Podcasts about montgomery improvement association

Andrew Gillum goes LIVE with resources and tips for how to get plugged into The Fight. We all have a role to play and we all MUST play a role in opposition to this authoritarian administration. Andrew explains how the Montgomery Improvement Association can be a model for us today. He breaks down four steps for mobilization, then answers your questions. Get involved with the opposition! Check out this spreadsheet of organizations to join, volunteer, or donate to: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13Qxu32zcQNhVRNkhSy2oy0IDLY4VVLhuZC9N-2FXLTQ/edit?usp=sharing Want to ask Andrew a question? Subscribe to our YouTube channel to participate in the chat. Welcome home y’all! —--------- We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the podcast. Instagram X/Twitter Facebook NativeLandPod.com Watch full episodes of Native Land Pod here on YouTube. Native Land Pod is brought to you by Reasoned Choice Media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greenie and Leone talk Martin Luther King Jr's step into civil rights leadership as the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, during their landmark Bus Boycott. This 2001 film stars Jeffrey Wright. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This Day in Legal History: SCOTUS Ends Bus SegregationOn November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court took a pivotal stand against racial segregation by refusing to hear the appeal in Browder v. Gayle, a landmark case challenging bus segregation laws in Alabama. This action upheld a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, which had declared state and local bus segregation laws unconstitutional. This legal victory effectively ended the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 381-day protest sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama.The boycott, organized by the Montgomery Improvement Association under the leadership of a young Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., had drawn national attention and served as a major catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. By ruling against bus segregation, the Supreme Court struck down a long-standing component of Jim Crow laws in the South, emphasizing that enforced racial segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This decision marked a significant legal and moral victory, highlighting the role of the federal judiciary in upholding civil rights in the face of local and state resistance.The end of bus segregation had immediate impacts, enabling Black citizens to ride buses alongside white passengers without enforced separation. More broadly, it emboldened the Civil Rights Movement, inspiring additional challenges to racial discrimination and unequal treatment across the United States.Donald Trump's push for a loyal attorney general highlights his intention to reshape the Justice Department to align closely with his agenda, a move seen as a bid to consolidate power and settle scores. Trump's past frustration with Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr, who he viewed as disloyal for permitting investigations against him, underscores his desire for an attorney general who will prioritize his directives, even if it undermines traditional Justice Department norms. Trump's team, led by conservative lawyer Mark Paoletta, is signaling that department employees must either support Trump's agenda or risk losing their positions, signaling a deep commitment to loyalty over impartiality.Trump has promised to prioritize mass deportations, pardon January 6 rioters, and aggressively pursue individuals and officials he believes have wronged him, including political figures like Joe Biden, prosecutors like Alvin Bragg, and past critics like Liz Cheney. Legal experts warn that this approach could undermine prosecutorial independence, a principle established after the Watergate scandal. Trump's transition team suggests a shift in priorities for the Justice Department, where cases involving immigration and religious freedom would take precedence over issues like police accountability and diversity programs.With the Supreme Court's recent ruling granting broad presidential immunity for official acts, Trump's power to leverage the Justice Department is greatly expanded. Critics, including attorney Bradley Moss, believe Trump is prepared to exploit these legal boundaries to fulfill his promises of “retribution.” The list of potential attorney general candidates includes loyalists like Andrew Bailey, Mike Lee, and Matthew Whitaker, hinting at Trump's intent to install officials willing to carry out his vision without hesitation.Trump seeks loyal attorney general | ReutersThe U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments from Nvidia, which seeks to dismiss a securities fraud lawsuit accusing it of misleading investors about the extent of its revenue dependence on cryptocurrency-related sales. The case, led by Swedish investment firm E. Ohman J:or Fonder AB, claims Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang made false statements in 2017-2018 that downplayed how much of the company's revenue growth stemmed from volatile crypto markets. When cryptocurrency profitability declined in 2018, Nvidia's revenue fell short of projections, leading to a stock price drop that hurt investors.The lawsuit initially dismissed by a federal judge was later revived by the 9th Circuit Court, which found the plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged that Nvidia's leadership knowingly or recklessly made misleading statements. Nvidia contends the plaintiffs have not met the high bar required under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which aims to limit frivolous securities lawsuits by requiring clear evidence of intentional misrepresentation.The Biden administration has sided with shareholders in this case, while Nvidia argues the lawsuit should be dismissed for lack of sufficient evidence. This case, along with a similar one involving Meta, could shape the legal threshold for private securities fraud cases, potentially making it harder for investors to sue companies for alleged misleading statements. Rulings on both cases are expected by the end of June.US Supreme Court to hear Nvidia bid to avoid securities fraud suit | ReutersThe U.S. Supreme Court is debating how broadly to interpret what constitutes a "crime of violence" in a case involving mobster Salvatore Delligatti, who was convicted of attempted murder-for-hire. The legal question revolves around whether a crime can qualify as violent under federal law even when no physical force is directly used. Delligatti's case challenges a firearms statute that imposes a minimum five-year sentence for crimes involving “the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force.”The justices grappled with “absurd” hypotheticals to explore if a crime can be violent in nature without actual force, as the statute requires. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson highlighted a hypothetical involving a lifeguard refusing to save someone, pointing out that under the court's “categorical approach,” even passive omissions could be considered violent. Justice Elena Kagan noted the oddity of this approach since failing to act doesn't fit typical violent behavior but could theoretically fulfill the statute's requirement, even for murder.Delligatti's defense argues that attempted murder isn't always inherently violent, as some cases might involve indirect actions or omissions. Justice Neil Gorsuch suggested the court could separate violent acts from omissions to avoid “absurdity.” Yet, the debate underscores the challenge: whether the law's strict categorization aligns with common-sense definitions of violent crimes, especially in cases involving complex, indirect criminal conduct like murder-for-hire.Mafia Case Tests Supreme Court on Crime of Violence Limits (1)Wealth managers are increasingly turning to strategies like the “tax-aware long-short” to help high-net-worth clients avoid taxes. This tax-loss harvesting approach involves holding one stock expected to appreciate long-term and another stock likely to decline in value short-term. When the anticipated loss occurs, the losing asset is sold to offset gains from the appreciating one, reducing taxable income and the overall tax bill. At the macro level, this strategy effectively shifts the tax burden from wealthy investors to average taxpayers and ultimately reduces public funds for essential services.The preferential treatment of long-term capital gains—taxed at up to 20%, compared to a 37% maximum for ordinary income—already favors investment income over wages. While this policy was intended to promote investment, its default high cost to public funds and the extensive tax planning that can be used to exploit it reveal systemic failures in the tax code. When tax professionals and investors go to such lengths to sidestep taxes, this reflects inefficiencies and inequities in tax policy.Addressing this issue requires substantial policy reforms. One solution would be to tax capital gains at the same rate as wages, removing the impetus to shift income into capital gains and thus increasing tax equity between ordinary income and investment income. While this might simplify the tax code and raise substantial revenue, it could discourage investment and lead to market volatility as investors bear more risk without tax-offset options.Another option is to tax unrealized gains, similar to property taxes which tax value without the need for realization, where gains are taxed at regular intervals even if the asset isn't sold. Under this approach, unrealized capital losses could offset unrealized gains during these set intervals, reducing opportunities for manipulative tax timing. This method would diminish the appeal of strategies like the long-short by minimizing the benefits of timing short-term losses against long-term gains. In sum, the effect of timing-based tax loss planning strategies would largely be blunted. On the polar opposite policy spectrum, lowering capital gains rates would reduce the financial incentive to hire advisors for complex tax avoidance strategies. Lowering rates might make it more cost effective for investors to pay taxes directly rather than invest in costly avoidance techniques.Ultimately, tax reform should prioritize policies that effectively generate revenue while minimizing the need for complex, resource-intensive planning.We Need a Better Way to Reduce Tax Avoidance and Enhance Equity This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Guest Bio: A Senior Grassroots Coordinator for Sphere, Senior Consultant to Alabama Power Company, and Founder/CEO of The Southern Youth Leadership Development Institute, Doris Dozier Crenshaw has over 60 years of community activist experience.  