CIVIL RIGHTS VIDEO
Curtis Jones and Emmit Loui Till (14) traveled
to Mississippi to work from the North.
Emmit Till went into the store in Mississippi and said “Bye
Baby” to this white girl in the store.
Mr. White, Emmit’s uncle, Moes Wright, tells how the man came with
a pistol and light. The man
took Emmit, asked people to identify him as the one who spoke to the white
woman. The body was so badly
beaten, the relatives could not recognize him. A magazine took a picture of
Till’s body, shot through the head, and beaten, badly disfigured. The judge said upon the end of the
case that the all-white jury should have no trouble finding the accused
innocent. The accused,
Roy Bryant and his half-brother J. W. Milam were White Anglo Saxon
Protestants (WASPs) Blacks decided not to take the bus any more
after the Rosa Parks case in 1955. The
black community hired Dr. Martin Luther King. Bombs were thrown at buses and
black leaders homes were bombed. The
Blacks organized themselves to drive each other. The Supreme Court decided 11 months
later that segregation on buses was illegal.
Little Rock Arkansas, 1957. 9 black teens were going to go to
the white school, Central High School, because the Supreme Court said
segregation was illegal. State
troops were being used to go against federal law. Elizabeth Eckford missed the news
of the National Guard preventing blacks from going into the school. She was under attack from the
whites as she went on her way to school.
Governor Faubus was the man responsible for calling up the National
Guard. Eisnhower sent in
paratroopers to protect the black students, “mob rule cannot be allowed
to override the decision of our courts.”
The students met at Daisy Bates house before school. Then they walked together. Soldiers walked the students from
one class to another. The
troops were wonderful, according to Ms Beales. Mini Jean Brown struck back near
Christmas time. A white
student male, shorter than Mini, was harassing Mini. She took her chili and dumped it on
his head. The first time that
whites saw anyone retaliate. “One
down, eight to go” were words on cards, also “Eich go home.” Ernest Green graduated, nobody
clapped. Governor Faubus
closed all high schools to slow down integration in 1958. Ben West Mayor of Nashville Tennessee in 1960. It promoted itself as the “Athens” of the
south. Dianne Nash and other
students were drawn to non-violent actions.
The blacks took workshops on non-violence. They learned to respond with
dignity under tough role-playing conditions.
Four students sat at a whites only lunch counter. They refused to leave. They began a sit in and got
assistance from students. The
sit-ins, 2 weeks, no incidents, two weeks later, a gang of toughs went in
and started a fight. More than
80 demonstrators were arrested for disorderly conduct. The students did not fight back. The first wave at the lunch counter
were arrested, then the second was arrested, then the third… Black merchants gave the students
food, some put their house up for sale to raise money for them. 50 millionollars spent a year in Mississippi by
blacks. The boycott had
serious effects. April 19,
1960, dynamite blew up Z. Alexander Loobey’s house, he was the defense attorney of the
students. Next came the first major march of the Civil Rights movement. They marched down Jefferson Ave. Ms. Nash asked mayor West if he
felt people should discriminate. He answered: “I could not agree that it is not morally
right to sell them (blacks) merchandise and refuse them service.” Seconds later he said he had to
answer this moral question as a man and not a politician. What does this suggest? Black customers were now served at
lunch counters downtown in Nashville.
April 15, protestors met in Raleigh N.C. Some suggested that these
protestors join with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
led by Dr. Martin Luther King. Ella
Baker told the Student Movement to stay separate. Students formed the Student
Non-violent Committee (SNIC) and organized black communities in the south. In Nov, 1961, a federal agency ordered
segregation. Students went to
a bus station, but they were arrested.
At these meetings, most of the time was spent singing. Dr. William G. Anderson, leader of the Albany Movement
to coordinate all civil rights groups.
Dr. Anderson asked Dr. King to join him in the Albany movement. SNIC wanted Dr. King’s advice
without having him. There was
difficulty organizing because leaders were in and out of town so
frequently. Dr. King was also
arrested in July of 1962 (45 days in jail).
Three days later he was released, someone had mysteriously paid the
fine. King wanted to pay the time, and the chief of police
said “God knows, I don’t want you in my jail.” The chief requested someone in the
white community pay for the release of the blacks. King felt depressed as he left the
city because he was not successful. This was the first time that blacks united for a
protest. They learned to focus
their strength so as not to dilute the attack. Governor George Wallace wanted segregation in
Alabama. The movement moved to
Birmingham (Bomingham), Alabama. The
Commissioner of Public Safety was in the hands of Eugene “Bull” Connor. He was a bigot and racist. Only a few demonstrators came out. Local white clergy asked the SCLC
to leave town. King was
puzzled as to what to do. He
knew he had to do something, so he led the demonstration and was put in
jail again. This marks the birth of his true leadership. While in jail, he wrote on a
newspaper. This has come to be
known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Eight days later, he planned to
have another protest march. Kids were taken out of school for the march on May 2. The protestors were arrested. Seven hundred students (kids) were
arrested on this day. A
gathering from the 16th Street Baptist Church was set to march. Bull Connor brought in the dogs and
fire department to turn them on the demonstrators. The water pressure (100 pounds per
square inch) could peel the bark off trees.
News coverage shocked the American public. The world picked up on this
behaviour and were discussed with American politics. The protestors filled the city’s jails. As a result, the city had to
negotiate. Merchants agreed to
serve and hire blacks. The
next night the KKK met outside Birmingham and gave a warning. Robert Shelton said whites should
not give any concessions. Hours
later a bomb blew up outside King’s Gaston Motel room, but he had already
left. This sparked another
riot. Other cities were now
involved. President Kennedy
had to address the nation. He
proposed that race has no place in American life or law. Leaders arranged a mass march on
Washington. Attorney General
tried to prevent the march, but without success. Aug 28, 1963 the march began. They marched from the Washington
Monument to the Lincoln memorial. A.
Philip Randolph first proposed such a march in 1941. John Lewis, leader and spokesperson
for the students was to give a speech, but the White House was worried
about it. John’s speech was
the only one to criticize Kennedy’s speech as being too little, too late. The speech was then rewritten at the Lincoln Memorial. Then Martin Luther King spoke:
“Let freedom reign... Free
at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we’re free at last.” This was support for Kennedy’s
new Civil Rights bill. Eighteen days later, the 16th Street
Baptist Church was bombed in Birmingham.
The result was that the blacks in Alabama decided not to seek
revenge, but to ensure that blacks get the right to vote, in this way they
could protect their children. In the early 1960s, in Harlem, expressed the
impatience that blacks were feeling. Islamic
Leaders did not want integration. Malcolm X became their most notable spokesperson. |