Day 4: Actors: Organizations, Organizers and Motivating Philosophies

Tape 1

Aldon Morris, sociologist and author of  "The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement," cautions against any notion that the civil rights movement "fell from the sky in" 1954 after the Brown decision and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  Rather the movement fits into a rich tradition of protest manifest in the slave revolts, the Marcus Garvey movement, the early NAACP and the work of A. Phillip Randolph.

Morris believes it is necessary to emphasize the strong local character and leadership of the movement rather than national figures and organizations. For instance, in the year before the Montgomery Boycott, the Rev. T. J. Jemison led a successful bus boycott in Baton Rouge, LA.

Morris examines how the black churches played a central role in the CRM by providing: 1) masses of people, 2) a workforce, 3) leadership, 4) money, 5) meeting places, 6) a communications network, and 7) motivating philosophies.

According to Morris, the motivating phiosophies were 1) Christian teachings, 2) the egalitarian principles of the US Constitution, and 3) Ghandian non-violence.

Morris also attacks as "strange" the view that the movement and its leaders wanted to provoke white violence since their efforts were primarily directed at the business community.

Rev. C.T. Vivian posits that the movement didn't start out in a "protest posture." The goals were what they had always been: "freedom, money, land, power, education, entertainment and enjoyment." Fighting in the Civil War was not enough.  Blacks kept asking the white community "what must we do?" Intellectual attainment and the mastery of trades were not enough. Black goals were met with resistance and destroyed by terror. "We were left with what white people did not want to do."

Tape 2

According to Vivian, the movement that emerged in the 1950's had three goals: 1) destroy states' rights as the enemy of black freedom, 2) destroy elitism in the black community as the only way of being free, and 3) end the argument over the humanity of black people.

Loretta Williams looks at the role of social science in the post World War II period.  Examining prejudice, most social scientists looked at the way Americans dealt with Jews.  With the exception of a few sociologists like Gunnar Myrdal, they demostrated little concern for blacks and did not begin to study "The Negro Problem" until 1964.

Williams believes it's important to look at the situation warts and all.  White mainline churches did not address prejudice.  Black churches did not trust the NAACP. The United States wanted to be the global leader but the civil rights struggle put its image on the line.

Tapes 3 & 4

Most of the discussion that follows centers on the role of the churches.  Major topics include why and how Christian teachings became actualized at this particular time, the relationship between secular, non-Christian leaders (Malcolm X) and church leaders in the movement and the relationship between student organizations and the church.

Other topics include the interplay of charismatic leaders and grass-roots organizers and the shifting goals of the movement.