In 1955, at the age of 12, Doris served as vice president of the NAACP Youth Council, when Mrs. Rosa Parks was advisor to the Youth Council. After completing her degree at Clark College, she continued her community outreach in Chicago with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Open Housing Campaign.  Doris began her professional career as Southern Field Representative for the National Council of Negro Women organizing chapters, designing rural economic programs (credit unions, quilting bees, grocery stores and pig banks), and health and housing programs.  In 1977, Doris joined the Carter White House Domestic Policy staff for the Small and Minority Business Issue Division, then moved on to serve as Deputy Director for the 1980 South East Region Carter Presidential Campaign. In the early 1980s, she was Special Assistant to Rev. Jesse Jackson and also served as his Mobilization Director for his Special Projects. In this capacity, Mrs. Crenshaw worked extensively in Washington, DC and nationwide with black businesses for the PUSH Trade Bureau. Doris then served as consultant to Vice President Walter Mondale and was later named National Political Director for the ‘Mondale for President Campaign' in 1983.  In 1985, Doris was asked by Mrs. Coretta Scott King to serve as Director of Mobilization for the First National holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The holiday was officially celebrated in January 1986. Doris was then asked by Mrs. Dorothy Height to serve as the Director of the Mobilization for the First National Black Family Reunion, which was attended by more than 600,000 people, and then served as Director of Mobilization of the Black Family Reunion in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Detroit.  In 2008, Doris Crenshaw founded the Southern Youth Leadership Development Institute, SYLDI. SYLDI was created to address educational policy issues affecting our community. The organization has a national board of directors consisting of corporate, business, educational and government leaders that serve to engender interactive involvement and sponsorship. The National Board Members assist in identifying resources to promote program excellence and sustainability.  Over the years, Mrs. Crenshaw has been recognized and awarded various accolades from organizations around the country, such as, the Montgomery Improvement Association's “Spirit of Humanity” Award (2005); the B. A. King “Appreciation Award” (2007); CEO Network's “Cee Global Award of Ethics and Excellence Award (2007); the Perennial Strategy Group's “Civil Rights Icon Award” (2008); the “Dr. Dorothy I. Height Award for Leadership” Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc (2011); “the Legacy Leadership Award for Humanity” Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (2012); and “the Alabama Shining Star Award” from Congresswoman Terry Sewell (2012); her most recent honor was to have life works read into the 2015 United States Congressional Record.  Mrs. Crenshaw is a life time member of the NAACP and a life time member of the National Council of Negro Women. She is also a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, First United Church of Christ and serves as an Advisor to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-violent Social Change.  The accomplishment that she is most proud of is her daughter, Dr. Kwanza (Mikki) Crenshaw. 

Fred D. Gray - Civil Rights Champion and Presidential Medal of Freedom Awardee. Martin Luther King once described him as “the brilliant young Negro who later became the chief counsel for the protest movement.” He provided legal advice to Rosa Parks, King's Montgomery Improvement Association, the local branch and state conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Montgomery Progressive Democratic Association. He joins Tavis for a conversation reflecting on his life of service and to talk about what this award means to him (

Martin Luther King Jr. - Letter From Birmingham Jail - Episode 1 - Dr. King Reaches Out Of His Jail Cell To Touch The Heart Of A Nation!   I'm Christy Shriver and we're here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.    I'm Garry Shriver and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast.  Today we are going to start a three part series on a man who changed the landscape of political protesting- demonstrating that positive change can occur without massive loss of life.  He won the Nobel Peace Prize when he was 35 years old, at the time he was the youngest to ever receive the award.  His life became synonymous with civil disobedience- taking it farther than Thoreau ever dreamed possible. He radically and controversially claimed the role of a Christian political resister was not only the role to resist injustice.  This was not enough, to be successful one must accompany resistance with love- loving the persecutor- a claim that would be put to the test over and over and for which he would be martyred.  On Jan 20, 1986, the US Federal Government proclaimed a national holiday commemorating his life and message. Today over 955 (that number is likely small), but there are at least 955 major street, boulevards and thoroughfares that carry his name not only across the United States but across the world.  If you haven't figured it out yet, we are talking about the life, literature and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Specifically, the iconic letter that moved a nation from apathy to change, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” It was written on April 16, 1963 and famously addressed to “My Dear Fellow Clergyman.”      Indeed, and yet, so many students or really people, who hear that name know so little about the movement itself.  Growing up first in our nation's capital, Washington DC and then Brazil, I'd heard of Dr. King.  I knew he stood for non-violence, but I ignorantly thought he literally just walked around preaching and protesting, carrying signs, singing and marching.  I had NO idea how calculated the entire Civil Rights moment was.  I had no idea the amount of strategy and genius that went into the planning and execution of one of the most effective non-violent movements in the world- or even how many years it was in the making.  I just thought, Dr. King got up one day and just started protesting.      Well, I think most people don't, even people of good faith who try to mimic some of his basic strategies.  It's really difficult to wrap our minds around the complexity involved, not to mention the sheer power of King's personal rhetorical charisma that carried the movement from a few thousand African-American Christian protesters in Montgomery, Alabama to 250,000 people of all ethnicities and faith and the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  The changes in legislation and the implementation of laws that had been allowed to be ignored for a century were a direct result of this movement we are discussing over the next few episodes.     So, let's get started beginning with some terminology that we hear  when it comes to Civil Rights, words that many of us who aren't originally from the South may not be familiar with- for example what are Jim Crow laws.  Who was Jim Crow and what are his laws?    Sure.  Jim Crow was not a real person.   He was a character created by a famous white comedian in the 1850s.    This white comedian painted his face black with charcoal and called himself Jim Crow and did comedy- it's what today we call black face and, of course, is derogatory and highly offensive.  That term later was adopted to refer to the laws that went into effect starting in the 1880s-these laws, of course, are also derogatory and highly offensive- so the term remains appropriate.  They refer to legislation that specifically targeted African-Americans to keep them from upward social mobility and fully participating in American life with the rest of the mostly white population.  Let me remind you that all of this occurred AFTER the end of the Civil War and after the Union troops left the South where they had been forcing Southern cities to integrate against their will under the direction of President Ulysses Grant- this period has been called Reconstruction.  After 1877 Reconstruction ended partly because the North was exhausted from trying to enforce the rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendments. The north abandoned the South and the south will remain a third world part of the country for decades to come.  Jim Crow laws stayed in effect literally all the way until success of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.     Let me give you an example, in 1891, 25 years after the Civil War,Georgia became the first Southern state to pass a Jim Crow law.  The Georgia legislature passed a law that railroads had to provide equal but separate accommodations for black and white passengers.  In other words, the African Americans would not be allowed to sit with the white Americans.  After this first attempt at dividing the races was allowed- there soon were others- there began to be black and white bathrooms, black and white water fountains, hospitals, schools, swimming pools, prisons, barber shops, parks, movie theaters, sports arenas, telephone booths, lunch counters, libraries even graveyards.  In his letter Dr. King refers to these signs as “nagging”- that of course is an understatement.  They were degrading and psychologically damaging.  