Alice Finch Lee

Last updated
Alice Finch Lee
Born(1911-09-11)September 11, 1911
Bonifay, Florida
DiedNovember 17, 2014(2014-11-17) (aged 103)
Education Birmingham School of Law
Known forLaw, lay leadership in United Methodist Church, and being sister of Harper Lee
Relatives Harper Lee (sister)

Alice Finch Lee (September 11, 1911-November 17, 2014) was a lawyer in Alabama and lay leader in the United Methodist Church. She was the sister of author Harper Lee and helped her manage publicity requests. [1] [2] Due to her life's work and sister, she was described as "Atticus Finch in a skirt." [2]

Contents

Biography

Alice Finch Lee was born on September 11, 1911, in Bonifay, Florida to Amasa and Frances Finch Lee. [3] [1] [4] She was the eldest of the Lee children. Her sister, Nelle Harper Lee, was fifteen years her junior. [5] Lee attended Monroe County High School, graduating at sixteen. [1] She attended Huntingdon College between 1928 and 1929, returning after a year due to the Great Depression and her father's purchase of a local newspaper. [1] [4] She worked for the paper, The Monroe Journal, until 1937, when she moved to Birmingham to work for the Social Security division of the Internal Revenue Service. [4] Two years later, she enrolled in the Birmingham School of Law. [6] [1]

Lee passed the bar in 1943, becoming one of Alabama's first female lawyers. [1] The next year, she returned to Monroeville, where she joined her father's law firm in general practice. [1] [7] [8] She also served on the board of directors and as attorney for the Monroe County Bank.

Lee continued to make strides in the local public and religious fields. She was the first woman to serve on the Monroeville City Planning Commission, the first woman to chair the West Florida Council on Ministries in the Methodist Church, the first woman to chair the board of directors of the United Methodist Children's Home, and a charter member of the Alabama/West Florida United Methodist Foundation board of directors. [1] In the mid-1960s, she became the "hero of the conference" [2] at an annual Alabama West-Florida Annual Conference meeting, when she used a parliamentary maneuver to prevent efforts to block a report recognizing the present racial divisions. [9]

Lee was also active regionally and nationally in the United Methodist Church. She became the secretary of the Episcopacy Committee for the Southeastern Jurisdiction, serving for eight years. She was on the General Council on Ministries for eight years as well and served on the executive committee. [9] In 1976 and 1980, she was a delegate to the General Conference, where she became the first woman to serve as head of the delegation. [2] At the time of her death, she was still the only woman to have led the Alabama-West Florida Conference delegation. [10] She was one of the few women on the Tri-Conference Committee on Merger, which combined two mostly white and one black denomination into the current organization. As issues concerning racism continued and black clergy were not always paid the same as their white counterparts, she raised funds to make up for the differences in salary. [2]

Alice Lee was the point person for the To Kill a Mockingbird brand until her retirement. [11] When Harper Lee left the public eye, Alice took on the role of rejecting publicity requests on her behalf. [12]

Lee retired at 100, making her the oldest practicing lawyer in the state. [7] [13] Lee died on 17 November 2014. [5]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> 1960 novel by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in July 1960 and became instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. To Kill a Mockingbird has become a classic of modern American literature; a year after its release, it won the Pulitzer Prize. The plot and characters are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family, her neighbors and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, in 1936, when she was ten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe County, Alabama</span> County in Alabama, United States

Monroe County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,772. Its county seat is Monroeville. Its name is in honor of James Monroe, fifth President of the United States. It is a dry county, in which the sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or prohibited, but Frisco City and Monroeville are wet cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroeville, Alabama</span> City in Alabama, United States

Monroeville is the county seat of Monroe County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census its population was 5,951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harper Lee</span> American novelist (1926–2016)

Nelle Harper Lee was an American novelist whose 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature. She assisted her close friend Truman Capote in his research for the book In Cold Blood (1966). Her second and final novel, Go Set a Watchman, was an earlier draft of Mockingbird, set at a later date, that was published in July 2015 as a sequel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Badham</span> American actress (born 1952)

Mary Badham is an American actress who portrayed Jean Louise "Scout" Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. At the time, Badham was the youngest actress ever nominated in this category.

<i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> (film) 1962 film by Robert Mulligan

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American coming-of-age legal drama crime film directed by Robert Mulligan starring Gregory Peck and Mary Badham, with Phillip Alford, John Megna, Frank Overton, James Anderson, and Brock Peters in supporting roles. It marked the film debut of Robert Duvall, William Windom, and Alice Ghostley. Adapted by Horton Foote, from Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, it follows a lawyer (Peck) in Depression-era Alabama defending a black man (Peters) charged with rape while educating his children against prejudice.

Since the publication ofTo Kill a Mockingbird in 1960, there have been many references and allusions to it in popular culture. The book has been internationally popular for more than a half century, selling more than 30 million copies in 40 languages. It currently (2013) sells 750,000 copies a year and is widely read in schools in America and abroad. Harper Lee and her publisher did not expect To Kill a Mockingbird to be such a huge success. Since it was first published in 1960, it has sold close to one million copies a year and has been the second-best-selling backlist title in the United States. Whether they like the book or not, readers can remember when and where they were the first time they opened the book. Because of this, Mockingbird has become a pillar for students around the country and symbol of justice and the reminiscence of childhood. To Kill a Mockingbird is not solely about the cultural legal practices of Atticus Finch, but about the fatherly virtues he held towards his children and the way Scout viewed him as a father.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atticus Clothing</span> U,S. clothing brand

