BDC CH. 9 Flashcards
What were common protest practices by blacks in the South?
most were non-violent/indirect
- refused to ride segregated buses
- chose to walk to their destinations instead
(RC)
Who was WW Kerr?
light-skinned postman
- head of the National Alliance of Postal Employees (NAPE)
- berated by whites for sitting in white section of bus
- refused to ever move
- thought segregation didn’t belong in the law
(HBRT)
What brought the struggle for civil rights out into the open?
self sufficiency of black middle class
- reinforced by black working class orgs.
What was the reputation of the NAACP in the 1930s in the black community?
- elitist institution dominated by wealthy businessmen/professionals
- run as a closed corporation
- had failed to gain support from the masses
(ERH)
How was the criticism of the NAACP in the 30s somewhat unwarranted?
many didn’t understand how hard black middle/upper class worked to keep NAACP alive
- Southern branch leaders needed to be economically independent of whites to operate openly
- why branch officers were in high paying fields
- found it hard to appeal to lower class + made little effort to do so
(SWF)
How did the radical tide of the late 1930s affect the NAACP?
resurgence of labor unions + rise of CIO + agitation of Communist Party + public opinion moving left
- Young Turks began joining the NAACP to wrest control from “Old Guard”
- pressed for more open decision making + expansion of membership + closer labor relations + black lawyers
(YP)
How did black postal workers in the South affect the NAACP?
comprised the aristocracy of black labor
- enjoyed level of prestige/job security in black community
- unique among black workers (federal laws protected them from many discriminatory practices)
- Post Office jobs highly prized (attracted some of the most educated blacks)
- were leaders of many of largest Southern NAACP branches by 1940 (Norfolk + Mobile + New Orleans)
(EUPW)
What events happened in 1911 that affected black postal workers?
white postal union (Railway Mail Association) adopted “white-only clause”
- President Wilson tried to impose segregation on civil service jobs shortly after
- NAPE opposed these discriminatory acts
- NAPE went from only representing elite mail carriers to expanding membership to mailmen of all grades (1923)
- NAPE supported NAACP from the start
(PNNN)
What was the response by NAACP local branch leaders to organizing labor?
often hostile to it
- rise of organized labor entailed direct conflict between black workers + black employers
- 1935 = strike by workers of Harlem’s Amsterdam Star News (1st open work dispute between blacks)
- many local branch leaders were openly anti-union (Dallas + Detroit + New Orleans)
(RNM)
What events led to a large divide in the New Orleans branch of the NAACP?
- 1940 = insurance agents in New Orleans joined CIO union
- struck the four largest black owned insurance companies
NS
How were the national leaders of the NAACP aiding in giving more voice to working class?
national leaders determined to inc. membership
- ensured joining NAACP was simple/cheap
- chartered Youth Councils that functioned alongside local branches
- applauded labor militancy of the 1930s
- knew unions both secured material benefits for blacks + provided another angle for discrimination attack
(ECAK)
How did the NAACP inadvertently benefit from the Communist Party’s 1935 decision to cooperate w/ reformist organizations?
- communist influenced unions helped boost NAACP membership
How had the NAACP changed by 1940?
was no longer a strictly middle class org.
- middle class still remained influential but leadership now included working class
What major event in 1941 symbolized the new alliance between the NAACP + organized labor?
- Walter White traveled to Detroit to support UAW strike against Ford
- intervention helped UAW secure victory
(WI)
What had happened to black labor by the time of Pearl Harbor?
were organizing more than ever before
- thousands had gone on strike
- black teachers worked w/ NAACP to gain equal salaries
- black newspapers inc. in circulation
- A Phillip Randolph March on Washington secured Executive Order 8802
(TBBA)
How did blacks perceive the start of the US intervention in WWII?
saw it as a great opportunity to press claim for equal citizenship
- still bitter about false promises from WWI
- saw it as a war against racial discrimination + fascism
- felt the worst thing they could make it set aside their grievances for the duration of the war
(SSF)
What was the actual affect of WWII on the black community?
