement.
“She was just really living her everyday life, and she was unfortunately met with this violence and a violent death that was really typical of interactions with law enforcement during this time in the Jim Crow South,” Dudley said.
Dudley said stories like Hattie’s are also uncommon or not widely known because most stories from the era often focus on men and public figures.
Mary and Dan said they are thankful for the work that the review board and NARA have done to get Hattie’s records released. They were also thankful for the NAACP and those who were advocating for officials to investigate her death.
The siblings also want other families who may have similar cold cases to never give up hope and continue believing that they will get information about their loved one’s stories.
While the siblings are happy to finally know what happened to their grandmother, they still reflect on the eerie silence from their relatives.
“They never uttered a word,” Dan said.
“For me, it reflects how traumatic it was, you know, to be able to sit there and know that you couldn’t help rescue your mom, the only options were to be shot yourself or killed.”