Racism in the United States during the Jim Crow period was worse than in any other period of history, including today.  There was a famous case, Plessy versus Ferguson in 1896- five years after that first sign in Georgia- that created a legal precedent saying that these laws were okay- The courts said that if the facilities were equal then it was not illegal for people to be separated by race.  This was a blow to African-Americans as well as the railroad industry actually, which didn't want to segregate their railcars.  It was an enormous financial burden- beyond being offensive and unnecessary- they now had to provide two of everything.  But Jim Crow laws went on for years, and of course the facilities were never equal, but even if they had been, the message was still derogatory, and the entire system obviously unjust which caused many advocates of social equality both African-American as well as white to continue to mobilize and advocate for change.  During WW2, President Harry Truman desegregated the US military in 1947,  which was a huge advance in Civil Rights.  Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in professional sports in 1947, but it wasn't until 1954 that there would be another landmark ruling of the Supreme Court that would address this issue.  In 1954, in a case known as Brown versus Topeka Board of Education,  lawyers Richard Ellis and Michael Birzer successfully argued that things were separate but not equal, and in fact, the facilities for black children in schools were always inferior.  In a unanimous decision, the court agreed saying that separate learning facilities were by their very definition unequal and this had a detrimental effect on minority children because it is interpreted as a sign of inferiority.  This was a big deal.  The legal precedent had been set.  This was the finally justice in the courts, but now, how does that play out in classrooms across the country.  Who is going to force almost half the schools in the United States to integrate students of both races?  And when would they be required to make this happen?  In every state in the South, Segregation was actually the law- a school couldn't have been integrated even if they had wanted to.  Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas was the first southern school to even attempt integration in 1957. So, The short answer is -not immediately.    Well, and as Dr. King pointed out in his letter, entire African nations were being decolonized faster than American students were being allowed to integrate in local schools.      And it is here that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rise to national recognition emerges.  At the young age of 26, he is newly married and has recently moved  to accept a job as the pastor of the Dexter Street Baptist Church in the southern town of Montgomery, Alabama.  It would be here that he would meet another seemingly inconspicuous woman but powerful woman by the name of Rosa Parks.  Together, they were about to change their world.     So as we set this up, let's introduce Dr. King's life before entering the political scene in 1956- and let's try to keep the dates straight- that's kind of hard for those of us for whom numbers don't come naturally.  So, Dr. King was born in 1929 in an upper-middle class African-American family in Atlanta, Georgia.  One interesting detail was that his birth name was Michael.     That's right, his father later changed his name to Martin Luther, perhaps because of a trip he made to Germany to study the great theologian who also changed the political landscape of his day during the ProtestantReformation, but that is still slightly speculative.       His father was a very popular Baptist pastor, the pastor of the successful and well-established Ebenezer Baptist Church.  King was privileged to have received a high level of education- likely one of the most educated Southern African-Americans at this time period.  He attended the very elite Morehouse College there in Atl,  and then Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania and finally Boston University.  So, you can see, he had the opportunity to ignore the plight of the majority of African-Americans.  He had job offers at various universities in prestigious locations.  Another important point to notice is that while in Boston he met a rising star vocalist by the name of Coretta Scott, and he fell in love with her.  They got married in 1955.  It wasn't long after that, he took the pastorate in the much smaller town of Montgomery, Alabama and moved their with Coretta and their baby, _______.  Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, btw, is located just a stone's throw from the state capitol building in Montgomery- the heart of state government.  Then, on December 1, 1955, something happened that changed Dr. King's life forever as well as the entire world.  A woman by the name of Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white gentleman on a bus.  She had entered the bus through the front door instead of the back door, as required by those Jim Crow laws.      This hadn't been an accident, the practice of forcing women to give up their seats had been going on for years, and several women protested to no avail, but for the highly and morally reputable Rosa Parks, it would be different.  The national spot light was heading her way- but it wasn't accidental.  This was a highly intentional and strategic play.      Let me go back and say, Dr. King had personal experience with being forced to stand against his will on a bus. When he was in high school, he won a speaking contest in a town 90 miles outside of Atlanta.  He and the teacher who went with him to the contest were riding on a bus back to Atlanta, super excited when white passenger got on.  The white bus driver ordered King and his teacher to give up their seats, and cursed them. King wanted to stay seated, but his teacher urged him to obey the law. They had to stand in the aisle for the 90 miles back home.  King stated later that that was the angriest he had ever felt in his life. If you can imagine.  So, of course he could understand emotionally as well as cognitively what was happening every day in buses in Montgomery, Alabama as well as across the South.   But what do you do?  That's the question.  Later on in Dr. King's life, someone asked him that very question- how do you manage your anger.   I want to quote King here, "A destructive passion is harnessed by directing that same passion into constructive channels."  And that's what he did in this case.   Yes- next very next day, after Park's arrest, on December 2 ministers, including a man by the name of Rev. Ralph Abernathy who would be the one to go to jail with Dr. King, met at King's church to organize and publicize a bus boycott.  Relying in part on Dr. King's eloquence, they mobilized the African-American community almost in full.  On December 5, 90 percent of Montgomery's African-American citizens stayed off the buses.  Dr. King was also elected as the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association or the MIA- the organization spearheading the boycott.  According to Rosa Parks, the reason they chose King to be the president of the MIA was because he was so new to Montgomery, no one knew him.  He had no friends but also no enemies.      The evening that Dr. King spoke at Holt Street Baptist Church,  this is what he said. “I want it to be known that we're going to work with grim and bold determination to gain justice on the buses in this city. And we are not wrong.… If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong”.    And what is striking is that when you see what they were demanding, these demands are not crazy, they are not even unrealistic or difficult to implement.  They wanted courteous treatment by bus operators, first come first serve seating on public buses, and they wanted African-American bus drivers to be hired to work the routes that were in areas where mostly African-Americans were living.  The demands were not met, and the boycott went on for 13 months- now think about that, even in the South, that is a lot of walking in a lot of bad weather for a long time.  And this came at a huge personal cost to the thousands of African-Americans who were working or studying all over Birmingham but living across town in the segregated section for African Americans.  Large complex carpool systems were created of over 300 cars to support the boycotters.  People with cars offered rides to the walkers.  The city government resisting, going so far as to punish African-American taxi drivers for offering rides at reduced rates.  80 leaders of the boycott were jailed under an old law from the twenties for  “conspiracy that interfered with lawful business.”  King himself was tried, convicted and ordered to pay $500 or serve 386 days in jail.  King's house was bombed while he was at church.  On the day of the bombing, King rushed home to see that Coretta and his baby were okay.  This would not be the last big test on his ability to remain non-violent, but it was an important moment in his public career.  Many people were outraged that someone had cowardly tried to murder the family of their leader, and they showed up on his porch with weapons ready to defend King and go after the assailant.  King, although still personally affected, famously and calmly stood on his front porch and told everyone to go home.  The mandate of Jesus was to love their enemies.    So, when he talks about loving your enemies in his letter, he's. not just saying these things.  He lived this idea and practiced it risking his own life, the life of his wife and the lives of his children.  He  believed  so deeply in the life of Jesus Christ in the power of redemptive love through Jesus Christ that he put his life on the line.  A point I want to make because it is something that I have thought about and he speaks to is what to do with the anger.  How do you avoid the inevitable hate that has to emerge in your heart?  I don't care who you are or what your religious faith is- the hate and rage and anger are justifiable and unavoidable.  