led to sharp inc. in racial tension + did little to address causes of the tensions
- majority of Southern whites resisted notion racial segregation is incompatible w/ US war aims
- whites defended Jim Crow w/ determination
- whites in the South could still overwhelm blacks
- whites in South controlled entire political system
(MWWW)
How did whites respond to the establishment of the Fair Employment Practices Committee in 1941?
committee hated by Southern whites as much as overseas enemies
- Executive Order 8802 ran into storm of white backlash
- Alabama Governor Dixon described FEPC as kangaroo court designed to destroy segregation
- Shreveport mayor refused federal aid for a health center b/c of the black employment requirements w/ it
(EAS)
How did Southern employers respond to the requirements of the FEPC?
most just ignored them
- insisted blacks fit only for certain low income jobs
- whites would never stand presence of blacks in the same grade
- predicted strikes/violence to come if blacks worked alongside whites
- saw job equality as impractical + utopian
(IWPS)
How was the FEPC hamstrung from the start?
has little support from the Roosevelt administration
- committee could investigate/report but had no power to enforce recommendations
What was the 1941 Birmingham incident that exposed the weakness of the FEPC?
FEPC chairman Mark Ethridge vs black member Earl Dickerson
- Ethridge told Dickerson to go away during the hearing after all the white newspaper criticism
- Ethridge appealed to segregation saying the FEPC had no intention of getting rid of it
- said blacks must recognize no power could force Southern whites to abandon segregation
(EES)
What happened to the FEPC following the Birmingham Hearing?
- Ethridge resigned
- Roosevelt downgraded FEPC by placing it under War Manpower Commission
- head of WMC indefinitely postponed the FEPC’s proposed investigation of railroad industry
(ERH)
What did the FEPC following the actions of the Roosevelt administration?
kept pressing on
- reorganized + held more hearings
- industrial employers reluctantly began hiring more blacks as production workers
- pressure from FEPC led Ford to finally employ black women + upgraded black men to assembly lines
(RIP)
What were FEPC actions in the South causing?
ignited white violence
- May 23, 1943 = Alabama Dry Dock Company appoints first black welders
- neglected to inform white employees resulting in mass violence (required army to quell violence)
(MN)
How did Southern industrial employers respond to the inc. in FEPC action for black employment?
fought against it heavily
- state officials in US Employment Service did utmost to deny black industrial training
- whites wanted blacks to remain in the fields + kitchen
(SW)
What was the industrial training situation in New Iberia, Louisiana?
- local NAACP chapter complained of no welding classes for blacks
- white deputies on school superintendent + sheriff orders arrested/expelled NAACP leaders
- FBI investigation led “nowhere”
(LWF)
What were the laws that were reinforced on blacks during WWII?
work or fight laws
- blacks fined for loitering + vagrancy
- police would scour bars + dispatch occupants to cane/cotton fields
- best “sharecroppers” often exempted from draft boards in Southern States
(BPB)
What was the black response to the repressive actions to keep them from industrial work?
kept pushing
- black women deserted domestic service in droves
- black men left cotton fields
(BB)
What did the 1946 Democrats succeed in doing?
- succeeded in strangling FEPC
What did wartime upheaval allow blacks to do?
challenge “normality” of segregation
- gov. attacked master race ideology of fascism + defined American democracy as inclusive/tolerant
- gov. propaganda celebrated melting pot
(GG)
What did black organizations do w/in the armed forces?
pressed hard for equality
- viewed military as key institution in American life
- military = direct expression of the people
- ending racial discrimination in the armed forces would have powerful effect on civil society
- if blacks made an equal contribution to the war effort their claim to full citizenship would strengthen
(VMEI)
What was the feeling of the military on equal treatment prior to the war?
gave no hint of treating them better
- 1939 = 3600 black soldiers/5 officers total + segregated regimes + were less than 2% of soldiers
- Navy employed blacks only in non-combat/industrial roles
- Marines/Army excluded blacks altogether
- military leaders had no change in this position at the start of the war
(NNMM)
How did the Roosevelt administration react to black agitation of discrimination in the armed services?
enunciated policy of non-discrimination
- 1940= required army to implement “balanced force” principle
- ensured that # of black soldiers reflected proportion of blacks in overall pop. (10%)
- army started training black officers + pilots
- also pressed the Navy to assign blacks to sailor posts
(NEAA)
What action did Roosevelt take to gain even more black support in the armed services?
