A Thousand Never Evers

Several institutions in the novel, which should preserve the rights of Americans and ensure equality, are shown instead to restrict the rights of Black people in the American South in the 1960s. With some of these institutions, such as law and the court system, white people utilize their power to actively oppress Black people; with others, like education, the systems themselves are faulty or failing, with little effort made to fix them.

Through the characters of the mayor and the sheriff, Burg introduces the corruption of the system of law in Kuckachoo. From the moment that Adams’s lawyer introduces the will, which should legally give rights of the land to both the Black and white communities, the sheriff and mayor make it clear that they are not going to allow it. The sheriff pulls a gun on Uncle Bump and Addie Ann, threatening Bump for the keys to the estate, as Addie Ann thinks to herself, “I want to yell what I know is true: This land, it’s ours too! But the words are stuck inside me. I’m afraid we’re all going to die. And I wonder if it’s worth it, for the land” (22). These thoughts from Addie Ann show how powerless she and Bump are in this situation; even though a legally binding document gives them access to the land, the physical presence of the sheriff and the mayor—the two men who control law and order in the town—prevent that document from being appropriately enforced. This scenario is reflective of the situation for Black people in the 1960s. Although there are laws that ensure their rights, white people in positions of power make efforts to bypass those laws and continue to oppress them anyway.

Similarly, throughout Uncle Bump’s trial, the corruption within the court system shows that Bump’s chances of winning—and justice actually being carried out—are low. As Miss Gold from the NAACP attempts to step in to help Bump, she is immediately discouraged when she is given only five days to prepare for the trial: “‘Five days?’ cries Miss Gold. ‘Five days isn’t enough time to put together a case!’” to which the judge answers, “Welcome to Kuckachoo” (205). Although the judge did not mean it this way when he said these words, by responding this way, he makes it very clear how things go in Kuckachoo: He has little regard for precedent or legal court proceedings. He continues to show this throughout the trial, as he repeatedly rebuffs Miss Gold’s attempts at objections and allows for the defense attorney—and his witnesses—to do and say whatever they feel, whether it's relevant to the case or not. Similarly, when Miss Gold calls her witnesses forward, the judge sustains objections from the prosecution and hinders Miss Gold’s attempt to defend Bump. These actions reveal the corruption of the court system and its lack of interest in finding the truth simply because a Black man is the one being prosecuted.

Another institution that hindered Black people in the 1960s and is shown in the novel is the institution of voting. When Addie Ann goes to the courthouse to deliver supplies to Mrs. Tate, she sees Black voters being registered. However, she is shocked to hear that the question they are being asked to determine whether they are eligible to vote is “How many steps on the Thunder Creek County Courthouse?” (92). It is corrupt enough that white people are not asked questions to register to vote but instead are given that right without question; to further exacerbate the situation, the question that Black people are asked has nothing to do with the voting process itself. Addie Ann remembers the registration test later in the novel as she watches the trial, thinking about how the jury has no Black people on it: “But seeing as they can’t pass that cockeyed test to register, I reckon Negroes will never decide our own fate in courts” (217). This idea exemplifies the corruption that exists and how institutionalized racism is used to restrict the rights of Black people. Because they cannot register to vote, they also cannot serve as a jury member, taking away both the right to vote and the right to a fair trial, thereby eliminating their access to these two important institutions that should support their liberties rather than hinder the efforts at equality.

One institution that is shown with more complexity in the novel is education. From the first lines of the text, it is clear that education is important to Addie Ann and her family, as Uncle Bump gives her a dollar for graduating from elementary school—a lot of money for their impoverished family. Both Addie Ann and her family see education as their only chance of success and escape. Thanks to Mrs. Jacks and her passion for teaching, the education system truly does support Addie Ann and Elias in the novel and sets them up for possible success. However, the system itself is still corrupt, as segregation is still enforced, and Addie Ann is forced to walk several miles to school each day. When Addie Ann arrives at Weaver for her first day of middle school, she envisions “neon lights” showcasing the school and that she is entering “a brand-new world” (120). However, instead, she sees a rundown town where “boards are nailed over the windows” of the store and an old, tired man is sitting out front (121). This disillusionment reflects the duality of education in the civil rights era in the American South: Although it could serve as a means of advancement, equality, and escape for Black people, it is, in reality, a struggling institution.

Each of these institutions shown in A Thousand Never Evers—law, the court system, voting, and education—has the role of supporting and ensuring equality for all Americans. However, in the 1960s South, they instead have become corrupted and then used by people in power—white Americans—to oppress Black Americans and hinder their push for equality.