Of course, I'm not the first person to have this question and Dr. King spoke about that many many times later on during his life.  I'm not sure he had a working theory at the age of 26.  But by the time he was writing books, he did have an articulate vision on how this could work.  For Dr. King, anger was a part of a process.   It IS part of the process.  He said you  have anger then forgiveness then redemption then love.  That was the order.  It is what he believed and that is what he practiced to the best of his ability- although, and he speaks to this honestly in his biographical work, he struggled with anger his whole life.    Well, the Montgomery Boycott as well as King's trial got national new coverage.  A man by the name of Glenn Smiley visited Montgomery and offered King advice and training on Gandhian techniques of nonviolence.  These two men discussed how to apply Ghandian techniques to American race relations.      King later said, ““Christ showed us the way, and Gandhi in India showed it could work”.  King and his team would combine Ghandhi's methods with Christian ethics to create a model for challenging segregation all over the South.    So, follow the chronology- On June 5th, 1956, remember, Parks was arrested on Dec 1st, but by the beginning of June, the federal district court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional.  That's HUGE but not the last word- in the United States, people have a right to go up the chain to the next court to see if a different court will overrule the first one.  Since this was a possibility, The boycott could not nor did not end until December 20, 1956 when the case made its all through the appeal process all the way to the final court- the Supreme Court- when the decision was NOT overturn- then the boycott ended.   The boycott lasted for a total of 381 days, if you can imagine.     And here's a fun side- note- The day after it ended- Ralph Abernathy, Ed Nixon and Glenn Smiley- now let me add that Glenn Smiley is white- but these three men  got on an integrated bus together- for the very first time- how satisfying would that have been.      King famously had this to say about the boycott: “We came to see that, in the long run, it is more honorable to walk in dignity than ride in humiliation. So … we decided to substitute tired feet for tired souls, and walk the streets of Montgomery”.      You can already see that metaphorical language that he's so famous for in both his speaking and writing.      True and speaking of writing, he wrote up his experiences from Montgomery in a book called Stride to Freedom and in 1958, set out on a book tour across the United States.  He wasn't as famous obviously as he would eventually become, but he was a well-known figure.  On September 20, 1958, a 42 year old apparently deranged African-American woman plunged a letter-opener into his chest.      So, Dr. King's methods were not always well-received by either side.     No- Non-violence is controversial because it's obviously unfair.  Why do I have to practice non-violence when the opposing side is not?  It's a fair question and one which King spent his lifetime discussing.  Non-violence is paradoxical – it doesn't seem like it would work.  Its power lies in its ability to contrast so sharply with violence that you strip away any pretense that the violence is justified. It's also very slow.  You have to have a tremendous amount of patience, trust, and stubbornness.       And King was moving forward- but he was absolutely fed up with the pace of the federal court system.   Remember, the courts mandated that schools be integrated in 1954, but still, here they were in 1963, nine years after Brown vs. Board of Education, and only 9% of African-American students were attending integrated schools.      1963 was going to be the year.  1963 was the 100 year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation- the day Lincoln pronounced that slaves were no longer slaves- for Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Fred Abernathy and the thousands of others willing to put their lives on the line- 100 years was enough time- and the chosen place for this confrontation of forces and will would be Birmingham, Alabama.  Garry, why Birmingham?  This was not a coincidence.  This movement was not spontaneous; it did not just blow up.  It was planned and as Julius Caesar would tell you - selecting the location for the confrontation is key to success. is     Well, Dr. King tells us in his writings.  The whole thing was highly orchestrated.  Birmingham was the largest industrial city of the South.  It had been a symbol of bloodshed in the past when African-American trade unions tried to form there.  Because it was an industrial city, the financial interests and the political interests were intertwined.  Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the United States- the entire city was an expression of Jim Crow- from hospitals to schools to parks to jobs to everything.  Brutality towards African-Americans was an undisputed reality headed up by a man who prided on keeping African Americans, to use his words, “in their place.”  His name was Eugene, but this man, the Commissioner of Public Safety went by the nick Name, Bull- Mr. Bull Connor.  Under his reign or leadership depending on how you view his leadership, between 1957-1963 there had been 17 unsolved bombings of African-American churches and homes of Civil Rights leaders.  Bull Connor was so radical that one time a white United States Senator visited Birmingham to give a give a speech and was arrested because he walked through the door marked, “Colored.”  This guy was ruthless, and he ruled both African-Americans and whites alike with fear.  He was accompanied and supported by a segregationist governor- Governor George Wallace who is famous for saying at his inauguration, “Segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!”     Goodness, history likely does not shine favorably on these remarks.      No, nor on any of these defenders of segregation, of which Bull Connor was one of the most publicly vicious, but I will say, Bull Connor played a very important role in disrupting segregation because he played the part of the villain so well and so predictably.  He was the perfect foil.  After it was all over, JFK famously told MLK at the White House following the signing of the Birmingham agreement, “Our judgement of Bull Connor should not be too harsh, after all, in his way, he has done a good deal for civil-rights legislation this year.” Connor was the absolute perfect foil for nonviolent protest.     Meaning, he was so terrible, it became morally obvious to any fool who was right and who was wrong.      Exactly, and after it was all said and done, President Kennedy could say that, but in April of 1963, that was not so obvious.  Bull was on a rampage; he was in control; and he was winning. On the third of April in 1963, segregationist Albert Boutwell became the new mayor of Birmingham.  Mr. Boutwell was a likeable person; he was not like Bull Connor so some people thought he was the better choice.  They were even glad he had won, but in the words of Fred Shuttlesworth, he was nothing but a “dignified Bull Connor.”      Now, you're starting to throw out some names that will show up in the letter.      Yes, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth was one of the local leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama.  Remember, he had been involved in Montgomery.  He had organized an organization called the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, otherwise known as the ACHR.  Now, this becomes important because as we're going to read in a minute, Dr. King is accused of being an outsider and meddling into somebody else's business and starting trouble.  To which he is going to respond that he was invited to come, and Reverend Shuttlesworth is one of the local leaders who had invited him.  All of this becomes very important in understanding the context of the letter.  So, at this time, the ACHR was holding weekly meeting in churches all over Birmingham.  At these meetings they were mobilizing African-Americans to boycott business that displayed jim crow signs, or refused to hire African American workers except as janitorial staff.  As a result, many stores and businessess around town were losing as much as 40% of their business.  Shuttlesworth, became a problem for the status quo, and as a result, he had been jailed, his home AND his church both had been bombed.    In the now famous room 30 of the Gaston hotel, Abernathy and King among others launched what they called “Project C”. The goal was to pressure Birmingham businesses to integrate and remove those horrible Jim Crow signs that said “White Only” or “Colored”.  The intense boycotts and demonstrations were to start on the first week of March and would continue all until April 14, which was Easter and the Easter season is a big season for shopping, especially for clothes.       What is interesting to me, and something I think is lost on a lot of students, is that they didn't just go around and drum up angry people to hold up signs and such, they required them to participate in workshops and daily evening meetings.    Everything that happened in these weekly and later nightly meetings was intentional.   Everything had a purpose.  They would start the mass meetings by singing old negro spirituals they called freedom songs.  These songs were adaptations from the same negro spirituals slaves had sung 100 years previously.  These songs were old and inspirational, they had been transformed from songs of sorrow song by one's great-grandparents to becoming battle hymns.      Singing together is psychologically bonding under any circumstances, but the power of the history of the music as well as the spirituality of the songs is difficult to explain in words.      Every single volunteer was required to sign a commitment card where they would pledge their body and soul to nonviolence in the face of violence.  This was explained in full.  They developed ten commandments.  The first commandment was to daily meditate on the teachings of Jesus Christ.  