- promoted Benjamin O Davis to the rank of brigadier general
- became highest ranking black officer in the nation
- also appointed William Hastie to an adviser on Negro Affairs in the War Department
(PBA)
What actions did Congress take to fight military discrimination?
- stipulated voluntary enlistment + conscription + training be carried out w/o discrimination
How did blacks respond to the measures made by Roosevelt + Congress to reduce armed service discrimination?
intensified their awareness + resentment of racial discrimination in the military
- both military/gov. continued to defend racial segregation
- war placed certain institutions under such strain that segregation became unworkable/intolerable
(BW)
What feeling did discrimination in the armed services invoke in blacks?
aroused more black anger than any other issue
- military dominated by Southern white leadership
- did its best to treat black servicemen as inferior + minimize Roosevelt policies
- half of black soldiers were assigned to combat duty as were white soldiers (said most blacks lacked intellect)
(MDH)
How did the Army mainly support their discriminatory practices towards blacks?
emphasized poor scores of blacks on aptitude test
- rarely referred to systematic discrimination that made black schools in the South so poor
What vicious cycle did the policy of segregation produce?
produced poor morale which led to poor discipline + poor performance
- off-base discrimination compounded the problem
- most military bases located in South w/ blacks required to obey Jim Crow
- Northern black soldiers enraged (not used to Jim Crow)
- Jim Crow even brought to bases abroad
(OMNJ)
What did segregation + discrimination ignite in the military?
a rash of violence
- black soldiers challenged white store owners/officers
- Camp Stewart Georgia = black soldiers fired on military policemen injuring four
- Camp Clairborne Louisiana = violent rampage led to 14 black court marshalls + 1 death sentence
(BCC)
What added fuel to the fire of violence in the military due to discrimination?
resentment to draconian punishments
- Louisiana = court martial imposed death sentences on 3 black soldiers for alleged rape
- NAACP mounted successful campaign to save black soldiers lives (pardoned in 1947)
(LN)
What highlighted the segregation issue in public transportation?
arguments between black soldiers vs white bus drivers
- transit systems had unprecedented demand following Depression
- soldiers + workers were flooding cities + rationing drastically dec. # of private cars
- tempers flared between white/black passengers
- blacks more defiant than ever against giving up seat for whites
(TSTB)
What was the effect on the NAACP w/ the inc. resistance to segregated public transport?
black servicemen joined NAACP in droves
- were receiving countless angry letters from blacks complaining against bus companies
What did segregation on public transport represent?
was a litmus test for racial progress
- the most blatant/humiliating part of Jim Crow
- was an enormous stumbling block since white opinions seemed unwavering
(TW)
What illustrated the problem that blacks faced in getting rid of Jim Crow?
failure of Southern white liberals to contemplate even the gradual elimination of Jim Crow
- even most enlightened supporters of interracial movement saw segregation as “too hot to handle”
- white supporters argued segregation couldn’t be fixed until race relations improved
- white supporters said any challenge to segregation would worsen relations
(EWW)
What support from the federal government did blacks have on the segregation issue?
very little
- Roosevelt administration did not want to use war asa pretext to challenging white supremacy in South
- President Roosevelt never showed much interest in the race issue
- domestic reform became low priority once war started
- Roosevelt annoyed by black press (told Attorney General to prosecute editors guilty of sedition)
(RPDR)
Why was Roosevelt so careful as to not challenge race question too much?
large part of voting bloc was Southern whites
- Southern Democrats secured balance of power in Congress + used position to reassert white supremacy
- gutted most radical New Deal policies + tried to purge gov. of left wingers/liberals
- blocked every congressional initiative to extend vote to blacks in the South
- poll tax abolishment + servicemen absentee voting bills fell to Southern opposition
- South Democrats had stranglehold on gov.
