An episode in The Alabama Experience documentary series
This program was produced by Tom Rieland (trieland@cpt.ua.edu ).
This program would be appropriate for classes studying government, politics, and Alabama history. It would be an excellent companion piece for classes using the "Eyes on the Prize" civil rights series.
Length: 26:40. You may show this program in two shorter segments by stopping the tape at 13:37 when you hear "but what a price has been paid for it."
Buford Boone (1909-1983), newspaper editor and publisher of the Tuscaloosa News, became part of one of the major national stories of 1956 -- the attempted integration of the University of Alabama. His stand for law and order in the midst of incredible local turmoil earned him the Pulitzer Prize. Ingrained in the story of his life is that of Autherine Lucy, the first black ever admitted to the University. Ultimately, Ms. Lucy was expelled due to the unrest that broke out on campus when she attended classes.
Discuss the racial atmosphere in Alabama in 1956. 1. Explain to students the Jim Crow laws that were enforced at that time. Jim Crow laws affected every aspect of American life. Schools, restaurants, trains, theaters, drinking fountains-- virtually all public and private facilities practiced total separation of the races. These laws created institutional segregation in much of the South.
Look into Jim Crow laws that existed in your community. What do the older people in the community remember about it? Do your students have relatives who remember these laws? When did it end? What was it like to be a black person growing up under Jim Crow laws? What impact did these separate facilities have on the community?
2. Explain to your students the significance of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Many communities had one school for whites and a separate one for blacks. It was a landmark decision, but blacks did not have any grand celebrations. There was a difference between "law in books and law in action." Southern segregations called that day in May "Black Monday." Many blacks were disappointed because the high court ruling did not include instructions on how it would be implemented.
3. Tell your students about community journalism in the 40's and 50's. News about blacks in local newspapers in the South was nearly non-existent until the 50's/60's. If there was any in the late 1950's it was usually limited to reporting of crimes by blacks against whites.
4. Discuss with the class why tensions were high between whites and blacks in 1955.
*In August, 1955, Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, is killed in Money, Mississippi for whistling at a white woman. He was visiting relatives in the South and didn't understand the strict, unwritten rules that governed the behavior of blacks.
*In December 1955, the Montgomery bus boycott begins after Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat at the front of the bus and is arrested. The bitter boycott lasts for more than a year.
*Although the Supreme Court had outlawed school segregation in 1954, only two Southern states began desegregation that year --Texas and Arkansas. In Alabama, the NAACP challenged the University of Alabama's refusal to admit blacks in 1955-56. The University was ordered to admit Miss Autherine Lucy for the spring semester in 1956.
Have students look at papers from your community (or a large community in the state) from the early 50's. Are there stories about blacks? If so, are they referred to as colored persons or Negroes? Are they given courtesy titles such as Mr. and Mrs? (Boone began using these titles for blacks when he edited the Tuscaloosa News, a courtesy that was rarely observed in the segregated South.)
1. Why did most Southern newspapers ignore local racial turmoil in the 50's and 60's? (Many didn't want to antagonize powerful whites who preferred the status quo to go unchallenged.)
2. Try this role playing scene in your classroom: Have one student act as Buford Boone. The second will be the newspaper's advertising manager. A third student will be the local NAACP chapter president. "Boone" should describe the editorial he wants to run in the paper about integration at the university--"What a Price for Peace." Have the other two give advice on the editorial stand they think the paper should take.
3. Discuss with students a newspaper's role in the community. Is it to reflect local opinion? Is it to compel the community to accept or reject certain social standards? Can students think of recent examples where the local paper took an unpopular stand? Are there unpopular stands the school newspaper should consider taking?
4. Call the Southern Poverty Law Center's Klanwatch in Montgomery (334-264-0286) or your local NAACP chapter and ask them to send a speaker to your classroom.
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