Sncc Statement of Purpose Analysis
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												Waveland, Mississippi, November 1964: Death of Sncc, Birth of Radicalism
WAVELAND, MISSISSIPPI, NOVEMBER 1964: DEATH OF SNCC, BIRTH OF RADICALISM University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire: History Department History 489: Research Seminar Professor Robert Gough Professor Selika Ducksworth – Lawton, Cooperating Professor Matthew Pronley University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire May 2008 Abstract: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced Snick) was a nonviolent direct action organization that participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. After the Freedom Summer, where hundreds of northern volunteers came to participate in voter registration drives among rural blacks, SNCC underwent internal upheaval. The upheaval was centered on the future direction of SNCC. Several staff meetings occurred in the fall of 1964, none more important than the staff retreat in Waveland, Mississippi, in November. Thirty-seven position papers were written before the retreat in order to reflect upon the question of future direction of the organization; however, along with answers about the future direction, these papers also outlined and foreshadowed future trends in radical thought. Most specifically, these trends include race relations within SNCC, which resulted in the emergence of black self-consciousness and an exodus of hundreds of white activists from SNCC. ii Table of Contents: Abstract ii Historiography 1 Introduction to Civil Rights and SNCC 5 Waveland Retreat 16 Position Papers – Racial Tensions 18 Time after Waveland – SNCC’s New Identity 26 Conclusion 29 Bibliography 32 iii Historiography Research can both answer questions and create them. Initially I discovered SNCC though Taylor Branch’s epic volumes on the Civil Right Movements in the 1960s. Further reading revealed the role of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced Snick) in the Civil Right Movement and opened the doors into an effective and controversial organization. - 
												
												Biographical Sketch of Fannie Lou Hamer
ERICA AM F E IN C D OI YOUR V Fannie Lou Hamer: A Biographical Sketch By Maegan Parker Brooks, PhD “I question America. Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hook because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America?” With this critical question, delivered at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Fannie Lou Hamer became revered across the nation. Malcolm X referred to her as the “country’s number one freedom fighting woman” and rumor has it Martin Luther King, Jr—though he loved her dearly— feared being upstaged by Hamer’s soul-stirring speeches. Over her lifetime (1917-1977), Fannie Lou Hamer traveled from the Delta of Mississippi to the Atlantic City Boardwalk, from Washington, D.C. to Washington State, from Madison, Wisconsin to Conakry, Guinea—always proclaiming the social gospel that all human beings are created equal and that all people are entitled to basic rights of food, FIGURE 1: Fannie Lou Hamer addresses the shelter, dignity, and a voice in the government to 1964 Democratic National Convention. which they belong. Fannie Lou Hamer held strong convictions, but she was no idealist. Born the twentieth child of James Lee and Lou Ella Townsend, Fannie Lou and her large family struggled to survive as sharecroppers on plantations controlled by Whites. As an outgrowth of slavery, the sharecropping system was largely designed to keep Black people indebted to White landowners. This economic control held social and political implications as well. - 
												
												Septima Clark and Fannie Lou Hamer By
Toni Rush Voter Registration Voter Registration The Role of Female Leadership within the Civil Rights Movement: Septima Clark and Fannie Lou Hamer By: Toni Rush Senior Seminar: HST 499 Professor John L. Rector Western Oregon University May 27th, 2010 Readers Professor Kimberly Jensen Professor Penelope Brownell Copyright © Toni Rush, 2010 Toni Rush Voter Registration The roles of women within the civil rights movement have historically been unappreciated. When grade school students, and those in high school, learn of the civil rights movement they are given names that are said to be the most important during the time period, names such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. These names do not usually include women such as Fannie Lou Hamer or Septima Clark. “Too often the African American women who participated in the movement remain invisible, elusive, or unappreciated.”1 While much of the emphasis in the civil rights movement is put on male leaders and ministers of the time, the reality is that only about 10% of the ministers within the South were actually active in the movement.2 Women played a significant role in the civil rights movement by being organizers, participants, and most importantly leaders who provided guidance and direction. In “Men Led, but Women Organized,” Charles Payne discusses the importance of women and their leadership roles within the movement. “Women canvassed more than men, showed up more often at mass meetings and demonstrations, and more frequently attempted to register to vote.”3 Women were involved in voter registration, led meetings in town halls, participated in church groups, and held political rallies. - 
												
