The Civil Rights Movement A Documentary Reader Uncovering the Past: Documentary Readers in American History Series

A new civil rights reader that integrates the primary source approach with the latest historiographical trends

Designed for use in a wide range of curricula, The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader presents an in-depth exploration of the multiple facets and layers of the movement, providing a wide range of primary sources, commentary, and perspectives. Focusing on documents, this volume offers students concise yet comprehensive analysis of the civil rights movement by covering both well-known and relatively unfamiliar texts. Through these, students will develop a sophisticated, nuanced understanding of the origins of the movement, its pivotal years during the 1950s and 1960s, and its legacy that extends to the present day.

Part of the Uncovering the Past series on American history, this documentary reader enables students to critically engage with primary sources that highlight the important themes, issues, and figures of the movement. The text offers a unique dual approach to the subject, addressing the opinions and actions of the federal government and national civil rights organizations, as well as the views and struggles of civil rights activists at the local level. An engaging and thought-provoking introduction to the subject, this volume:

• Explores the civil rights movement and the African American experience within their wider political, economic, legal, social, and cultural contexts
• Renews and expands the primary source approach to the civil rights movement
• Incorporates the latest historiographical trends including the "long" civil rights movement and intersectional issues
• Offers authoritative commentary which places the material in appropriate context
• Presents clear, accessible writing and a coherent chronological framework

Written by one of the leading experts in the field, The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader is an ideal resource for courses on the subject, as well as classes on race and ethnicity, the 1960s, African American history, the Black Power and economic justice movements, and many other related areas of study.

Series Editors’ Preface xii

Acknowledgments xiv

Introduction xvi

Chapter 1 Origins of the Civil Rights Movement 1

1.1 New York Amsterdam Star‐News, “Bus Boycott Ends in Victory,” 1941 1

1.2 A. Philip Randolph, “Call to Negro America to March on Washington for Jobs and Equal Participation in National Defense,” 1941 3

1.3 James Farmer Recalls the Congress of Racial Equality’s Chicago Sit‐In in 1942 6

1.4 US Supreme Court, Smith v. Allwright, 1944 8

1.5 Annie L. McPheeters Interview on Grassroots Voter Registration in Atlanta in the 1930s and 1940s 11

1.6 Fifth Pan‐African Congress, Declaration to the Colonial Workers, Farmers and Intellectuals, 1945 14

1.7 Journey of Reconciliation, 1947 15

1.8 President’s Committee on Civil Rights, To Secure These Rights, 1947 17

1.9 President Harry S. Truman, Executive Order 9981, 1948 22

1.10 Henry Lee Moon, Balance of Power: The Negro Vote, 1948 24

1.11 States’ Rights Democratic Party, Platform of the States’ Rights Democratic Party, 1948 26

1.12 Congressman Jacob K. Javits, Press Release on Segregation and Discrimination in the Armed Forces, 1950 28

1.13 The Crusader, “Boycott of City Bus Company in Baton Rouge Forces End of Absolute Jimcrow,” 1953 30

1.14 Dorothy Height Recalls Her Work with the National Council of Negro Women from the 1930s to the 1950s 31

Chapter 2 Brown v. Board of Education and Massive Resistance, 1954–6 35

2.1 US Supreme Court, McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, 1950 35

2.2 United States, Brief as Amicus Curiae, Brown v. Board of Education, 1952 38

2.3 US Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 40

2.4 Arkansas State Press, “After the Court’s Decision – Now What?” 1954 42

2.5 US Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education, 1955 44

2.6 Chicago Defender, “Blood on Their Hands … An Editorial,” [Emmett Till] 1955 46

2.7 R.B. Patterson, “Organization of a Local Citizens’ Council,” 1955 48

2.8 Southern US Congressmen, “Declaration of Constitutional Principles,” 1956 49

Chapter 3 The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1955–7 55

3.1 Rosa Parks Recalls Her Role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 55

3.2 Fred D. Gray Recalls His Role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 57

3.3 E.D. Nixon Recalls His Role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 58

3.4 Jo Ann Robinson Recalls Her Role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 60

3.5 Martin Luther King, Jr, “Holt Street Baptist Church Speech,” 1955 61

3.6 US Supreme Court, Browder v. Gayle, 1956 64

3.7 Chicago Defender, “Bus Boycotts in 3 Cities,” 1956 65

3.8 Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Constitution and By‐Laws, 1957 68

