Freedom of Speech: 1950's Alabama

My 11/05/06 post described the tense racial atmosphere of Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1950's. It was a time of bus boycotts, freedom riders, and burning and bombing of churches. Some whites were tolerant and did what they could to oppose bigotry and reduce the level of violence. Unfortunately, these people were often ostracized, threatened, or worse. But it must also be noted that most whites growing up in Montgomery had been told by their authority figures (parents, preachers, politicians, editors, law enforcement officials), that Segregation was God’s will and Integration a Communist plot. So it’s no great surprise that many of these southerners felt their way of life was being threatened.

In any event, newspaper editors, for the most part, sided with the power structure. So it was with some trepidation that I wrote the following letter to the Editor. It was an attempt to poke fun at the bigoted opinions which appeared regularly in a daily column entitled, "Grandma". I did not consider my actions brave or heroic, especially since I had appealed to the editor for anonymity. But I did feel vastly superior to this editor who, by publishing my name with the letter, left my family in a very vulnerable position. We received several threatening letters and phone calls. I suppose he thought he was teaching me a lesson. Click here to see letter.


Ironically, I was never really comfortable with the term Integration. I suppose it was because segregationists always railed against "forced integration". The implication, of course, was that people of different races would never voluntarily live together in peace. I preferred the term desegregation, which I took to mean that each person must have the same rights and responsibilities as everyone else.

My experiences as a child growing up in East Texas had already convinced me that separate schools were not equal. I had only to compare the schools I attended with those available to blacks. Likewise,I could buy a house anywhere I wanted, assuming I had the money; blacks could not. The list of injustices committed is long and shameful.

This is not to say everything has worked out exactly as we had hoped. But who would contend that changes were not necessary and appropriate? What thinking person could, in good conscience, wish to return to the days of slavery, lynchings, and Jim Crow?

Although no one is guaranteed success in this country, everyone should have an equal opportunity to become successful.