1960s civil rights news clippings
January 21, 2003 12:03 AM Subscribe
Civil rights, local style. Take a look at Mollie Huston Lee's great collection of as-it-happened coverage of the Feb 1960 lunch counter sit-ins in Raleigh, NC. Plenty of clippings about other heated local events, too. The details make the era come alive - boycott flyers, harumphing white editors, speculation that protests might "fizzle out, panty-raid style," armed Native Americans threatening to "wipe out" the local KKK, the program from the conference that birthed SNCC [pdf], early reactions to desegregation and much more. Gotta love those revealing little
details.
reading the "little details" i wonder how important it was that white people were also involved. did it make it harder for the authorities to crack down? did it help legitimize the protests?
posted by andrew cooke at 3:13 AM on January 21, 2003
posted by andrew cooke at 3:13 AM on January 21, 2003
I worked in a small museum in semi-rural Alabama, they had some nice collections of items from the civil rights era.
An interesting anecdote, to say that the protest group's budgets were limited is an understatement so often personnel had to hand out placards and signs for marchers and take them back up for use in the next march. In one march in Eutaw, AL, several photos show signs stating "Integrate the Bowling Alley!" Eutaw is a town of possibly 1000 people it has never, to this day had a bowling alley, much less a segregated one!
I always enjoyed the Mississippi state museum in the old Capitol building in Jackson. There in the rater extensive civil rights section they show a short video clip of a sit-in at a lunch counter at the end of the clip as if to shame the individuals that ridiculed the demonstrators, each one gets a long close up of their faces. The shots are NOT flattering in any way and anyone seeing themselves or their friend/relative could (or should rather) only feel embarrassment for what was done. Incidentally the soda fountain in the clip sits only a short distance from the museum.
posted by Pollomacho at 7:25 AM on January 21, 2003
An interesting anecdote, to say that the protest group's budgets were limited is an understatement so often personnel had to hand out placards and signs for marchers and take them back up for use in the next march. In one march in Eutaw, AL, several photos show signs stating "Integrate the Bowling Alley!" Eutaw is a town of possibly 1000 people it has never, to this day had a bowling alley, much less a segregated one!
I always enjoyed the Mississippi state museum in the old Capitol building in Jackson. There in the rater extensive civil rights section they show a short video clip of a sit-in at a lunch counter at the end of the clip as if to shame the individuals that ridiculed the demonstrators, each one gets a long close up of their faces. The shots are NOT flattering in any way and anyone seeing themselves or their friend/relative could (or should rather) only feel embarrassment for what was done. Incidentally the soda fountain in the clip sits only a short distance from the museum.
posted by Pollomacho at 7:25 AM on January 21, 2003
Great links, mediareport - thanks. Also check out Civil Rights in Mississippi from the University of Southern Mississippi. They have a good collection of oral histories, among other records and documents.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:40 AM on January 21, 2003
posted by madamjujujive at 7:40 AM on January 21, 2003
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*crosses fingers*
posted by mediareport at 12:18 AM on January 21, 2003