(SGBPS)
What effect did the South’s stranglehold on the federal government have on Roosevelt?
black militancy posed less threat than white backlash
- never a question as to whether the federal gov. would ever oppose segregation
- FDR’s race adviser was staunch segregationist
- warned FDR that any federal action for black enfranchisement would cost him Southern support
(NFW)
What else did Roosevelt know would happen if he were to take civil rights action?
would arouse white resentment in the South as well
- influx of black migrants to Northern cities made whites determined to maintain housing segregation
- restrictive covenants applied to 9/10 of all housing in Chicago
- racial tensions had already sparked serious violence in the North (Fort Dix soldier incident)
(IRR)
How had black demographics changed by 1944?
third of black pop. now in the North
- black vote in North still too small to carry much weight
- black vote in South still nonexistent
- FDR knew whites were his voting base so he refused to upset them
(BBF)
What was the top priority for blacks if they were going to progress on racial equality?
ending disenfranchisement in the South
- mass of blacks during peak of white supremacy knew trying to vote was futile
- blacks rarely even attempted to register to vote in the South
(MB)
How did blacks show they never abandoned politics even w/ disenfranchisement in the South?
- few pockets of black voting still survived
- blacks still voting in border states like Maryland/Kentucky
- handful of Southern blacks had relationships w/ Republican presidents in 20s (gave them political clout)
(BH)
What actions did blacks take in the 20s to try to obtain the ballot?
- black clubwomen in NC mounted voter registration drive after passing of 19th Amendment
- civic leaders sprang up in major cities encouraging blacks to pay poll taxes than attempt to register
- blacks still being able to vote was still out of reach though
(BCB)
What happened in the 1930s in terms of black voting?
black interest in voting inc.
- New Deal poured federal $$$ into the South
- made gov. much more active in lives of everyday people
- Roosevelt looking out for the common man deepened everyones interest in politics
(NMR)
How did the meaning of voting change during the 30s for blacks?
no longer just a matter of political patronage
- was about work for the jobless + helping farmers
- about clinics for the poor + scholarships for students
- was about decent living standards
(WAW)
What caused voter registration campaigns among blacks to increase during the 1930s?
bolstered by labor unions + NAACP
- results still meager though (Tuskegee had only 10 blacks register per year)
- some applicants faced threats of violence for registering
- some campaigns achieved substantial registration such as the one in Greenville SC
(RS)
What did the voting campaign parallel during WWII?
the explosive growth of the NAACP
- sporadic efforts to gain the franchise were now widespread
- NAACP branches held rallies + distributed leaflets + marched to registration offices
- adopted the slogan “A Voteless People is a Hopeless People”
(SNA)
What legal actions did blacks begin to take in the 1940s?
began to file lawsuits
- challenged disenfranchisement in courts
- blacks sued registrars in LA + AL who refused to enroll them
- lawsuits failed to inc. significantly the # of black voters however
(CBL)
Why did lawsuits fail to significantly inc. the # of black voters in the South?
Southern registration laws very complex
- blacks would strike down one discriminatory practice but it would soon be replaced w/ another
- legal issues were murky (Supreme Court didn’t want to take a clear stand against disenfranchisement
- litigation very important weapon in NAACP arsenal but was very hit/miss
(BLL)
What were two court cases that showed the limitations of the lawsuit in helping blacks get enfranchised?
