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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1986)
£ I H 9 B ngrfMftasMAew February 26, 1986. Portland Observer, Page 7* The Young Fought for Racial Justice During the Civil Rights Movement W hen * c fhmk of ihe hcvday o f ihe civil rights movement, personalities such as Rosa Parks. Dr Martin Luther Kin« Jr . James Farmer. Floyd Me K i w ick. and James Meredith come to mind Individuals such as these »ere pioneers in the movement However, »e often forget that our young people plased monumental roles m that struggle lor racial equality Without the key efforts o f young people, it is doubtful that Ihe c iv il rights movement would have been as successful as it »as ' oung people of all ages risked their lives for equality Their involvement in the movement is one of the most magnificent stories o f the 1930» and 6IX Ihe paragraphs th jt fo lio » » ill describe some of the courageous activities of the young during the c ivil nghts movement Oklahoma City I unch counters in department stores »ere segregated throughout the South in the |95<X Blackscould not take a scat at a lunch counter and order food no matter ho» much money they had spent in the store In Oklahoma C ity . a black woman. I lara I uper. and thirteen young people decided that they »ere going to integrate the lunc h counters It was not an idle threat On August 19. 195« Clara l.uper and the thirteen youth went to the Katz Drug store and asked to be served Mrs I.uper described »hat actually happened that hot night once they entered the drug store I »as thinking about »hat should have been done. Lana JA’gue. the sis year old daughter of Mr and Mrs Louis J Pogue, grabbed my hand. and. we moved toward the counter At this point fifteen year-old Barbara Posey, who was the spokesperson for the group look charge Replying to the irate and shocked white waitress. Barbara calmly said. " W e ’d like thirteen Cokes Please" At this point, the' fury of the whites was unleashed The demonstrators were cursed, called nigger . and pushed One o f the young girls. Linda Pogue, " » a s knocked oft a seal, she smiled and sal back on the stool " It became clear to the segregationists at Katz Drug store that these young people »etc serious as well as disciplined and determined In two day s the » hues at Katz decided to desegregate their lunch counters locally and in «« outlets in Missouri. Oklahoma. Kansas and Iowa This group of young people led bv Mrs l.uper and their spokesperson, Barbara Posey, did not stop with desegregating Katz They demonstrated at segregated department stores throughout Oklahoma City lor a decade Many other young people throughout the city joined these ongoing demonstrators Like the original demonstrators, most » ho touted were members of the locup NAACP Youth Council These young people o f Oklahoma City con fronted racial segregation head-on in thought and deed Little Ruck I ittlc Rock, Arkansas was another Southern city where young people look a courageous and dangerous stand tor freedom In September of 1957, nine black students led by the great Duisy Bates, who was president ot the stale N \A C P . desegregated the all white Central High School On September ihe 4th. Mmniiean Brown. Jefferson Thomas, Carlotta Walls. Elizabeth Lchford, Thelma Mathershed. Terrance Roberts. Melba Pattillo. Gloria Ray and Lmest (ireen entered the all-white school as white mobs shouted. "Niggers. Niggers, go home . and "T w o . tour, six. eight, we ain't gonna integrate " The violence and the threat o f violence in Little Rock was so intense that President lisenhower had to send in one thousand paratroopers and place ten thousand members ot the Arkansas National Guard on Federal service Io put down Ihe mob Even in the face of this violence and harrasment the "L ittle Rock N ine" never waivercd Day after day they approached the school door w ith dignitv Speaking ot those courageous students. Mrs Bates said that, "each day I wondered w here thev MALCOLM X THE MAN THE PROPHET THE REVOLUTIONARY. THE MART YR. orrmer T. WA6HlNiirRH-HHAT is rue answer — ’ kW/f E ACCOMNROATIRN? economic t u o t — penoenlc nor rue PLACA CRNMRNITY. ru e PE BATE (¡OES RH. ?CU6 6ARVEY \CK NATI0HALISM. ace without H0RITY AHD CER U A RACE »OUT RESPECT. go« the courage to re-enter the dimly lit corridors o f Central High School to face new provocations and new assaults on 'heir bodies as well as their dignity " Fourteen year old Carlotta W alls personified the courage o f the “ Little Rock Nine At the beginning ol the campaign Mrs Bales reminded