												Celebrating Ella Baker and Her “Group-Centered Leadership”
Celebrating Ella Baker and Her “Group-Centered Leadership” Reading One Ella Josephine Baker: A Brief Biography In recent years, groups in many different parts of the country—from North Carolina to Virginia to Maryland to New York—have lobbied local governments to commemorate a woman who was almost universally revered within the civil rights movement, but is less familiar to most Americans today: Ella Baker. While well-known figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. deserve to be honored, the life of Ella Baker highlights a different model of leadership and gives insight into the long and patient work of building social movements. While King is justly remembered as a powerful preacher and rousing orator, a political strategist and practitioner of nonviolent direct action, Baker calls attention to a more specific role: that of the organizer. Baker had a hand in building many of the most important organizations of the civil rights movement. She defied traditional gender roles of the time and elevated the contributions of women. She believed in deprioritizing charismatic leadership from above and instead empowering local participants to take charge of their own struggles for freedom. To understand Ella Baker’s life and work, it is important to understand her origins. Peter Dreier, a distinguished professor of political science at Occidental College, related the beginning of Baker’s story in an article for the Huffington Post: Born in 1903, Baker grew up in rural North Carolina not far from where her grandparents had been slaves. As a girl, Baker listened to her grandmother tell stories about slave revolts. - 
												
												“Two Voices:” an Oral History of Women Communicators from Mississippi Freedom Summer 1964 and a New Black Feminist Concept ______
THE TALE OF “TWO VOICES:” AN ORAL HISTORY OF WOMEN COMMUNICATORS FROM MISSISSIPPI FREEDOM SUMMER 1964 AND A NEW BLACK FEMINIST CONCEPT ____________________________________________ A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia ________________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy ____________________________________________ by BRENDA JOYCE EDGERTON-WEBSTER Dr. Earnest L. Perry Jr., Dissertation Supervisor MAY 2007 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled: THE TALE OF “TWO VOICES:” AN ORAL HISTORY OF WOMEN COMMUNICATORS FROM MISSISSIPPI FREEDOM SUMMER 1964 AND A NEW BLACK FEMINIST CONCEPT presented by Brenda Joyce Edgerton-Webster, a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Dr. Earnest L. Perry, Jr. Dr. C. Zoe Smith Dr. Carol Anderson Dr. Ibitola Pearce Dr. Bonnie Brennen Without you, dear Lord, I never would have had the strength, inclination, skill, or fortune to pursue this lofty task; I thank you for your steadfast and graceful covering in completing this dissertation. Of greatest importance, my entire family has my eternal gratitude; especially my children Lauren, Brandon, and Alexander – for whom I do this work. Special acknowledgements to Lauren who assisted with the audio and video recording of the oral interviews and often proved herself key to keeping our home life sound; to my fiancé Ernest Evans, Jr. who also assisted with recording interviews and has supported me in every way possible from beginning to end; to my late uncle, Reverend Calvin E. - 
												
												The Struggle for Voting Rights in Mississippi ~ the Early Years
The Struggle for Voting Rights in Mississippi ~ the Early Years Excerpted from “History & Timeline” Mississippi — the Eye of the Storm It is a trueism of the era that as you travel from the north to the south the deeper grows the racism, the worse the poverty, and the more brutal the repression. In the geography of the Freedom Movement the South is divided into mental zones according to the virulence of bigotry and oppression: the “Border States” (Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, and the urban areas of Maryland); the “Mid South” (Virginia, the East Shore of Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas); and the “Deep South” (South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana). And then there is Mississippi, in a class by itself — the absolute deepest pit of racism, violence, and poverty. During the post-Depression decades of the 1940s and 1950s, most of the South experiences enormous economic changes. “King Cotton” declines as agriculture diversifies and mechanizes. In 1920, almost a million southern Blacks work in agriculture, by 1960 that number has declined by 75% to around 250,000 — resulting in a huge migration off the land into the cities both North and South. By 1960, almost 60% of southern Blacks live in urban areas (compared to roughly 30% in 1930). But those economic changes come slowly, if at all, to Mississippi and the Black Belt areas of Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. In 1960, almost 70% of Mississippi Blacks still live in rural areas, and more than a third (twice the percentage in the rest of the South) work the land as sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and farm laborers. - 
												
