I seriously have to think that Phillips was murdered because the local white establishment had gotten tired of an "uppity" Black man challenging them politically. The fee dispute was likely a dodge to deflect blame towards him.
I was thinking along similar lines but with the “establishment” playing an even subtler hand by looking for someone with a grievance (real or imagined) and then egging them on.
I seriously have to think that Phillips was murdered because the local white establishment had gotten tired of an "uppity" Black man challenging them politically. The fee dispute was likely a dodge to deflect blame towards him.
I was thinking along similar lines but with the “establishment” playing an even subtler hand by looking for someone with a grievance (real or imagined) and then egging them on.