Atticus is a brand of clothing founded in 2001 by Blink-182 members Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge, along with their childhood friend Dylan Anderson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atticus Finch</span> Fictional character in To Kill a Mockingbird

Atticus Finch is a fictional character and the protagonist of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird. A preliminary version of the character also appears in the novel Go Set a Watchman, written in the mid-1950s but not published until 2015. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. He represents the African-American man Tom Robinson in his trial where he is charged with rape of Mayella Ewell. Through his unwavering dedication to upholding justice and fighting for what is right, Atticus becomes an iconic symbol of moral integrity and justice. Lee based the character on her own father, Amasa Coleman Lee, an Alabama lawyer, who, like Atticus, represented black defendants in a highly publicized criminal trial. Book magazine's list of The 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900 names Finch as the seventh-best fictional character of 20th-century literature. In 2003, the American Film Institute voted Atticus Finch, as portrayed in an Academy Award–winning performance by Gregory Peck in the 1962 film adaptation, as the greatest hero of all American cinema. In the 2018 Broadway stage play adapted by Aaron Sorkin, Finch has been portrayed by various actors including Jeff Daniels, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Rhys Ifans, and Richard Thomas.

Amasa Coleman Lee was an American newspaper editor, politician, and lawyer. He was the father of acclaimed novelist Harper Lee.

Monroe County High School is a public high school in Monroeville, Monroe County, Alabama. It is part of the Monroe County School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Monroe County Courthouse</span> United States historic place

The Old Monroe County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building in Monroeville, Alabama that served as the Monroe County courthouse from 1903 to 1963.

<i>Go Set a Watchman</i> 2015 novel by Harper Lee

Go Set a Watchman is a novel by Harper Lee that was published in 2015 by HarperCollins (US) and Heinemann (UK). Written before her only other published novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), Go Set a Watchman was initially promoted as a sequel by its publishers. It is now accepted that it was a first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, with many passages in that book being used again.

Alabama literature includes the prose fiction, poetry, films and biographies that are set in or created by those from the US state of Alabama. This literature officially began emerging from the state circa 1819 with the recognition of the region as a state. Like other forms of literature from the Southern United States, Alabama literature often discusses issues of race, stemming from the history of the slave society, the American Civil War, the Reconstruction era and Jim Crow laws, and the US Civil Rights Movement. Alabama literature was inspired by the latter's significant campaigns and events in the state, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Selma to Montgomery marches.

<i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> (2018 play) Play by Aaron Sorkin

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 2018 play based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Harper Lee, adapted for the stage by Aaron Sorkin. It opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on December 13, 2018. The play opened in London's West End at the Gielgud Theatre in March 2022. The show follows the story of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in 1930s Alabama, as he defends Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape. Varying from the book, the play has Atticus as the protagonist, not his daughter Scout, allowing his character to change throughout the show. During development the show was involved in two legal disputes, the first with the Lee estate over the faithfulness of the play to the original book, and the second was due to exclusivity to the rights with productions using an earlier script by Christopher Sergel. During opening week, the production garnered more than $1.5 million in box office sales and reviews by publications such as the New York Times, LA Times and AMNY were positive but not without criticism.

The Monroe Journal is a weekly newspaper from Monroeville, Alabama serving the city and surrounding area.

Calpurnia is a 2018 play by Canadian playwright Audrey Dwyer. It is named after Calpurnia, a character in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atticus (given name)</span> Name list

Atticus is a masculine name of Greek origin meaning “from Attica.” The name is often used in reference to Atticus Finch, a heroic lawyer who represents an African American man accused of rape by a white woman in a racist Southern United States town in Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Usage of the name continued to increase even after the publication of the 2015 sequel Go Set a Watchman, a novel which presents a more conflicted version of Atticus Finch who also holds racist beliefs. The name has been steadily increasing in usage in the United States. It has been among the top 1,000 names for boys in the United States since 2004 and among the top 300 since 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Alabama Women's Hall of Fame - Alice Lee". www.awhf.org. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alice Finch Lee: Woman of Character, Courage, and Commitment". ResourceUMC. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  3. 1 2 Seiger, Theresa (2014-11-18). "Alice Lee, acclaimed lawyer and sister of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' author Harper Lee, dies at 103". al. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Thomas Lane Butts, An Introduction of Alice Finch Lee, as Recipient of the 2003 Maud McClure Kelly Award Presented by the Alabama Bar Association, July 18, 2003 , 28 J. LEGAL PROF. 11 (2003-2004).
  5. 1 2 Lee, Alice Finch (2015-07-11). "Harper Lee: my little sister". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  6. ↑ Tutor, Phillip (2023-01-17). "Pioneers Lee, Dickerson will enter Alabama Women's Hall of Fame | UWA". University of West Alabama. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  7. 1 2 "Lawyer Alice Lee dies at 103; sister of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' author". Los Angeles Times. 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  8. ↑ Timothy Hoff, Influences on Harper Lee: An Introduction to the Symposium , 45 ALA. L. REV. 389 (Winter 1994).    
  9. 1 2 "Alice Lee, United Methodist leader, dies at 103 | UMNews.org". United Methodist News Service. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  10. ↑ "Alice Lee, sister of "To Kill a Mockingbird" author, dies". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  11. ↑ Reeves, Jay. "Friends: No doubts about 'Mockingbird' author's lawyer". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  12. ↑ braines@al.com, Ben Raines | (2011-06-10). "Alice Lee, sister of author Harper Lee, like 'Atticus Finch in a skirt'". al. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  13. ↑ "Alice Lee, Sister Of 'Mockingbird' Author, Dies At 103". NPR. November 19, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.