The Conscience of a Lawyer: Clifford J. Durr and American Civil Liberties, 1899-1975

In the gentle unfolding of a Southern boy's early years, we find the seeds of a conscience deeply rooted in place and family. Clifford J. Durr's childhood was marked by the rhythms of Alabama's countryside, where the natural world and the echoes of history intertwined. One vivid episode from his youth tells of a 'ghost' haunting the woods near his grandfather's farm—a terrifying apparition that turned out to be nothing more than a jagged scar on a sycamore tree, illuminated eerily by the setting sun. This experience taught young Clifford that fear, if left unexamined, can conjure monsters where none exist. His grandfather's insistence that he confront the apparition again, despite his terror, was a lesson in courage and the necessity of facing one's fears to prevent them from controlling us.

This lesson was not merely about childhood fright but a metaphor for the challenges Clifford would face in his adult life. The South of his upbringing was a land haunted by its own ghosts—of lost causes, racial divisions, and political loyalties. His grandfather, a man of principle despite the contradictions of his era, had cast a vote for Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, a rare Republican stand in a Democratic stronghold. This act of political independence foreshadowed Clifford's own willingness to stand apart from the prevailing norms.

Yet, the world he grew up in was not without its harsh realities. His nurse, Henrietta Walker, bore the scars of racial injustice, her anger and frustration simmering beneath her devotion to the family. Clifford, even as a boy, glimpsed the undercurrents of inequality and violence that segregation fostered. These early impressions, mingled with the love and stability of his family, set the stage for a life that would grapple with fear, injustice, and the pursuit of fairness.

His education at the Starke School, a strict military-style institution, further instilled in him discipline and resilience, though it was his summers on the farm that he cherished most. There, among the animals and the woods, he found a sense of freedom and connection to the land that would sustain him throughout his life. He learned that bravery was not the absence of fear but the choice to act despite it.

As this first chapter of his life closes, we see the formation of a man whose conscience was shaped by the interplay of tradition and challenge, love and fear, and the enduring call to confront the ghosts that haunt us. From these humble beginnings, Clifford J. Durr would emerge as a voice of reason and courage in turbulent times. Now, let us journey onward to explore how his education and experiences abroad expanded his horizons and deepened his sense of identity.