The 8th was to refrain from violence of fist, tongue or heart.       Yes, the idea was the prepare every person psychologically to expect and withstand abuse.  When they started to march, when they entered a restaurant labled whites only in a to sit-in, when they were arrested, they needed to be prepared to do what they had been trained to do- resist peacefully.  It is counter-intuitive to human nature.  On April 6th, they marched orderly two by two without banners or singing.  Bull Connor, right on cue, emerged and arrested 42 marchers for “parading without a permit”.    And this became the pattern.  After ten days, between 400-500 people were sitting in jail.  Dr. King and Ralph Abernathy decided that on Good Friday, they would lead the demonstration and submit to being arrested, as they most assuredly would be.  They left their church and walked with around 50 others – they had been denied a permit to march, so they were guilty of parading without a permit.  Of course, that day when Dr. King and Rev. Abernathy began walking down the street in Birmingham, Alabama, many bystanders lined the streets.  The marchers began to sing. The bystanders joined in the singing and sometimes burst into applause.  As if on cue, Bull Connor emerged, his officers grabbed Dr. King and Rev. Abernathy by the back of their shirts and hauled them off to jail.  Dr. King was held in solitary confinement for over 24 hours.  Not even a lawyer was allowed to visit with him.  He was not allowed to telephone his wife.  Several violations of civil liberties all at once.    Coretta, by Monday, stressed out of her mind, placed a call to President Kennendy.  It wasn't but a few minutes from her trying to contact the president that his brother Robert Kennedy, who was at that time the Attorney General of the United States,  called her back promising to intervene.  The president called himself a few hours later.  He called the officials in Birmingham, and amazingly the conditions of Dr. King's imprisonment changed significantly.      He was in jail for eight days, and it was during that time, that a public letter was written to him and signed by 8 leading clergyman in Alabama.     Again, these men have their names signed on the wrong side of history and this has to be embarrassing at this point.  But, oh well, they wrote a public letter- and on the surface this letter sounds so reasonable.  It is another example of someone saying something cruel in the nicest way possible.  It is accusatory- in a polite way- and it enrages Dr. King.   We started the podcast today talking about what do you do when you are enraged- really righteously enraged- this is what Dr. King did- he channeled this energy to become this laser-sharp rhetorical monster and it became uncontainable.  Let's read the public letter written by these fellow clergymen, and then let's begin Dr. King's response that changed the world.        What are some of the things we need to highlight- first of all- what are their main points  King is an outsider= he's come from the outside to agitate    They acknowledge that they understand why he might feel impatience, but they are encouraging him to let the system work and not incite unrest.  They should trust the courts.      They go so far as to commend the police- remember that is Bull Connor.    Yes- and this is to a man who's family has been targeted to be murdered and arrested unfairly.      Exactly, before we read his response- let's look at who signed it.      Read the names and where they are from    When Dr. King responds to these ministers- he makes it a point to cite a theologian from each of these specific religious traditions, and may I point out that he does it from memory since he is in a jail cell.    Next week, we will analyze and discuss how he systematically demolishes the specious arguments and challenges on principles of Judeo-Christian faith the inconsistencies in the words and lives of “My Dear fellow clergyman”.    Okay, we have a lot to look forward to.  I hope you have enjoyed this discussion on the background of this important piece of American literature and history.  As always, thank you flr listening, if you feel so inspired, please give us a five star rating on your podcast app.  Connect with us on social media be it fb, insta, twitter or linked in.  Also, if you are an educator, check out our instructional materails on our website. Howtolovelitpodcast.com    Peace Out         

Our Mission Troy University's Rosa Parks Museum is an active memorial to the life of civil rights icon Rosa Parks and the lessons of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that brought racial integration to transportation and international attention to civil rights. Located in downtown Montgomery, Alabama at the site where Mrs. Parks was arrested, it is the nation's only museum dedicated to Rosa Parks. Our mission is to honor her legacy and that of the boycott by providing a platform for scholarly dialogue, civic engagement, and positive social change. The museum's collection contains a number of historically significant artifacts including the original fingerprint arrest record of Mrs. Parks, a 1950s-era Montgomery city bus, original works of art including statuary and quilts, court documents and police reports, as well as a restored 1955 station wagon (known as a "rolling church") used to transport protesters. The Rosa Parks Museum: Collects, preserves, and exhibits artifacts relevant to the life and lessons of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Civil Rights Movement. Provides educational programs and scholarly resources for K-12, adult, and lifelong learners. Reaches diverse audiences through various cultural events, educational programs, and temporary exhibitions designed to raise social consciousness, encourage cultural appreciation and acceptance, and promote peace. Visitor Experience Within the exhibits and artifacts found inside our museum, you'll learn more about the people behind the boycott as well as the political and social climates of 1950s Montgomery. You'll peer into the faces and hear the voices of brave men and women who fought for freedom peacefully and effectively. Through our exhibits, you will catch a glimpse of the segregated South and the injustices faced by African American citizens. You will get an up-close view at the important roles that strategy, interracial partnerships, and women played within the movement. Come witness Rosa Parks' arrest, view a 1955 Montgomery city bus, and learn for yourself how a group of willing men and women led by the Montgomery Improvement Association fueled the resolve of a movement. Visitors will also view a 1956 station wagon used as the basis for an extensive carpooling system. While traveling through time, you'll meet Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and see the mass effect the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Civil Rights Movement had on the world. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/loren-alberts/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/loren-alberts/support

During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, African Americans in refused to ride city buses in a protest against segregated seating. The boycott took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama and was precipitated by the actions of Rosa Parks, when she refused to vacate her seat to a white passenger. The Boycott launched a figure to the centre of public consciousness - Dr. Martin Luther King - who coordinated the action along with the Montgomery Improvement Association. The boycott was ultimately successful in as much as it resulted in the desegregation of City buses. In this episode, the @VersusHistory team discuss the causes, events and consequences of the Boycott. For terms of use, please visit www.versushistory.com

U.S. Supreme Court declares segregation on buses unconstitutional. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus run by the Montgomery Bus Company in Alabama. Asked later how she had the nerve to take such a stand, she replied, “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” A few days later, a court found her guilty of disobeying the segregation laws. This so outraged blacks that on December 5th, the Montgomery Improvement Association urged blacks to boycott the bus system. Authorities expected the protest to last a few days, but it ran for more than a year. Meanwhile, Parks’s case wound its way through the court system until on November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on public buses was unconstitutional in nine states. Even then, despite their tired feet, blacks maintained their resolve and refused to end the boycott until December 21st, when the Supreme Court’s paperwork on the case was complete. Thus, a single act of defiance by one woman led to a legal victory that in turn was a catalyst for the civil rights movement and the hard fought gains that would follow. