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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
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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
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