Carlotta that the mobs would he at the school and asked her il she still wanted Io participate Carlofia responded, "O h . I 'll be there, even if I have to go it alone." Throughout the school year these students attended their classes and studied hard while being kicked and cursed by their white classmates They had to be protected by the National Guard each day while they attended classes After two years ol tension and confrontation, Central High School was finally desegregated These nine young people who ranged from fourteen to sixteen years in age, risked their lives so that all people could get a good education regardless ol race Lunch Counter Sit-ins In the spring o l 1960 young people throughout the South took a courageous stand fot racial equality This time it was young black college students On February I. l ‘**sO. Iz c il Blair. Jr . Franklin McCain. Joe M cNeil, and David Richmond, all students at North Carolina A and T College, sat in at Ihe Wool worth's lunch counter in Greensboro These students decided that thev were no longer w illin g to cooperate with racial segregation They decided that they were going to conduct sit ins until W oolworth 's desegregated the lunc h counters Ibese students were so determined and dignified in their efforts that they inspired thousands of other black college and high school students to launch similar protests W ithin |usf one month, sit in protests by black students had occurred in North Carolina. Virginia. South Carolina. Florida. Tennessee. Alabama. Ken lucky and Maryland By Ihe end ot March, these protests had spread Io Georgia. Texas. Ohio. West Virginia. Louisiana and Arkansas Never before had the South witnessed such a powerful movement against racial oppression carried out by young people in coniunction with thousands of adults Ihe student sit ms was a watershed tor the c ivil rights movement Once thousands ot young people became involved, the walls ol segregation began to crumble much taster In honor ol the sit ins. Dr King proclaimed that, "when Ihe students sat in they were really standing up tor their right No one can ride sour back unless it is bent " Out o f the sit ins came a key organization ol the c ivil rights movement the Student Non Violent Cooidmating Committee (SN CC l This organization ol students played a central role in overthrowing segregation It became as important as the N AACP, SCI C. and C(>RI It galvanized the student power ot the- period Birmingham Struggle I hen then* was Birmingham in 196 « led by Dr K ing' I l is accurate Io say that it the young people ot Birmingham had not participated in this historic struggle, it would not have been victorious By Ihe 1960s Birmingham was considered the racist capitol ol America W hites in Birmingham, led by " B u ll" Connor, control led blacks through every conceivable means imaginable, including violence So many homes in churches in Birmingham had been bombed by whites that the city had come to he known as " Bombmgham " In (tie spring of |9 6 « l)r King and his Southern Christian leadership Conference (SCI.Cl went Io Birmingham tor the explicit purpose o f overthrowing segregation by conducting mass demonstrations and protests By earls Mas ol 196«. over a thousand black people had been thrown in tail lor participating in demonstrations L p to this point no one younger than fourteen had been allowed to participate in demonstrations because o f the likeli hixxl ot violence and arrests In early May the decision was made to allow young children Io participate IXey were overjoyed King was attacked by the white pre»» for allowing children to participate in such a dangerous enterprise King pointed out later that, "o n e of the rtuvst ringing replies came from a child of no more than eight who walked w ith her mother one day in a demonstration An amused policeman leaned down to her and said w ith mock gruffness What do you want?' The child looked into his eye*, unafraid, and gave her answer 'F 'e e d o in ." she said " On May 2nd, the young hei'an marching, sitting in and going to tail by the thousands Dr King reported that, "a lo n e school, the principal gave orders to k x k the gates to keep the students in The youngsters climbed over the gates and ran toward freedom At the height o f the campaign, by conservative estimates, there were 2,500 de monstrators in jail at once, a large proportion ot them young people For their efforts the young people were attacked by " B u ll " Connors' dog», t'unl Page X Will Your Bank Give You A Credit Card? 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