Annie Charley Whitlock was born June 17, 1949 in Coy, Alabama, the 6th child of Russell Charley and Carrie Addie Lee. Her siblings were John, Russell Jr., Willie Lee, Earnest, Lawyer, and Mildred. In Vredenburgh, Alabama, on May 7th, 1954, the three eldest boys found their father hanging and castrated, his hands tied behind his back. The local sheriff labelled the death a suicide. At the time, her mother was pregnant. John, then 16 years old, stopped talking and quit school. Russell Jr. suffered a nervous breakdown. The family faced enormous financial difficulty and emotional trauma and left Vredenburgh.

In 1968, Mrs. Whitlock graduated from high school and in 1972 she married Charles Whitlock. Together, they raised their son Charles Jr. and had two daughters, Leslie Nicole and Shanice Renee. Mrs. Whitlock is proud to have owned her restaurant called Addielee’s, after her mother, which was featured on Food Network. Mrs. Whitlock also created a gourmet chicken burger, which she worked hard to bring to the market. She credits her parents: Russell Charley was a great cook and caring father; her mother Carrie taught her to be strong in the face of adversity. Mrs. Whitlock thanks CRRJ for the work they have done to uncover and uplift her father’s story.