												RIGHTS MOVEMENT Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, 1955-2014 Travel Two Weeks in the South
TRACKing THE CIVILRIGHTS MOVEMENT Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, 1955-2014 Travel two weeks in the South Understand the roles of women, men, and children in the Civil Rights Movement Meet with veterans and volunteers of the Civil Rights Movement as well as current activists and interpreters of the Movement Develop leadership skills Learn about grassroots organizing and current civil rights issues “We who believe in Participate in the 50th anniversary of the 1964 “Freedom freedom, cannot rest” Summer” Project in Mississippi – Ella Baker Experience Southern culture, religion, music, and soul food A Winona (Minnesota) State University Travel-Study Program to Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. June 9, 2014 — July 3, 2014 Created and led by: Winona State University History Professors John Campbell and Tomas Tolvaisas; Alex Hines, Director of the Winona State University Office of Inclusion and Diversity; and Joe Morse, Civil Rights Veteran Winona State University 1.800.DIAL.WSU or P.O. Box 5838 507.457.5000 Winona, Minnesota 55987 www.winona.edu PARTICIPATING STUDENTS BACKGROUND Name Major Hometown For a number of years, Joe Morse, Winona resident, long-time community organizer/activist and Patrisha J. Abt Law and Society Viroqua, Wi. Civil Rights veteran, and Alex Hines, Director of the WSU Office of Inclusion and Diversity, Sarah L. Anderson Law and Society Savage, Mn. urged Professors John Campbell and Tomas Tolvaisas to create a Civil Rights Travel Study Sarah M. Anderson Social Science-History Teaching Rochester, Mn. program. In December of 2012, with an eye on the upcoming 50th Anniversary of Mississippi’s Kasey Bruha Social Science-History Teaching La Crosse, Wi. - 
												
												Grassroots Impacts on the Civil Rights Movement
Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CGU Theses & Dissertations CGU Student Scholarship Summer 2018 Grassroots Impacts on the Civil Rights Movement: Christian Women Leaders’ Contributions to the Paradigm Shift in the Tactics of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Its Affiliates Wook Jong Lee Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd Part of the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Wook Jong. (2018). Grassroots Impacts on the Civil Rights Movement: Christian Women Leaders’ Contributions to the Paradigm Shift in the Tactics of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Its Affiliates. CGU Theses & Dissertations, 149. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/149. doi: 10.5642/cguetd/149 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the CGU Student Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in CGU Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Grassroots Impacts on the Civil Rights Movement: Christian Women Leaders’ Contributions to the Paradigm Shift in the Tactics of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Its Affiliates By Wook Jong Lee Claremont Graduate University 2018 © Copyright Wook Jong Lee, 2018 All Rights Reserved ProQuest Number:10844448 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10844448 Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2018). - 
												
												John Lewis, "Speech at the March on Washington" (28 August 1963)
Voices of Democracy 5 (2010): 18‐36 Pauley 18 JOHN LEWIS, "SPEECH AT THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON" (28 AUGUST 1963) Garth E. Pauley Calvin College Abstract: John Lewis delivered a fiery speech at the March on Washington that attracted nearly as much attention as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" oration. Although he had been forced to "tone down" his speech, Lewis still delivered a rousing message that effectively captured the militant spirit among many civil rights workers in the summer of 1963. Key Words: John Lewis; March on Washington; civil rights movement; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people participated in the largest and most remembered civil rights demonstration in the United States‐‐the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The speeches delivered by representatives of the ten civil rights, religious, and labor organizations that sponsored the March were the focal point of the event, with Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" oration becoming one of the most celebrated speeches in American history, pushing the others to the margins of our historical memory. While civil rights leader John Lewis's fiery address at the March did not approach King's in terms of eloquence, his speech is notable for its militancy, attracting nearly as much attention in its time. Even though Lewis was forced by other speakers at the March to "tone down" his rhetoric, he still delivered a powerful indictment of racial injustice and the politicians' failure to address the nation's chronic civil rights problems. - 
												
