Based on a True Story

Civil Rights Marchers 1960s (Image: Library of Congress)

The book I have written was based on a true story. Every once in a while, I encounter “characters” from my novel who are based on real people. Some of them are minor characters, but very crucial to the plot.

One such real person/character popped up in the news today. Joseph Lelyveld, former editor of the New York Times passed away today. He had a very storied and accomplished career as a journalist, editor, and author. His life and work is well captured in the New York Times obituary published today.

At the beginning of his career, he was a young reporter for The New York Times. He broke a story that is an important plot point in my novel. In researching Lelyveld, I found that he was a young reporter, acting on a tip from Simon Wiesenthal, the famed Nazi hunter. Lelyveld used the phonebook to find the subject of his article. It was a blockbuster story that set in motion an incredible chain of events.

What was not included in my book, but I found to be a fascinating detail about Lelyveld on that day he wrote this story, was that his father, a rabbi who was very active in the civil rights movement of the early 1960s, had been severely beaten by racists and Klan members. He was in Mississippi protesting the disappearance of Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney, three civil rights workers registering Black voters. Lelyveld’s father was ok and eventually, the bodies of the murdered civil rights workers were recovered. “Mississippi Burning” is a movie based on this tragic event.

When I was writing, I often thought of this young reporter, writing a consequential story about a former Nazi and then learning about his father getting beat up fighting injustice. It reminded me that regular people who make courageous choices and bring to light the injustices of this world can truly change history.