- Trudeau v. Barnes = blacks told couldn’t sue in federal court until they appealed to state authorities
- Grovey v. Townsend = Supreme Court ruled white primary in TX no longer violated 14th Amendment
(TG)
What did the NAACP do in 1930 to aid its litigation strategy?
hired Nathan Margold (top legal brain)
- hired to devise cohesive strategy to advance civil rights struggle on broad front
What strategy did Nathan Margold come up w/ for the NAACP?
advised NAACP not to waste resources on trying to gain equality w/in segregation
- instead said they should boldly challenge constitutionality of segregation
- strike direct against PLessy v. Ferguson
(IS)
Why did Margold’s strategy seem too risky in the 1930s?
NAACP special counsel Charles Houston avoided attacking constitutionality of segregation
- to mount that challenge + lose in federal court would be a calamity
What was Margold’s argument for pursuing the strategy even if it seemed risky?
long term effects of pressing equality w/in segregation would undermine segregation itself
- if court ruled separate also means equal it would be costly to Southern states to fund two educations
- segregation would eventually collapse under the cost
(IS)
Who was Charles Houston?
special counsel for the NAACP
- Harvard Law grad
- former Howard professor
- viewed the law to be powerful tool for social change
- believed litigation + community mobilization should go hand in hand
- supported Communist Party efforts in the Scottsboro Case
(HFVBS)
How did Charles Houston plan to attack segregation?
focus on public education
- racial discrimination easy to see/document
- comparison between black/white schools easy to make
- NAACP could easily acquire statistics on spending differences between black/white schools
- thought to be issue most likely to ignite popular support especially from black teachers
(RCNT)
Where did Charles Houston focus his public education campaign?
Upper South/Border States
- thought it would be easier to find plaintiffs + secure favorable decisions there
- could then use victories to file suits in deeper South
(TC)
How did Houston’s persistence in his efforts despite criticism ultimately pay off?
would win series of cases that undermined legal basis of discrimination in the South
What was the 1938 Lloyd Gaines case?
- Supreme Court decides Missouri Law School must provide equal education opportunity for blacks
- said giving blacks out of state tuition scholarships to attend another school was discrimination
- school would either provide another black law school/allow Lloyd Gaines into the school
(NSS)
What was the effect of the Gaines ruling?
Southern states put on notice that they must improve black education opportunities
- Missouri quickly established law school at Lincoln University for blacks
- 1940s saw most southern states add graduate programs to their black universities
(MN)
What was the 1939 Anne Arundel case?
a black teacher sued the Anne Arundel County school board in Maryland
- federal judge ruled lower salaries of black teachers were discriminatory in action
- caused string of lawsuits over the next six years across the South
(FC)
How did school boards try to combat the wave of lawsuits following the Anne Arundel decision?
- retaliated by firing plaintiffs (created fear/division among teachers)
- more subtle method was to disguise salary discrimination by designing “merit” pay scales
- cumulative lawsuits ultimately defeated school boards
- NAACP had virtually closed the salary gap by then end of WWII
(RMCN)
Who was Thurgood Marshall?
prominent NAACP attorney
- graduate of Lincoln University + Howard Law
- joined NAACP in 1936 as Charles Houston assistant
(GJ)
What was the prominent 1944 NAACP Louisiana victory led by Thurgood Marshall?
four years earlier Supreme Court said LA white primary was perfectly legal/necessary
- decision opened Democratic Party to charges as a disfranchisement device
- blacks in TX mobilized against white primary
- Lonnie Smith (Charles Houston dentist) sued for not being allowed to vote in Democratic primary
- Smith v. Allwright = Supreme Court ruled white primary as racially discriminatory
(DBLS)
What was the effect of the decision in Smith v. Allwright?
hailed as the Second Emancipation
- black civic leagues inc. voter registration efforts
- statewide orgs. gave additional push
- blacks visited registration offices in greater #s than any time since disenfranchisement
(BSB)
How was destroying the white primary only the first step in inc. voter participation among blacks?
- fear of white violence still restrained many blacks from going to register
- those who did register had very unfair procedures to go through
- white politicians still controlled registration itself (many wanted to keep blacks disenfranchised)
- struggle for blacks to vote continued for twenty more years
(FTWS)