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Addie Wyatt stands at the intersection of unionism, feminism, and civil rights activism in post-World War II America. In Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality (University of Illinois Press, 2016), Marcia Walker-McWilliams recounts her life within the context of a nation she helped to change. Born in Mississippi, Addie Cameron grew up in Chicago, where despite her skills as a typist she could only find employment on the floor of a meatpacking plant. As a member of the interracial United Packinghouse Workers of America, she soon moved full time into union work, organizing workers and fighting for their rights. In her capacity as a union official she began a lifelong participation in the civil rights movement by raising funds on behalf of Montgomery Improvement Association during the 1955 bus boycott campaign, and in the 1970s formed coalitions designed to promote African American and female participation in the labor movement. As Walker-McWilliams demonstrates, throughout the many struggles she undertook Addie Wyatt's faith was an important constant, providing her with a set of values and a source of emotional strength that helped her to persevere against the difficulties she faced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Addie Wyatt stands at the intersection of unionism, feminism, and civil rights activism in post-World War II America. In Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality (University of Illinois Press, 2016), Marcia Walker-McWilliams recounts her life within the context of a nation she helped to change. Born in Mississippi, Addie Cameron grew up in Chicago, where despite her skills as a typist she could only find employment on the floor of a meatpacking plant. As a member of the interracial United Packinghouse Workers of America, she soon moved full time into union work, organizing workers and fighting for their rights. In her capacity as a union official she began a lifelong participation in the civil rights movement by raising funds on behalf of Montgomery Improvement Association during the 1955 bus boycott campaign, and in the 1970s formed coalitions designed to promote African American and female participation in the labor movement. As Walker-McWilliams demonstrates, throughout the many struggles she undertook Addie Wyatt’s faith was an important constant, providing her with a set of values and a source of emotional strength that helped her to persevere against the difficulties she faced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Addie Wyatt stands at the intersection of unionism, feminism, and civil rights activism in post-World War II America. In Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality (University of Illinois Press, 2016), Marcia Walker-McWilliams recounts her life within the context of a nation she helped to change. Born in Mississippi, Addie Cameron grew up in Chicago, where despite her skills as a typist she could only find employment on the floor of a meatpacking plant. As a member of the interracial United Packinghouse Workers of America, she soon moved full time into union work, organizing workers and fighting for their rights. In her capacity as a union official she began a lifelong participation in the civil rights movement by raising funds on behalf of Montgomery Improvement Association during the 1955 bus boycott campaign, and in the 1970s formed coalitions designed to promote African American and female participation in the labor movement. As Walker-McWilliams demonstrates, throughout the many struggles she undertook Addie Wyatt’s faith was an important constant, providing her with a set of values and a source of emotional strength that helped her to persevere against the difficulties she faced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Addie Wyatt stands at the intersection of unionism, feminism, and civil rights activism in post-World War II America. In Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality (University of Illinois Press, 2016), Marcia Walker-McWilliams recounts her life within the context of a nation she helped to change. Born in Mississippi, Addie Cameron grew up in Chicago, where despite her skills as a typist she could only find employment on the floor of a meatpacking plant. As a member of the interracial United Packinghouse Workers of America, she soon moved full time into union work, organizing workers and fighting for their rights. In her capacity as a union official she began a lifelong participation in the civil rights movement by raising funds on behalf of Montgomery Improvement Association during the 1955 bus boycott campaign, and in the 1970s formed coalitions designed to promote African American and female participation in the labor movement. As Walker-McWilliams demonstrates, throughout the many struggles she undertook Addie Wyatt’s faith was an important constant, providing her with a set of values and a source of emotional strength that helped her to persevere against the difficulties she faced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Addie Wyatt stands at the intersection of unionism, feminism, and civil rights activism in post-World War II America. In Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality (University of Illinois Press, 2016), Marcia Walker-McWilliams recounts her life within the context of a nation she helped to change. Born in Mississippi, Addie Cameron grew up in Chicago, where despite her skills as a typist she could only find employment on the floor of a meatpacking plant. As a member of the interracial United Packinghouse Workers of America, she soon moved full time into union work, organizing workers and fighting for their rights. In her capacity as a union official she began a lifelong participation in the civil rights movement by raising funds on behalf of Montgomery Improvement Association during the 1955 bus boycott campaign, and in the 1970s formed coalitions designed to promote African American and female participation in the labor movement. As Walker-McWilliams demonstrates, throughout the many struggles she undertook Addie Wyatt’s faith was an important constant, providing her with a set of values and a source of emotional strength that helped her to persevere against the difficulties she faced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Addie Wyatt stands at the intersection of unionism, feminism, and civil rights activism in post-World War II America. In Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality (University of Illinois Press, 2016), Marcia Walker-McWilliams recounts her life within the context of a nation she helped to change. Born in Mississippi, Addie Cameron grew up in Chicago, where despite her skills as a typist she could only find employment on the floor of a meatpacking plant. As a member of the interracial United Packinghouse Workers of America, she soon moved full time into union work, organizing workers and fighting for their rights. In her capacity as a union official she began a lifelong participation in the civil rights movement by raising funds on behalf of Montgomery Improvement Association during the 1955 bus boycott campaign, and in the 1970s formed coalitions designed to promote African American and female participation in the labor movement. As Walker-McWilliams demonstrates, throughout the many struggles she undertook Addie Wyatt’s faith was an important constant, providing her with a set of values and a source of emotional strength that helped her to persevere against the difficulties she faced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Addie Wyatt stands at the intersection of unionism, feminism, and civil rights activism in post-World War II America. In Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality (University of Illinois Press, 2016), Marcia Walker-McWilliams recounts her life within the context of a nation she helped to change. Born in Mississippi, Addie Cameron grew up in Chicago, where despite her skills as a typist she could only find employment on the floor of a meatpacking plant. As a member of the interracial United Packinghouse Workers of America, she soon moved full time into union work, organizing workers and fighting for their rights. In her capacity as a union official she began a lifelong participation in the civil rights movement by raising funds on behalf of Montgomery Improvement Association during the 1955 bus boycott campaign, and in the 1970s formed coalitions designed to promote African American and female participation in the labor movement. As Walker-McWilliams demonstrates, throughout the many struggles she undertook Addie Wyatt's faith was an important constant, providing her with a set of values and a source of emotional strength that helped her to persevere against the difficulties she faced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated.Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. A bright student, he skipped grades nine and 12 and entered college at age 15. He graduated with a bachelor of arts, a bachelor of divinity, and a Ph.D. in theology by 1955, not to mention many awards and recognition from fellow students. During his studies, at the age of only 19, King was ordained as a Baptist minister at the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1953, he married Coretta Scott and they raised four children while he became increasingly involved in promoting rights for black Americans. While not the only black activist at the time, King was often seen as the face and voice of liberation for blacks. He was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the group responsible for the Montgomery bus boycott in the mid-1950s. His involvement with the civil rights movement got him arrested 30 times, never deterring him from his writing, speeches and protests, which garnered him the Nobel Peace prize in 1964.Four years later, on April 3, 1968, King delivered a speech that mentioned threats on his life. “But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop and I don’t mind… I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”The next morning, on April 4, 1968, King was killed by an assassin while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