3.9 Martin Luther King, Jr, “Give Us the Ballot,” 1957 69

Chapter 4 The Little Rock Crisis and Desegregation in Education, 1957–62 73

4.1 Gov. Orval E. Faubus, Televised Speech, 1957 73

4.2 Ira Wilmer “Will” Counts, Jr, Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan, 1957 75

4.3 Daisy Bates Recalls Events at Central High School in 1957 76

4.4 President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Executive Order 10730, 1957 79

4.5 Larry Lubenow Recalls Interviewing Louis Armstrong aboutEvents in Little Rock in 1957 81

4.6 US Supreme Court, Cooper v. Aaron, 1958 83

4.7 Ruby Bridges Recalls School Desegregation in New Orleans in 1960 89

4.8 James Meredith Recalls Entering the University of Mississippi in 1962 92

Chapter 5 The Sit‐Ins and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, 1960 95

5.1 Greensboro News and Record, The Greensboro Four, 1960 95

5.2 Kenneth T. Andrews and Michael Biggs, Map Showing Sit‐Ins in the American South, February through April 1960 96

5.3 St. Paul Dispatch‐Pioneer Press, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Members Picketing outside Woolworth’s for Integrated Lunch Counters, 1960 97

5.4 Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Statement of Purpose, 1960 99

5.5 Ella J. Baker, “Bigger than a Hamburger,” 1960 100

5.6 Robert P. Moses, “Letter from a Mississippi Jail Cell,” 1961 102

Chapter 6 The Freedom Rides and the Congress of Racial Equality, 1961 105

6.1 US Supreme Court, Boynton v. Virginia, 1960 105

6.2 Associated Press, Freedom Riders by Burned‐Out Bus, 1961 109

6.3 James Peck Recalls Freedom Riders Being Beaten in Birmingham, Alabama in 1961 110

6.4 Diane Nash Recalls the Nashville Students’ Involvement in the Freedom Rides in 1961 111

6.5 John Seigenthaler Recalls Events in Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama in 1961 114

6.6 John Lewis Recalls the Bus Journey from Montgomery to Jackson, Mississippi in 1961 116

6.7 The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America, Title 49, 1963 117

Chapter 7 Albany, Birmingham, and the March on Washington, 1961–3 121

7.1 Laurie Pritchett Recalls Civil Rights Demonstrations in Albany, Georgia in 1961 and 1962 121

7.2 Freedom Singers, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,” 1962 125

7.3 Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, “Birmingham: People in Motion” on Civil Rights Demonstrations in 1962 and 1963 127

7.4 Martin Luther King, Jr, “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” 1963 129

7.5 Afro Newspaper/Gado, African‐American Protesters Being Attacked by Police Dog in a Street during Segregation Demonstrations, Birmingham, Alabama, 1963 131

7.6 Michael Ochs, Black Children are Attacked by Firefighters with High‐Powered Water Hoses during a Protest Against Segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963 133

7.7 President John F. Kennedy, “Report to the American People on Civil Rights,” 1963 133

7.8 John Lewis’s Original Text of His March on Washington Speech, 1963 138

7.9 Lillian Foscue, “Dead and Injured Taken to Hospital,” 1963 140

Chapter 8 The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Freedom Summer, and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, 1964 145

8.1 US Congress, Civil Rights Act of 1964 145

8.2 Nina Simone, “Mississippi Goddam,” 1964 150

8.3 Charles McLaurin, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Field Report, 1964 153

8.4 Liz Fusco, “The Mississippi Freedom Schools: Deeper than Politics,” 1964 155

8.5 Medical Committee for Human Rights, Press Release, 1964 157

8.6 FBI Flyer on Disappearance of Civil Rights Workers Andrew Goodman, James Earl Chaney, and Michael Henry Schwerner, 1964 159

8.7 Fannie Lou Hamer Testimony before Credentials Committee of the Democratic National Convention, 1964 161

Chapter 9 The Selma Campaign and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 165

9.1 William C. Sullivan (Anonymous), Letter to Martin Luther King, Jr, 1964 165

9.2 Martin Luther King, Jr, “Letter from a Selma, Alabama, Jail,” 1965 167

9.3 John Lewis Recalls the Events of “Bloody Sunday” in 1965 168

9.4 Sheyann Webb Recalls the Events of “Bloody Sunday” in 1965 170

9.5 Associated Press, An Officer Accosts an Unconscious Woman as Mounted Police Officers Attack Civil Rights Marchers in Selma, Alabama, 1965 172