												Teaching SNCC: the Organization at the Heart of the Civil Rights Revolution
Teaching SNCC: The Organization at the Heart of the Civil Rights Revolution BY ADAM SANCHEZ “THAT’S THE PROBLEM with Black Lives Mat- “S-N-C-C?” students sounded out as my ter! We need a strong leader like Martin Luther black Expo marker moved across the whiteboard. King!” Tyriq shouted as I wrote King’s name on “Have you ever heard of the sit-ins?” I the board. prodded. I started my unit on the Civil Rights Movement “Yeah, weren’t they in Alabama?” Matt by asking my high school students to list every per- answered. son or organization they knew was involved. They “No, Mississippi! Four students sat down replied with several familiar names: Martin Luther at a lunch counter, right?” Kadiatou proudly King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Emmett Till. declared. Occasionally a student knew an organization: the This is usually the extent of my students’ NAACP or the Black Panther Party. prior knowledge of SNCC, one of the organi- “Has anyone ever heard of the Student Non- zations most responsible for pushing the Civil violent Coordinating Committee?” I asked while Rights Movement forward. Without the his- writing the acronym on the board. tory of SNCC at their disposal, students think Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos A meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Atlanta, winter 1963–64. Executive Secretary James Forman leads singing in the SNCC office. From left: Mike Sayer, MacArthur Cotton, James Forman, Marion Barry, Lester MacKinney, Mike Thelwell, Lawrence Guyot, Judy Richardson, John Lewis, Jean Wheeler, and Julian Bond. Teaching SNCC – Zinn Education Project 1 of the Civil Rights Movement as one that was on what led up to the formation of SNCC. - 
												
												Fighting for Equality: Black Veterans and the Civil Rights Movement
Fighting for Equality: Black Veterans and the Two Reconstructions Christopher S. Parker University of Washington Two Reconstructions y 1865-1876 y 13th Amendment: Outlawed Slavery y 14th: Equal Protection and Due Process y 15th: Guaranteed the right to Vote y Freedman’s Bureau y Black Representation, State and Federal y 1964-1965 y Civil Rights Act y Enforcement of Brown y Anti-discrimination (Employment): more blacks and women in management, among other things y Voting Rights Act y Increased black representation at all levels y Better services and more progressive policies Why Only These Periods? y Followed wars in which democratic values were emphasized y Substantial movements present y Widespread black participation ! American Revolution: 1775‐83 Spanish‐American War World War I: 1917‐18 Civil War: 1861‐65 World War II: 1941‐45 Korean War: 1950‐53 It’s about sacrifice y “For once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket; and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States.” Preparing the Ground for Civil War y The Militia Act (1792) y Fugitive Slave Law (1793) y Voting Rights Rescinded: 9 States (1802-1838) y Blacks Expelled from Armed Forces (1820) y Fugitive Slave Law (1850): use of Federal Marshals, free of charge; No time Limits Chief Justice Taney yDred Scott (1857): Taney declared blacks to be “[an] inferior and subordinate class of beings [with] no rights that whites are bound to respect.” yRationale: Partially attributed to blacks not serving in state militias. - 
												
												Folder 7: SNCC News Releases, April-September 1963
NEWS RELEASE STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMI'rl'EE 6 R~rmond Stz,er:ts No:iWo FOR IMMEDIATE RELF.A.SE At,-·"l t"' ,i. ( ,,: • ,·1·'·,:.·•\q ..Lt:2. '. ·- "· ,r, ~- ~·"'\" ;,' .~<l •· . .,. ' ' !-..,, ".. ·'- • JULY, 1963 Tel: c: SNCC CHAIR.l\!AN MAKES SPEIJIAL APPF.AL FOR 68 IN PARCW.iAN STATE PENITENTIARY GREENWOOD, MISSISSIPPI, JULY ·· 30 - Jchn Lewis., chairmm of t.he Student Nonviolent. Coordinating Co!llITlittea, a.ppeal.ed Juo::lay to t,.i.'-1e 11·A.r.1ed.oan ci M.zen.ey''' to "'insist"' on the relt, :c:.so of 6C Negro H:i.1,l'd.s~:l.::,pl .ans i mp:t"is oned in Ps.rchma.n Penitentiary only be- town m5,;:<,~11.1. ~ ,s cf:ficc to p•'.:,t.sTt, iJ1e smoh ·,-bombing of their voter registration meet- ing. Th~7 i-.cre char g,:1d w:l. ~~ "breach of the peace,"' and sentenced the next day to six mo::-.tha i::i j d .1 and $500 fine each. Bou.d was set at $500 per woman and $750 r cr" Th c;i ct l. 1:~ r .:-::t•rnst,s ·l?Gk place in GrerJ11"'"'1ood on June 25 and 26 when 22 Negroes, most of t,h-2,-;;1 i'1~11 .... t. :1.me. a n ~. voluntf3er SNCC staff workers, were arrested inside the Leflore Count y G:::n :::-t h.01:J',c 3.f t.er Neg:,... o ~itt zens refused to move from the closed regiatra:'.' r. !;, of.f\ :'. e~ All 1!e:·:-e se;:itenced t-.:> six months in jail on "breach of the peace" ch.~.r gcs 1<i.{J1 bond set at, $500 per person'!> A.11.