History is Power: The Civil Rights Movement   Welcome back to robinlofton.com where we are remembering history and we’re making history!  Today, we are continuing with next part of our History is Power Lecture series.  Today’s lecture is about Civil Rights but let’s back up for a moment for those who are just joining us or to refresh our memory.   Remember, we began by asking why it is important to know African American history. I think that the legendary Jackie Robinson answered that question by encouraging us to believe in fairy tales. Remember on his first day playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, he almost could not believe it because he thought that an African American might not ever play in the major leagues and he thought that he would never be the first to do so.  But they did and he was the first. So, he says that he believes in fairy tales…that fairy tales do come true because it happened to him. At the end of the first lecture, we concluded that if it could happen to him, then it can happen to you, too. We learn history for inspiration, insight, the success stories, the struggles, and the knowledge that nothing can stop you, but you.   In the second History is Power! lecture called “Coming to America,” we studied how the ancestors of most African Americans came to America. We discussed the terrible and violent institution of slavery and how it affected our families, culture and traditions. We also discussed the movement to abolish slavery.  The great orator, author, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass gave us insight into how slaves were deprived of the most basic rights and dignity and how, even at an early age, he knew that this was indecent and wrong. We also heard from a former librarian of congress who reminded us that “trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers.”  Slavery is one part of African American history and, we can choose to feel pride and strength that our ancestors fought, struggled, and endured so that we could live and thrive.    So far, in our history is power lecture series, we have learned to believe in fairy tales and that we must never plant cut flowers.   I hope that you will listen to those previous lectures if you have not done so already or just feel free to listen to them again if you need a review or a bit of inspiration. And please leave your comments, experiences, or questions about these topics. We have a great community at robinlofton.com and everyone is welcome.   So, what’s next?   The fight for freedom (abolition of slavery) was the first step.  The next step was the struggle for equality.  So, here is where we examine the Civil Rights Movement. By the way, in the first lecture, I said that we would examine roughly 400 years of African American history (from the time when the first Black person arrived in the American colonies to the present day). I’m sure that some of you made a heavy sigh and thought that this would be a long and tedious series. But—surprise, surprise!—we have already completed about 350 years of African American history!    I’m sure that most people—young and old—have some knowledge of the civil rights movement. That’s great! But I’m going to try to expand the modern (or understood) notion of civil rights and the African American struggle for equality. It has not been an easy road; it has been a road with bumps, twists, and turns but it was always headed in the same direction: equality. The road was lined with hardships, disappointment, struggle, and violence but it was the road that needed to be taken.   Following the abolition of slavery in (what year? Great! 1865), African Americans worked to establish a strong foundation for themselves and their families.  Yes, it’s true that some former slaves left the United States and moved back to Africa. However, most former slaves had been in the United States for generations and therefore chose to stay. Also, it was a land of great opportunity and resources.   Still, even though slavery was abolished, Blacks were still not considered equal in the eyes of the law or the eyes of their fellow Americans.  Remember that many people who opposed slavery did not envision Whites and Blacks as living together in peaceful harmony. And they did not want Blacks to have rights equal to white Americans, including the right to vote, receive an education or full citizenship rights.  Blacks were considered lower-class citizens.  You see, freedom was just the first step, it was a huge and essential step, but it was just the beginning.   But you might be asking now: why did people wait until the 1960s to start fighting for equality?                                                                           Great question. My answer:  They didn’t wait.   African Americans and others started fighting for civil rights immediately after the abolition of slavery. (In fact, one might well argue that abolition was the first fight for civil rights!) Who were these people or groups fighting for civil rights?   There were so many that they can’t all be named here, but I do want to name a few. Some names might be familiar—I hope they’re familiar--but they might not typically be associated with civil rights. Others might be completely new—and that’s okay too—we’re here to learn.     National Negro Convention. Founded in 1830, the very first National Negro Convention met for five days in Philadelphia to “devise ways and means for bettering of our condition,” and to fight oppression and promote universal education. This is very interesting because slavery was still legal at that time (1830) and yet these free African Americans were pursuing ways to improve the Black condition in the United States. Following abolition of slavery, the conventions focused on voting rights, fair employment, education, citizenship rights, and the repeal of laws that discriminated against African Americans.  This was an early version—or a precursor—to the modern civil rights movement.   Have you heard of Ida B. Wells?   Born in 1862, Ida B. Wells was a courageous and bold civil rights leader, a hardworking editor, and a passionate speaker and writer.  She fought against the practice of lynching. In this way, Ida B. Wells analyzed the reasons and effects of lynching with depth and insight.  She founded a newspaper and wrote a groundbreaking book about lynching called: Southern Horrors: Lynching Law in All Its Phases, which was the first real research done on that terrible practice.  Ida B. Wells concluded that armed resistance was the only defense against lynching.    She was also a suffragette and worked hard for the rights of mothers in the workplace.  A little known fact about her was that she was the first African American to win monetary damages in court.  Just a quick story about it: On a trip to Ohio in 1885, Ida B. Wells was told to give up her seat on a train and move to the smoking car. She refused and was physically dragged by three men to a car for “colored” people. She later sued and was awarded $500. However, the appeals court reversed the decision. That doesn’t matter; she was bold enough to stand up to the injustice and to fight in the courts.  Ida B. Wells was a strong leader in the early movement for civil rights—for African Americans and for women.   Carter G. Woodson. Is his name familiar? He founded Black History Month. Let’s back up. Born in 1875, Dr. Woodson was the son of former slaves.  He was always interested in learning and, in 1912, he became the second Black person to receive a doctorate from Harvard University. (WEB Dubois was the first.) His focus was on African American history. He wanted people to recognize the contributions of African Americans but realized that this was never taught or even acknowledged. He started National Negro Week in 1926. This was later expanded to the entire month of February. He also founded the Association of African American Life and History, which is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year. He wrote more than a dozen books, most notably the iconic Mis-education of the Negro, which is still relevant and useful even today. His contributions and continuous commitment to teaching and spreading African American history and culture in the United States have made these subjects essential parts of educational curricula throughout the country. For this reason, he is known as the father of Black History.  He was certainly one of the important leaders in the early civil rights movement.   Another icon in education was Mary MacLeod Bethune who was super-charged to make sure every child received an education. She founded an innovative school for African American girls. The girls worked hard in this school, which opened at 5:30 every day and closed at 9:00 every night. And Mary Macleod Bethune taught there every day. She eventually founded Bethune-Cookman University.  In 1935, Mary Macleod Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women, which was the first organization focused on the rights and needs of black women. She tirelessly fought for equality in education, voting rights, and for equal rights for women in the armed forces.   Writers also helped to propel the early civil rights movement—often by helping us to see our world in a new and different way. Richard Wright wrote Black Boy in 1945, which compared and critiqued the black experience in the North and South. The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison illustrated the social and intellectual issues facing African Americans in the early 20th century. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin took a unique approach to comparing the lives and experiences of blacks and whites in the Deep South in the 1950s.  And we can never forget one of the most important books in American literature, Their Eyes were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston who bravely told her story with beauty, wit and wisdom. That book changed everyone who read it.   But it was not until the 1950s that the modern civil rights movement took form and leadership.  Some people say that one event in particular started the civil rights movement: the lynching of young Emmett Till in August 1955.  In fact, this terrible event brought national awareness to the horrors of lynching (words from Ida B. Wells). And the fact that it happened to a child (Emmett was only 14 years old) made it particularly reprehensible. Lynchings were occurring at an alarming rate for over a century. Remember this is what Ida B. Wells was fighting for so long.   Other injustices and degradations were occurring on a regular and consistent basis.  An organized movement was nearly inevitable. As Blacks moved away from the gripping oppression and violence of the Southern states and became educated, organized and more financially stable, the movement toward civil rights evolved.         This movement happened on two equally important fronts:   Passive resistance by group efforts—marches, protests, demonstrations, boycotts, sit-ins and stand-ins.   The second front we will cover in the next podcast: Law (new laws like the Civil Rights Act) and landmark Supreme Court cases like Brown v. Board of Education. But those are for the next podcast.   Let’s take a quick look at the first two approaches to the fight for equality.   Passive Resistance.  