9.6 President Lyndon B. Johnson Addresses Congress on Voting Rights, 1965 173

9.7 US Congress, Voting Rights Act of 1965 176

Chapter 10 The Civil Rights Movement outside the South, 1965–75 181

10.1 Bayard Rustin, “From Protest to Politics,” 1965 181

10.2 Chicago Defender, “Long, Hot Summer Hits Los Angeles,” 1965 183

10.3 Whitney M. Young, Jr, “The High Cost of Discrimination,” 1965 185

10.4 Southern Christian Leadership Conference, A Proposal for the Development of a Nonviolent Action Movement for the Greater Chicago Area, 1966 187

10.5 Douglas Robinson, “2 Rights Rallies Set Near Chicago,” 1966 189

10.6 Associated Press, A Policeman Searches Black Suspects as Buildings are Burned during Unrest Following a Police Operation in Detroit, Michigan, 1967 191

10.7 National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, 1968 192

10.8 Ruth Batson Interview on Busing in Boston in the Mid‐1970s 200

10.9 Louise Day Hicks, Letter to Congressman John Joseph Moakley, 1975 203

Chapter 11 Black Power, 1966 206

11.1 Robert F. Williams, Negroes with Guns, 1962 206

11.2 Malcolm X, “Message to the Grassroots,” 1963 208

11.3 John Hulett Interview on the Founding of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (Black Panther Party) in Alabama in 1965 211

11.4 Stokely Carmichael, “What We Want,” 1966 214

11.5 Black Panther Party, Platform and Program, 1966 217

11.6 Larry Neal, “The Black Arts Movement,” 1968 221

11.7 Frances Beale, “Double Jeopardy: To be Black and Female,” 1969 224

11.8 Angela Davis, An Autobiography, 1974 227

Chapter 12 Vietnam, Economic Justice, and the Poor People’s Campaign, 1967–8 231

12.1 Robert E. Holcomb Interview on Vietnam War Experiences in the 1960s 231

12.2 Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Statement on Vietnam, 1966 233

12.3 Martin Luther King, Jr, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” 1967 236

12.4 US Congress, Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 238

12.5 George Wiley, “Proposal for the Establishment of an Anti‐Poverty Action Center,” 1966 240

12.6 Richard L. Copley, I Am a Man, 1968 241

12.7 Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell, “The Invaders: The Real Story” on Memphis Demonstrations in 1968 243

12.8 Ralph David Abernathy Recalls the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 245

12.9 Associated Press, Aerial View of Resurrection City, 1968 248

Chapter 13 Affirmative Action, 1960s–1980s 251

13.1 President John F. Kennedy, Executive Order 10925, 1961 251

13.2 US Congress, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 1964 253

13.3 President Lyndon B. Johnson, “To Fulfill These Rights,” 1965 257

13.4 Arthur A. Fletcher, “Revised Philadelphia Plan,” 1969 265

13.5 Diane Nilsen Walcott, “Blacks in the 1970’s: Did They Scale the Job Ladder?” 267

13.6 US Supreme Court, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 1978 270

13.7 US Supreme Court, Firefighters Local Union No. 1784 v. Stotts, 1984 271

Chapter 14 Legacies of the Civil Rights Movement 277

14.1 The Young Lords Organization, 13 Point Program and Platform, 1969 277

14.2 Lacey Fosburgh, “Thousands of Homosexuals hold a Protest Rally in Central Park,” 1970 281

14.3 The Combahee River Collective, The Combahee River Collective Statement, 1977 283

14.4 President Ronald Reagan, “Remarks on Signing the Bill Making the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr, a National Holiday,” 1983 286

14.5 Nelson Mandela, “Atlanta Address on Civil Rights,” 1990 288

14.6 Benjamin Chavis, Jr, “Foreword” Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots, 1999 291

14.7 Congressman John Lewis Supports Renewal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, 2006 294

14.8 Justice Stephen Breyer Dissenting Opinion in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 et al., 2007 296

14.9 Joe Raedle, Barack Obama Declares Victory in Presidential Election, 2008 301

14.10 Children’s Defense Fund, Cradle to Prison PipelineR Campaign, 2009 302

14.11 US Supreme Court, Shelby County v. Holder, 2013 306

14.12 US Supreme Court, Fisher v. University of Texas, 2016 308

14.13 Janelle Jones, “The Racial Wealth Gap,” 2017 311

14.14 Black Lives Matter, What We Believe, n.d. 312

Index 316

Dr. John A. Kirk is the George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History and Director of the Joel E. Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA. He was previously a Professor of US History at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, and is author and editor of several books including the award-winning Redefining the Color Line: Black Activism in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1940–1970.