The Silencing of Ruby Mccollum

by Tammy Evans

"The Silencing of Ruby McCollum refutes the carefully constructed public memory of one of the most famous - and underexamined - biracial murders in American history. On August 3, 1952, African American housewife Ruby McCollum drove to the office of Dr. C. LeRoy Adams, beloved white physician in the segregated small town of Live Oak, Florida. With her two young children in tow, McCollum calmly gunned down the doctor during (according to public sentiment) "an argument over a medical bill." Soon, a very different motive emerged, with McCollum alleging horrific mental and physical abuse at Adams's hand. In reaction to these allegations and an increasingly intrusive media presence, the town quickly cobbled together what would become the public facade of Adams's murder - a more "acceptable" motive for McCollum's actions." "Employing multiple methodologies to achieve her voice - historical research, feminist theory, African American literary criticism, African American history, and investigat