This term and approach were made famous by Mahatma Gandhi.  Passive Resistance or Civil Disobedience was used quite effectively in the fight for civil rights in America.  This is probably the “front” that most people remember when thinking of the civil rights movement. And the Southern Christian Leadership Council (the SCLC, founded  in 1957) with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. as its first president was at the forefront of this peaceful movement.  It used marches, protests, demonstrations, boycotts, sit-ins and many other “disobedient” actions.    One effective approach involved boycotts.  One of the most effective boycotts took place in Montgomery, Alabama. This was the famous Montgomery Bus boycott, which started on December 5, 1955. This was an immediate response to the arrest of Rosa Parks who had refused to give up her seat to a white person on a bus. Led by the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association (a precursor to the SCLC), the boycott lasted 381 days. To help with transportation, churches rented cars, station wagons and other vehicles to take people to work, home and school. Carpools became the norm.  The boycott put enormous economic pressure on the Montgomery bus system, which finally agreed to end segregation on its buses. And the U.S. Court of Appeals also invalidated segregation on all buses in Alabama in Browder v. Gayle—we’ll discuss that next time.   Boycotts were used throughout the Civil Rights Movement to put economic pressure on companies or stores to change their unfair and unequal rules and practices. They were difficult but effective. The Montgomery bus boycott took the movement to a new level of depth and organization. The modern Civil Rights Movement had begun!   Another effective tool used in the modern Civil Rights Movement—made possible with newly-organized efforts and clear goals--were marches and protests. The March on Washington is one of the most famous marches in US history. It was held on August 28, 1963.  Did you know full name of this march was the March on Washington for jobs and freedom? The march was designed to focus national attention on racial equality and to pressure the president and Congress to pass a Civil Rights law. It was the largest protest march in the country up to that time, with more than 250,000 people (both Black and White) joining the march. It involved entertainers, performances, and speakers of whom the most famous was Dr. King who gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. After the march, civil rights leaders met with a previously reluctant President Kennedy who finally promised to push for anti-discrimination legislation. It was actually President Johnson who signed the Civil Rights Act, but we’ll discuss that next time.               There were many marches that occurred during this period. The last two marches that we’ll discuss today were focused on voting rights in Dallas County, Alabama. No not Texas, but Alabama.  This area was part of what was called the Black Belt.  Many white residents strongly (sometimes violently) resisted voter registration by African Americans in that region. Violence, intimidation and threats were used to prevent blacks from registering to vote. Because of these tactics, only 1 percent of blacks were registered to vote in that Dallas County. Selma was the seat of Dallas County so that was where the marches and protests were focused.   The SCLC and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (or SNCC) that was founded in 1960 with Marion Barry as its first president organized voter registration campaigns and marches in Selma.  There were a series of marches in January and February of 1965. During one of the marches, Jimmy Lee Jackson, who was peacefully participating, was shot and killed by an Alabama State Trooper.   On March 7, the SCLC and SNCC organized a march to publicize and protest his killing by the state trooper. This became the infamous bloody Sunday march. Alabama state troopers and local law enforcement officers demanded that the 600 protesters immediately disband. When they refused, the troopers attacked with tear gas, billy clubs, dogs, and hoses. More than 50 marchers were seriously injured or hospitalized. This tragic event was televised and has become an iconic view of the southern response of the civil rights movement. But that was not the end of the story in Selma.   Another very important march started two weeks later. It was a 5-day, 50-mile march from Selma to Montgomery. The goal was to promote and secure voting rights for African Americans, the passage of a voting rights act. More than 8,000 people participated in this march, which peacefully arrived in Montgomery on March 25. The Voting Rights Act was passed 5 months later. More information on that next time.   Sit-ins and stand-ins were another effective and sometimes dangerous approach to challenging unfair store policies that would not allow Blacks to sit or be served at lunch counters. How did sit-ins work?  A group of African Americans would fill all the seats at a lunch counter and ask to be served. The store would refuse to serve them. However, they would remain seated there for hours—usually until the store closed. The protesters (people who were engaged in the sit-in) would be subjected to physical, verbal abuse and threats. Hot coffee would be thrown on them; food, water and other items would be thrown at them.  Many times, the protesters were arrested. They were quickly replaced at the lunch counter by more protesters.   These sit-ins took place at stores like Woolworths that refused to serve Black people.  Stand-ins were equally effective against movie theatres that wouldn’t allow African Americans to buy tickets to the movie.  Blacks would stand in line in large numbers and ask to buy tickets. After they were denied, they would get into line again and request a ticket. Eventually, stores and movie theatres changed their policies and started patronizing African Americans but it was a dangerous and difficult time. The brave protesters (who were often high school or college students) were persistent in their pursuit of equal treatment in public facilities.   One of the first sit-ins was held in Oklahoma City in 1958 where NAACP Youth Council members sat at the “whites only” restaurant counters. They were served without incident or publicity. But, unfortunately, all sit-ins did not achieve these immediate results or end without violence.   The first sit-in movement to achieve widespread results was initiated on February 1, 1960 by four Black students who sought service at a Woolworth’s “whites only” lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. The sit-in gained momentum and within 10 days had spread to 15 cities in five states. On March 16, the city of San Antonio became the first southern city to integrate its lunch counters as a result of this movement.    Finally, let’s end this section with a brief look at the Freedom rides, which actually began in 1947.  The freedom rides tested segregation in busing and interstate travel. In that year, the rides were testing the implementation of a Supreme Court decision that had prohibited segregated seating on buses travelling among the states. Twelve people were arrested in Virginia and North Carolina but later released. This outcome occurred on other freedom rides through the southern states but they also turned violent in some cases. On May 4, 1960, another interracial group of freedom riders boarded public buses in Washington, DC heading through the south to New Orleans. When they reached Alabama, the violence began. One bus was firebombed in Anniston, Alabama. Another bus was attacked by a mob of whites in front of the sheriff’s office that didn’t provide any protection to the riders. Upon arriving in Montgomery, Alabama, the riders were viciously attacked by hundreds of whites.  President Kennedy sent federal marshals and Governor Patterson declared martial law. After long negotiations between the president and Mississippi senator James Eastland, the freedom riders were arrested in Jackson. More riders arrived and they continued to be arrested. Hundreds of freedom riders were jailed during that summer. In the fall of that year, a final ruling was issued that outlawed segregation in interstate travel.  The freedom riders risked a lot but they eventually won the battle. We all won.   There is so much more to say about the marches, boycotts, sit-ins and stand-ins but we’ve covered a lot in this podcast. We have to save something for the next podcast.   While the marches and protests were extremely effective, their ultimate goal was to change the laws that permitted unequal treatment and segregation. And the laws did change. Old laws were thrown out and new laws were created.  The Supreme Court was at the front of this legal change.  But groups like the NAACP and the ACLU were the real visionaries of this part of the movement.   Remember segregation was still the norm in much of the country. “No Coloreds” and “Whites Only” signs were legal and enforced.  Schools were segregated. Housing was segregated. Resources, jobs, funds, facilities were segregated.  Everything was separate yet it was not equal.   In my next podcast, we will how segregation was dismantled through the law and the important players in this critical step towards equality like the NAACP, the Supreme Court, and even the U.S. president or two.   I hope that you will join me for that incredibly important and (I promise!) interesting podcast.  The Civil Rights Movement was definitely an exciting time in US history.  It seems like the people at the time were either on their best game or at their most evil. We know how that story ends. Lots of great things happened for the country. But lots of good people also died. It showed that dreams really can come true.   Please remember to contact me at robinlofton.com. I want your comments, questions, and thoughts.  And you can also find those books that I mentioned at the online store. They are definitely worth reading, I promise!    See you soon at robinlofton.com where we are remembering history and we’re making it!